Welcome to St. James!
1134 Columbia St.
Cathlamet, Washington 98612
Phone: 360-795-8612
Email address: info@stjamescathlamet.org
Sunday Worship (in person and livestream) – 10AM
Sunday School Available
St. James Episcopal Church seeks to provide a Christian community that offers spiritual support and challenge to all ages and demonstrates faith in Christ in community service, and invites and encourages others to join with us in worship and learning.
Contact:- The Rev. Gerry Brennan (Priest)
- The Rev. Irene Martin (Priest, retired)
- The Rev. Joann Prestegard (Priest)
Who We Are
St. James Episcopal Church seeks to provide a Christian community that offers spiritual support and challenge to all ages and demonstrates faith in Christ in community service, and invites and encourages others to join with us in worship and learning.
St. James is a Team Ministry congregation, where everyone is invited to share his or her gifts and talents and participate in worship. Congregation members read the scripture lessons, lead us in reciting a psalm each Sunday, and lead our prayers, as well as arrange the flowers and set up the altar. Children serve as acolytes and take the offering each Sunday, as well as ringing the bell that calls us to worship. We have a choir and are always looking for new participants.
Office hours are Mondays, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, or by appointment. Choir practice is Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Bible Study is seasonal, and held on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Cursillo Group Reunion meets every Monday at 8:30 a.m.
We conduct a variety of community ministries through the St. James Family Center. Church volunteers are active in this ministry, particularly on the Board. The Center’s Executive Director is Beth Hansen, who may be reached at 360-795-8612. We also participate in a number of ecumenical events in the community, including the Ecumenical picnic in August, Thanksgiving Service, Lenten soup suppers, baccalaureate, and Hosanna Musicale on Palm Sunday.
History
St. James, Cathlamet, is the result of faithful pioneers who began Episcopal worship in the 1850s. The Birnies, retirees from the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 1840s, moved to Cathlamet, which they named “Birnie’s Retreat.” They conducted worship here as lay people, aided by a very occasional priest or bishop to perform weddings and confirmations. Lay-led services continued throughout the 19th century, with Grace Church, Astoria, Oregon, taking the role of providing occasional clergy visits. By the 1930s, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Cathlamet proved to be the impetus for regular services provided by the Episcopal church in Longview, Washington, as a road had finally been constructed to join Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties. The Longview/Cathlamet partnership eventually established St. James in 1958 as a mission church of St. Stephens, Longview. The church at Cathlamet was dedicated in 1961. St. James became a Diocesan mission in the early 1970s.
In 1985 St. James began a community ministry by establishing a preschool and then a day care facility. As this ministry expanded, a number of construction projects ensued to provide space for vital programs. This extended construction period culminated in the completion of the St. James Family Center in 1997. Meanwhile, the desire to provide the fullness of the sacramental life at St. James resulted in the congregation calling Irene Martin to be their priest (ordained under Canon 9 in 1992), and then the calling of a ministry team consisting of Gerry Brennan, Marion “Mickey” Carver, The Rev. Rachael Wolford (Deacon, 1998) and The Rev. JoAnn Prestegard (Priest), in 1999. The congregation is a Total Common Ministry congregation, looking forward to calling a new team.
St. James Family Center
One of the major outreach areas for St. James is the St. James Family Center. The child care center and preschool focuses on problem solving, decision making and self-help, while promoting interpersonal communications. These are key elements which contribute to the child’s development, self esteem and confidence.
