"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 Easter Sunday, April 20th, 2025 at 4:50pm in our St. James sanctuary for the eighth concert of our 2024-2025 Jazz Vespers series -- our special guest for this live performance is tenor saxophonist Pete Petersen.
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 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. April marks the eighth 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 trombonist John Moak -- at 4:50pm on Sunday, May 18th, 2025.
Holy Week at St. James 2025
Sunday, April 13th: Palm/Passion Sunday
9:30am Processional Eucharist
Wednesday, April 16th
12:00 Noon Eucharist
12:40pm: “Unlikely Moses and the 9 Commandments” Bible Study
Thursday, April 17th: Maundy Thursday
The Day of Jesus’ Last Supper
12:00 Noon Eucharist
Friday, April 18th: Good Friday
The Day of Jesus’ Death
7:00pm Worship
Saturday, April 19th: Easter Vigil
Prayers as Jesus Lies Entombed
7:00pm Worship
Sunday, April 20th: Easter Sunday
The Resurrection of Our Lord
9:30am Easter Festival Worship
11:00am Children’s Easter Egg Hunt
4:50pm Easter Jazz Vespers
From the Pastor’s Desk …
“But Mary stood outside the tomb and saw …” –John’s Easter story
This month we celebrate what Mary saw on Easter morning, or better yet, did not see. The empty tomb meant Jesus was resurrected.
At St. James we too stop occasionally to see. In 2013 a group of nine looked to our future St. James ministry and prepared a roadmap titled “Vision 20/20.” Amid changing circumstances like a pandemic and a $3.2 million building upgrade, portions of that vision have been implemented. Today we stand strong with a congregational membership of over 225 members, annual giving and income of $500,000, and an Endowment of $2 million. So what’s next? What’s ahead as we celebrate our 135th anniversary of ministry this July?
Your St. James Council and I are forming two short-term task-forces to look two directions at once. We will:
- LOOK BACK WITH GRATITUDE.
On Sunday, July 27th we will gather for Anniversary Worship with invited guests, a festive meal, a new anniversary banner and giving the green light to St. James member and historian Friedrich Schuler to write a 1990 – 2025 history to supplement our purple “Book of the Century: St. James The First 100 Years.” - LOOK FORWARD WITH EASTER JOY.
We will view our current-day ministry and review our Mission Statement to offer changes and new visions. President Sue Hammond and I will form a standing visitation team to assist in caring for members and neighbors through visits, listening and providing care and resources. A Ministry Fair on October 12th will feature our 22 active ministries and how you can offer your time and skill. The Easter story of hope and new life will guide us. Like Mary at the early morning tomb, we may see things we did not expect. I can’t wait to see them with you.
–Pastor David
“Unlikely Moses and the Nine Commandments” …
Pastor David continues his mid-week Bible Study that explores Moses’ life each Wednesday 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? Here are the upcoming topics of discussion:
- Wed. April 2nd “The Exodus: Crossing the Red Sea”
- Wed. April 9th “Moses and Bonhoeffer”
- Wed. April 16th Wednesday of Holy Week: “Moses and the Passover”
- Wed. April 23rd “The Nine Commandments”
- Wed. April 30th “The Nine Guardrails”
Beautify Our Church Building …
Lent is a time to prepare our hearts for Easter joy. But let’s also prepare our St. James building. We will gather at 9:00am on Saturday, April 12th to prepare our worship space for Holy Week. Bring your dust rag. A light lunch is being prepared by Charlotte Cook.
Upcoming Opportunities to Walk with St. James …
The time has come to sign up for the walking teams for the CROP Hunger Walk later this month and Lutheran Ligaments Portland to Coast in late August.
- CROP Hunger Walk – The date is Sunday, April 27th, starting at 2:00pm at First Christian Church. Go to https://events.crophungerwalk.org or look up “Portland CROP Walk”. If you would like to join our team, click “Join or Register a Team” and search “Soles of St. James” under the “Find an existing team to join” bar.
- Lutheran Ligaments Portland to Coast – The annual race is August 22nd-23rd from Portland to Seaside. Signups are available from now until May. Contact Larry Larsen to join.
Bach Cantata & Parkside Piano Series Dates …
Mark your calendars! Watch for these upcoming musical events at St. James:
- Choral Cantata Vespers – on Sundays May 25th and November 2nd at 5:00pm
- Parkside Piano Series – Fourth Sundays at 4:00pm on June 22nd, July 27th, & August 24th
Reaching Out In Love …
This year marks the 80th anniversary of our worldwide ministry know at Lutheran World Relief (LWR). We will celebrate in two ways:
First, by preparing Personal Care/Health kits that will aid those in need in 16 countries. Our St. James Social Ministry Committee will purchase new hygiene items, organize them into kits, box them, and deliver them to a semi-truck. They travel by train to a LWR warehouse in Maryland, and then to where there is need. We call this our “Boxcar” project and you can make this happen by your special gift of money.
Secondly, in a few months we will gather funds for a financial gift for LWR’s ongoing work. Our Endowment Committee has encouraged us with their gift of $4,000 to begin our fundraiser.