St. James' Episcopal Church stands on West Street in downtown Danbury, Connecticut, where red doors and gray Gothic Revival stonework make the building easy to pick out from the street. The parish names its aim plainly: "To be a beacon of hope, living the Gospel, with love and compassion." That hope appears in the choral Eucharist sung at 10 a.m., in the vegetable garden whose harvest goes to the food pantry, and in the homebound members who are visited, fed and prayed for each week. Rooted in Anglican tradition since 1762, St. James' keeps familiar rites at its center while making room for people and causes that keep changing.
A Church on West Street Since 1762
Anglicans in Danbury worshipped at the Congregational Church in the early 1700s. In 1762 the Church of England agreed to the incorporation of an Anglican church, and in 1763 the church opened for services on South Street. In 1810 the first Episcopal Church became Saint James' Episcopal Church. A fire in 1844 destroyed the building, and the congregation rebuilt at 25 West Street, laying the cornerstone of the gray Gothic Revival church in 1876. Banks Memorial Chapel was constructed in 1922, and carillon bells were installed in the bell tower in 1928. The parish marked its 250th anniversary with the Most Reverend Katherine Jefferts Schori, then Presiding Bishop.
Its clergy have included people who went on to lead churches elsewhere: the Rev. George Davenport, elected Bishop of Maryland; the Rev. Hamilton Kellogg, elected Bishop of Minnesota; and the Rev. G. Richard Millard, Bishop Suffragan of California. The Rev. Aaron Coburn, rector from 1913 to 1928, founded Wooster School in 1926, which still serves grades K through 12. The Rev. F. Graham Luckenbill led the parish for more than two decades, and in 1977 St. James' ordained the married couple the Reverends Ann and Michael Coburn in recognition of the equality of women in priesthood. As rectors from 1982 to 1998, the Coburns helped raise up the outreach ministries that still run in Danbury, including the Daily Bread Food Pantry.
The Rev. Dr. Laura Ahrens was called as Rector in 2000. Under her leadership the parish prepared and served meals at the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen and supported the overflow shelter during winter months, and the Diocese of Connecticut elected her Bishop Suffragan in 2007. The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Krasinski, called in 2010 with his husband, opened a relationship with El Hogar, a school established by Episcopal parishioners in Honduras, and oversaw building work including a new kitchen and new floors in the sanctuary. The Rev. Dr. Dustin E. Trowbridge served from 2020 to 2023, and the Rev. Gina Gore, called in 2024, is the fortieth rector of St. James'.
The same long memory shows in how the church serves the city. In the 1930s, St. James' ministered to residents exposed to mercury poisoning from Danbury's hat factories. The parish has sponsored refugee families and Boy Scout Troop 24, and it remains in fellowship with Wooster School and with the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and the Anglican Communion.
Two Sunday Services, One Midweek Eucharist
Sunday worship at St. James' follows the Book of Common Prayer. At 8 a.m. the congregation gathers for Holy Eucharist, Rite I, in Banks Memorial Chapel, with music. At 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II is celebrated in the sanctuary with the Chancel Choir, and that service is live-streamed, with recordings of services kept available through the live-stream and past services. Once a month the order changes: Morning Prayer led by lay leaders of the parish is followed by Holy Eucharist. On the third Sunday of every month the Sacramental Rite of Healing is incorporated into the service, and healing ministers are available for private prayer after any service of the week.
Midweek worship is simple and steady. A 9:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist is celebrated in the chapel every Wednesday. From July through the Labor Day weekend, the two Sunday services are replaced by a single 9 a.m. service in the church, also live-streamed, with coffee hour in the garden when the weather allows.
Visitors are welcomed by a greeter, and ushers hand out the service bulletin and help newcomers find a seat. Children are welcome at every service: books, drawing paper and crayons sit near the church entrance so young worshippers can settle in, and nursery care is provided on a number of Sundays from 8 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. All baptized Christians of any denomination or tradition are welcome to receive Holy Communion, and the congregation explains plainly that standing, sitting or kneeling for different parts of the service is a matter of custom, so each person may do whichever is most comfortable. Membership is not required to worship or to take part in parish programs, though the church encourages people to think and pray about a deeper life of faith and discipleship here.
Finding the Church: Parking, Access and the Ramp Door
St. James' sits close to the center of downtown. Coming from I-84, take Exit 5, turn right toward Main Street, continue to West Street and turn right; the church stands on the right-hand side. On-street parking is available on West Street and Terrace Place. Behind the church at 1 Terrace Place there is a small lot with a gate that opens into the Parish Hall, and cars may also park at City Hall at Deer Hill and West Street, just past the church on the left, or in the Savings Bank of Danbury lot on Chapel Place. The lot reserved for elderly caregivers on Terrace Place is strictly off limits, and vehicles left there are towed. Full details are in the church's directions and parking information.
The main church is a wheelchair accessible space. The ramp door leads inside to a ramp that reaches the library, the lounge and an accessible bathroom. The Parish Hall is reached by going up Terrace Place and entering through the rear parking lot. Banks Memorial Chapel, where the 8 a.m. Sunday service and the Wednesday Eucharist are held, is smaller and not wheelchair accessible. The parish office keeps regular hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays through Wednesdays.
The First American Carillon and a Choir That Sings at Ten
Music is integral to worship here, and the ministry covers organ, choir, handbells and bells. Joanne Archibald directs music ministries. The Chancel Choir, open to singers from high school age through adults, is the main choir for the 10 a.m. service and joins the processional; rehearsals take place on Sundays at 9:15 a.m. and on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. during the September to June program year. A summer choir meets informally in July and August for anyone who wants to join when schedules allow. St. James' Ringers, a three-octave handbell choir, rehearses on Sundays after worship and rings for the 10 a.m. service about six times a year. Instrumentalists and vocalists are invited to contribute throughout the year. Hymns come from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982 and from LEVAS II, Lift Every Voice and Sing.
The Bulkley Memorial Carillon in the bell tower was the first complete carillon forged in the United States. Ella Bulkley left money in her will in 1927 for the installation of a chime. Fifteen bells were hung in 1928 and played for the first time on Easter Sunday that year; that summer the chime was enlarged to 23 bells, completing the first American-made carillon. Two more bells were added in 1936 as a gift from Melvin C. Corbett of Darien, who played regular concerts at St. James' for many years, bringing the total to 25. The bells were cast by Meneely and Company of Watervliet, New York, and the current console was built by Tim Hurd. A summer concert series, funded by an anonymous donor and drawing carillonneurs from around the world, is a highlight of the parish's summer season and is live-streamed as well.
The Pantry in the Rear and a Meal for the Neighborhood
The Daily Bread Food Pantry is housed at St. James', and parishioners volunteer in several capacities. On the east side of the church a large vegetable garden grows produce that is all donated to the pantry. The pantry grew out of the outreach ministries that the Reverends Michael and Ann Coburn raised in Danbury, and it continues to feed families in the area.
Meals are another extension of the parish. On the third Thursday of each month, volunteers prepare a meal from 10 a.m. to noon in the kitchen at Saint James' and serve it the following day at the Dorothy Day Hospitality House from about 1 to 5 p.m. Anyone high school age or older is welcome to help. St. James' also volunteers at the Dorothy Day overflow shelter during winter months. The parish helped create Road to Home at Amos House: in 1986 five churches in the Greater Danbury area recognized the need for a program and a place for homeless women and their children to move toward permanent housing, and the residential facility opened its doors in 1989. St. James' supports Habitat for Humanity and Amos House through mission offerings and representation on their boards.
Each Thanksgiving, parishioners, friends and community members cook and serve a community dinner for 100 to 120 people. In the fight against poverty, St. James' joins Laundry Love, a nationwide ministry that washes the clothes and bedding of neighbors living in poverty; twelve faith communities in and around Danbury have joined together, and volunteers can host laundry events or drop loose change into the purple Laundry Love detergent bottle kept at the back of the church. The parish also has a historical partnership with the Association for Religious Communities, whose mission is to alleviate the causes of violence, suffering and hate while advancing peace, justice and human dignity. Each month, Community Connections selects a partner to raise awareness and raise funds.
Pastoral Care That Comes to the Door
St. James' takes pastoral care as a mission of its own. Members of the pastoral care committee pray, listen, teach, share the Eucharist and share meals with parishioners who are struggling with faith, health or a difficult life situation, and those who serve vulnerable people take part in safe church training. The parish is a Stephen Ministry congregation, so trained lay ministers offer confidential, one-to-one care to people who are hospitalized, ill, bereaved, in a job crisis, disabled, homebound, lonely or in spiritual crisis. A prayer chain has operated quietly for 30 years, and requests can also be added to the prayers of the people in Sunday services.
Care also travels. Each Sunday a member of the flower delivery team collects the arrangements prepared for the altar and takes them to parishioners in hospitals, nursing homes and homes; the same team breaks the altar flowers into smaller arrangements for those celebrating special occasions. Meals on Wings prepares meals with love, following dietary requests, and delivers them during illness, injury, hospitalization, births and deaths. Compassionate Communications, a newer ministry, has the congregation pause at quarterly intervals to send handwritten note cards to homebound parishioners dealing with health, caregiving or transportation challenges, and to mark birthdays. Lay Eucharistic visitors arrange monthly visits that bring communion, prayer and fellowship to parishioners who cannot attend church.
On Saturday mornings a team of volunteers travels to Autumn Lake at Glen Hill, a rehabilitation and nursing facility in Danbury, where a simple morning prayer service is held at 10:45 a.m. for eight to twelve residents and staff, followed by fellowship time. Outdoors, the prayer wall built on the sidewalk in front of the church in 2018 invites passersby to write their wishes for prayer in chalk; the wall is renewed weekly, and those prayers are carried into Sunday worship.
Learning Together: Adults, Families and Youth
The Growing in Faith ministry invites adults of all ages and stages of life into Bible studies, book studies, forums and workshops that strengthen faith and fellowship together. Its in-depth studies have covered the Lord's Prayer, the Baptismal Covenant and the Nicene Creed, and Bible study is held weekly, working through the scriptures that appear in the Sunday services and the phrases that catch each person's attention. The Growing in Faith committee meets on the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The parish also points adults toward the Book of Common Prayer, Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Living, the Office of Compline, daily prayer and the daily readings of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's cycle of prayer.
Children and families are treated as full members of parish life. The congregation's roots include Epiphany Chapel Church School, established in 1906, and a longtime youth group; children take part in worship, and the parish is building a fuller set of programs for children, toddlers, parents and youth, including Godly Play. The Chancel Choir opens its doors to high school students as well as adults. For students, St. James' hosts a study hall in the church library on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with Naugatuck Valley Community College.
Learning reaches into the sacraments as well. Baptism is celebrated within the Sunday Eucharists, on days that include the Great Vigil of Easter, the Day of Pentecost, the Feast of St. James the Fisherman, All Saints' Day and the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord in January. Every candidate is presented by one or more baptized sponsors, with parents or guardians normally included for children, and adult inquirers are matched with a parishioner who serves as a spiritual mentor. Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation are open to older teens and adults, with preparation in Scripture, the Book of Common Prayer, mission and community, prayer, and Episcopal polity. Christian marriage is celebrated in the church or the chapel for couples where at least one partner is a baptized Christian and a regular parishioner, and premarital counseling is arranged promptly with the clergy. The Christian funeral is called the Liturgy of the Resurrection, an Easter liturgy that rejoices in the promise that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Open and Affirming, with a Place for Everyone
St. James' states that it is an open and affirming community celebrating the diversity of God's creation, and it welcomes all LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies to share in faith, fellowship and friendship. The parish shares the Episcopal Church's commitment to inclusion: ordination and the offices of bishop, priest and deacon open without discrimination, and leadership shared by laypeople and clergy alike regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. LGBTQ+ and Friends gathers on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. in the Parish Hall, and all are welcome. The church raises a Pride flag, keeps an LGBTQ+ and Allies group, and members of its governing vestry have spoken about their own experience as openly LGBTQ+ members of the congregation. A Welcoming Committee meets monthly as well, and the greeter at each service makes sure newcomers are noticed.
Coffee Hours, Friday Nights and the Parish Picnic
Parish life runs on coffee hours and shared tables. Coffee hour follows the 8 a.m. service in the Library and the 10 a.m. service in the Parish Hall, where there are coffee, treats and fellowship. On the first Friday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday with Friends gathers adults for casual conversation in the Parish Hall. The annual round includes the parish picnic, a Mother's Day breakfast, a Christmas Tea, a Lenten pancake supper, a newcomers' brunch, museum visits, painting with friends, Ukrainian egg dyeing, a men's breakfast group, bowling nights, book discussions, community hikes and seasonal outings such as apple picking. Special events through the year have included chili cookoffs, murder mystery dinners and scavenger hunts. Work Shirt Saturdays, organized at least once each quarter by the Buildings and Grounds team, bring ten to fifteen volunteers together for a few hours of painting, fixing windows, planting, weeding and other seasonal projects.
A Vestry, a Self-Supported Budget and a Way to Give
St. James' is governed by a vestry of nine members elected at the annual meeting for staggered three-year terms. The senior warden, junior warden, clerk and treasurer are elected for one-year terms, the vestry meets monthly from August through June, and the rector chairs the meetings. Each vestry member serves as chair or liaison to one of the ministries, which include Building and Grounds, Growing in Faith, Worship, Community Connections, Welcoming, Finance and Pastoral Care. Everyone is welcome to attend ministry meetings, and most committees gather monthly on a set evening, in person or on Zoom.
St. James' Episcopal Church is a 501(c)(3) religious organization and is entirely self-funded, receiving no financial support from the diocese for its operations. Pledges provide more than seven in ten dollars of annual income, with plate offerings, special offerings, rentals, endowment and gifts making up the rest, and gifts remain tax-deductible. Donations can be made online through the giving page. The parish has also joined with Charitable Adult Rides and Services in a fundraising venture that accepts vehicles of any kind, from airplanes to cars to farm machinery, as tax-deductible donations to the church.
A Beacon of Hope on West Street
St. James' keeps the roots it inherited in 1762 and the eyes it keeps on the streets of Danbury. The vision remains simple to state: "To be a beacon of hope, living the Gospel, with love and compassion." Joyous worship, mission work, uplifting music and Christian fellowship are joined by a determination to welcome people, care for those who cannot come to church, and work alongside neighbors who need food, shelter, clothing and compassion. On West Street, that is what St. James' Episcopal Church is about.