"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
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- 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
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- Sunday Morning Online Worship
Join us online on the St. James YouTube channel -- or here on this website.
- Sunday Morning Online Worship
Midweek Eucharist
NOTE: Midweek Eucharist begins again on Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 -- and continues every following Wednesday at 12:00 Noon through May. Pastor David will lead and Colin will be at the piano. Starting in March, Pastor David will guide us in a Bible Study on the themes of the book of Exodus titled "Unlikely Moses and the Nine Commandments." It will take place immediately following the Wednesday service. Invite a friend to join you.
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- Wednesday Eucharist
30-minute 12:00 Noon service in Pioneer Chapel.
- Wednesday Eucharist
Bach Cantata Vespers
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- Bach Cantata Vespers
We hope that you enjoyed our Choral Vespers service from this past first Sunday of Advent -- centered on Bach’s Cantata 62, "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Savior of the nations, come). That occasion marked 300 years since the work was premiered on December 3rd, 1724. The central hymn and text came from Martin Luther, himself, and proclaimed the arrival of Jesus as savior in a number of contexts. Please join us again at 5:00pm on May 25th, 2025 when we will present our next Bach Choral Vespers Cantata with the St. James Choir, soloists, and orchestra. More details will follow over the coming months.
- Bach Cantata Vespers
Jazz Vespers
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- Jazz Vespers
Every 3rd Sunday at 4:50pm.
- Jazz Vespers
Once again this year, we were pleased to be a venue for the PDX Jazz Festival. This month, be sure to join us in-person on Sunday, March 16th, 2025 at 4:50pm in our St. James sanctuary for the seventh concert of our 2024-2025 Jazz Vespers series -- our special guest for this live performance is guitarist John Stowell.
Musical accompaniment by Tim Nickel on piano, Paul Mazzio on trumpet and flugelhorn, Laurent Nickel on bass, and Tim Rap on drums. Valarie Brown is serving as cantor, and Pastor David is our liturgist. We invite you to attend as we return to our recently 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 2024-2025 season. March marks the seventh month of this 12-month Jazz Vespers series.
Please check out the complete schedule for our new 2024-2025 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 some of our prior Jazz Vespers on video.
You can find links to 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 for another great Jazz performance -- when we continue our 2024-2025 season of Jazz Vespers with tenor saxophonist Pete Petersen -- at 4:50pm on Sunday, April 20th, 2025.
“All the world is a stage; it’s also a casino.” –Morgan Housel
From Pastor David’s Desk …
Casinos are places of choice. Should I bet? How much? What are the odds? In some ways, we live in a casino since we are constantly making decisions.
Our forty-day journey of Lent begins on Wednesday, March 5th, and it is a time to reflect on God’s choice of loving us, and how we daily choose to respond. At St. James, the biblical character Moses will accompany Jesus to guide us. Moses chose to murder an Egyptian soldier (Exodus 2). Moses chose to trust God’s promise to rescue the enslaved Hebrews (Exodus 14). Moses chose to be guided by the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). So each week we will be guided by these themes:
- Lenten Sermons — “Moses & Jesus: From Sinai to Golgatha”
- Pastor David’s Wednesday Bible Study — “Unlikely Moses and the Nine Commandments”
- Lutheran World Relief’s 80th Anniversary of caring. How will we respond?
With the rapid and often chaotic choices coming out of Washington D.C. that have many of us living in fear and uncertainty, let’s get grounded. The stories of Moses and Jesus will direct us beyond the glitz and false facades of life’s casinos to make wise choices.
–Pastor David
Shrove Tuesday Pancakes …
We uphold our long-standing tradition of gathering on the evening before Ash Wednesday. A dinner of pancakes will be prepared on Shrove Tuesday, March 4th at 5:30pm in Pioneer Chapel. For centuries, Christians have used the oils, eggs and fat in their home in this meal before the penitential season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. Come and sing your last “Alleluia” until Easter!
Ash Wednesday Noon Worship …
We gather for the imposition of ashes and Holy Communion on Wednesday, March 5th at 12:00 Noon in the sanctuary. Our forty-day journey begins with confession and centering ourselves as we journey with Jesus to the cross and ultimately to Easter joy. Invite a friend to begin the journey with you.
Lenten Season Preaching Theme — From Sinai to Golgatha …
The liturgical season of Lent (March 5th – April 20th) at St. James will bring together the central story of the Hebrew Scriptures along with the paramount story of the New Testament. Each week the sermon theme will point to the Exodus story of freedom from Egyptian slavery and also Jesus’ journey to bring us freedom through the cross and Easter resurrection. On the 1st Sunday of Lent (March 9th) Pastor David will share the service with his good friend Bishop Dave Nagler of the Pacifica Lutheran Synod (San Diego).
“Unlikely Moses and the Nine Commandments” …
This spring, Pastor David will lead a mid-week study on Moses. Join him each Wednesday from March 12th – May 21st immediately after our 30 minute Noon Eucharist Service in Pioneer Chapel. Who was Moses? Is there archeological evidence that he lived? How many people crossed the Red Sea? Do non-biblical writings mention him? How many commandments did God give Moses? Are those commandments relevant today? Pastor David will draw course material from the scholarship of Richard Nysse (Luther Seminary), Carol Meyers (Duke University), Bart Ehrman (UNC at Chapel Hill), and William Dever (U Arizona – Tucson). Read the book of Exodus. Here’s a look at some of our first class topics:
- Wed. March 12th “Why Moses Matters”
- Wed. March 19th “Moses: Murderer or Mentor”
- Wed. March 26th “Moses: What Archeologists Found”
- Wed. April 2nd “The Exodus: Crossing the Red Sea”
- Wed. April 9th “Moses and Bonhoeffer”
New Member Sunday …
We will again welcome new members into our St. James family. On Sunday, March 16th, seven people will make St. James their spiritual home. They will be introduced in worship and a reception will follow. Welcome!
St. James Endowment Group Meets …
St. James has been blessed to have an active Endowment Fund ministry. A portion of the fund is given away each year; mostly to those ministries and helping agencies beyond our doors. The first meeting of the Committee is year will be on Sunday, March 16th at 11:15am. Requests will be considered and then later confirmed by the St. James Council. St. James members can find request forms in the church office. Questions? Call Chairperson Cathie Coffman.
In the News …
Our very own Kathleen McDonald has made the news with her dairy in the current issue of the Columbia River Reader. The article covers the Little Island Creamery she and her brother co-operate, and lovingly deems them and her cows “cheese wizards”. Congratulations!
St. James Authors Publish New Books …
Congregation members and authors Brenda Clough and Lori McCloskey have all recently published new books, as did frequent visitor Rochelle Jefferson. Rochelle’s newest novel is set in Portland and England. Lori’s new book is called Wet Weather Mysteries, with all new mysteries outside of her usual Max the Cat Detective series. Brenda’s upcoming sci-fi novel His Selachian Majesty Requests set in 1979 will be available the first week of April.
Emanuel Medical Center Chapel …
In 2023, St. James gifted Emanuel Medical Center $17,500 to support their $1 million project of creating an interfaith space in the hospital for individuals from all faiths. That chapel has now been completed and will be dedicated on Wednesday, April 9th. Pastor David and some St. James leaders will attend. Our name, St. James Lutheran Church, has been placed on their donor wall. Our thanks to Spiritual Care Director Jill Rowland for inviting us to partner with her and others to make this possible.