"We share God's inclusive and eternal love with everyone!"
St. James Lutheran Church
"In the City for Good"
Welcome!
From Pastor David:
WELCOME TO ST. JAMES!
This website serves as our “front door” to ministry in downtown Portland. We offer an array of options. We invite you to consider — what fits you?
- Join us for Sunday in-person Eucharist worship (at 9:30am in our sanctuary), or participate via recorded video worship posted to our website each Sunday afternoon (Communications > Worship & Sermons).
- Feed those who live on our Portland streets five times a week by preparing food boxes, or donate to purchase food and needed supplies.
- Deepen your spiritual life with Saturday Contemplative Prayer via Zoom, in-person Wednesday morning Centering Prayer, or join our recorded Bible Study (3 series a year) or virtual Healing Prayer events.
- Help guide our St. James low-income Apartment ministry (122 units), or enroll your child at our St. James Child Development Center (infant through kindergarten-aged children). Presently over 80 children are enrolled.
- Share your creative imagination with our St. James Art Group, or offer your musical skills as our choir prepares to return this fall.
- Meditate on classical music and meaningful Sunday liturgy, or enjoy our monthly Jazz Vespers services on YouTube now and in-person beginning August 15th at 5:00pm.
- Jump onboard to live out your faith with acts of JUSTICE by exploring our embedded attitudes concerning race, gender and LGBTQ+ rights, or be hands-on with our Caring For Creation efforts.
- Partner with us to reach beyond our doors by supporting Lutheran World Relief’s efforts to bring the vaccine to all countries, or pack boxes of school/health kits to meet worldwide needs.
- Join us for the life-changing moments of baptism, fall Sunday School, weddings, celebrations, and memorials; stay connected through Book Club, WELCA, or our Card Ministry; or sit down for a cup of coffee with Pastor David.
There are lots of options at St. James. What fits you as we follow the Risen-Christ?
–Pastor David Knapp
Worship Services
Sunday Morning Worship
-
- Sunday Morning In-Person Worship
9:30am Eucharist at:
St. James Lutheran Church
1315 SW Park Ave.
Portland, OR 97201
- Sunday Morning In-Person Worship
-
- Sunday Morning Online Worship
Join us online on the St. James YouTube channel -- or here on this website.
- Sunday Morning Online Worship
Midweek Eucharist
-
- Wednesday Eucharist
30-minute 12:00 Noon service in Pioneer Chapel.
- Wednesday Eucharist
Bach Cantata Vespers
-
- Bach Cantata Vespers
Spring service on Sunday, April 28th at 5:00pm.
- Bach Cantata Vespers
Jazz Vespers
-
- Jazz Vespers
Every 3rd Sunday at 4:50pm.
- Jazz Vespers
In February, 132 people gathered for Jazz Vespers. We were pleased to be a venue for the PDX Jazz Festival. KOIN News ran the story. This month, be sure to join us in-person on Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at 4:50pm in our St. James sanctuary for the ninth concert of our 2023-2024 Jazz Vespers series -- our special guest for this live performance is Allen Mair on flute and alto flute.
Musical accompaniment by Mike Horsfall on piano, Laurent Nickel on bass, and Tim Rap on drums. Valarie Brown is serving as cantor, and Pastor David Knapp is our liturgist. We invite you to attend as we return to our newly renovated St. James Lutheran Church building and we ask you to make a freewill donation (offering) to help support our musicians as we continue our 2023-2024 season. April marks the ninth month of the 12-month Jazz Vespers series. Some of the artists have played the Vespers in the past, such as Renato Caranto, Paul Mazzio, and John Stowell. There are also several new artists including guitarist Ben Graves, saxophonist Michelle Medler, and trombonist Adriana Wagner.
Please check out the complete schedule for our 2023-24 season by navigating to "Life at St. James > Worship & Music > Jazz Vespers" on the main navigation menu at the top of this page. Or you can click here to link directly to our "Jazz Vespers" page.
In addition to the live performances of our current St. James Jazz Vespers series -- please remember that you may still enjoy our prior Jazz Vespers on video.
You can find links to our previous Jazz Vespers recordings by navigating to "Communications > Music" on the main navigation menu at the top of this page. Or you can click here to link directly to the "Music" page.
NOTE: We are delighted that the new CD "St. James Jazz Vespers - We'll Be Together Again" has been released and is available for $20 at the St. James office. It is a collection of tunes recorded during the pandemic by The Mike Horsfall Trio and guests of the St. James Vespers. Enjoy!
Please join us again next month -- when we welcome vocalist and percussionist Haley Horsfall -- Sunday, June 16th, 2024 at 4:50pm -- for another great Jazz performance.
“When the day of Pentecost had come…” –Acts 2
From Pastor David’s Desk …
It was a mistake. Play-Doh was invented in the 1930s as a wallpaper cleaner. Today the modeling-compound is a favorite of young children. But from 1930 until 1956 it was only available in white.
Today Play-Doh comes in 60 colors including Garden Green and Purple Paradise and in some ways, new colors are created every day. The children do it, as they mix the colors, much to the frustration of adults who appreciate order and well-marked boundaries.
At St. James we will celebrate Pentecost Sunday on May 19th. It is a day when God insists on being a boundary-breaker. We hear that the Easter good news of new life has few limits. It includes all. It gathers all. It is proclaimed in all languages of people of all backgrounds. The second chapter of Acts shares that this inclusive love was so new and alarming that the people asked “What does this mean?”
As the Play-Doh gets mixed on Pentecost, creating new and unheard of colors, we will baptize little Emma Scott. She too will be filled with God’s expansive and inclusive love. And unlike Play-Doh, it will not be a mistake.
–Pastor David
Wednesdays At St. James …
We continue our Wednesday schedule through May 15th:
–Noon Eucharist – a 30 minute service in Pioneer Chapel
–Pastor David’s Class – 12:40 to 1:30pm
“From Jesus to Constantine: How It All Began”
So far we have explored the first 300 years of the church. We observed the 80 different Christianities. We learned how your New Testament was compiled. Now we focus on the events in the town of Nicaea, Emperor Constantine’s ruling, and how a concept of the Trinity narrowed 80 Christianities into one. Join us as we wrap up our series.
Weekly Class Topics:
May 1st Baptism and Eucharist Take Center Stage
8th The Doctrine of the Trinity
15th Jesus to Constantine: What We Learned
Jewish and Muslim Voices …
We continue to welcome Voices for Peace as the Israeli/Hamas war rages on. On Sunday, May 12th Zmira Lovejoy, a spiritual leader at Portland’s P’nai Or Jewish Community, will share our Old Testament reading in worship and speak with us during Open Space. On April 28th we were pleased to welcome Harris Zafar from the Muslim community.
Thanks to Parker …
On May 15th our interim Administrative Assistant will step down to prepare for his Law School studies this fall. Parker Brocker-Knapp has taken on the front desk position since February. The search for a permanent Administrative Assistant is now concluding and we hope to have the new staff member in place in mid-May. Thank you Parker!
Pentecost Sunday …
We gather on Sunday, May 19th to recall the events recorded in Acts 2 in your Bible by hearing the Gospel read in Spanish, Mandarin, German, Romanian, Russian, French, Italian, and more. Come join us for Sunday morning Eucharist and, if you remember, wear red!
Oregon Synod Assembly …
On Saturday, June 1st Council President Sue Hammond and Pastor David will attend the Oregon Lutheran Synod Assembly. This gathering of representatives from 112 (ELCA) congregations in Oregon will take place by Zoom. It will include worship, Bible study, business of the church, and ministry planning for our future together.