At 131 N. State Street in Painesville, Ohio, St. James Episcopal Church is known both for traditional Anglican worship and for a Feeding Ministry that has served hot meals since 1983. The parish was organized in 1824, first met in homes and stores, and grew into a center where Eucharistic worship, a restored E. M. Skinner organ, extensive lay participation, Christian formation, and direct service to neighbors facing hunger meet. Its Victorian Gothic spire and cross rise above the State Street property, while the adjoining chapel and education wing support worship, study, music, and parish gatherings.
Two Sunday Services at 8:00 and 10:30
Sunday worship follows two clear forms:
- 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I, in the Children’s Chapel. This contemplative service is held without music.
- 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II with Music, in the Main Chapel. The service is shaped by the Skinner organ, choir, and voices of the congregation.
The 10:30 service is carried on the church’s YouTube channel and Facebook presence on the second and fourth weeks of each month. High holy day services are carried when possible. Multi-camera livestreaming connects people who worship from home, travel, or cannot attend in person.
The parish follows the Book of Common Prayer. Its annual worship calendar includes Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Christmas, and Easter. Incense can often fill the church during Christmas, Easter, and other appropriate occasions. The congregation hears scripture, prays, receives Eucharist, and participates actively in worship.
Newcomers and longtime members are greeted by ushers. Acolytes, including men, women, girls, and boys over eight, assist the priest and receive regular training throughout the year. Their service, together with the roles of lay readers and Eucharistic Ministers, reflects St. James’ strong tradition of participation across generations.
From Meeting Houses to the Gothic Church
St. James began in 1824, when the parish was organized and admitted to the Ohio Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Church. Its first worship gatherings took place in parishioners’ homes and stores. In 1836, a small frame building with a modest bell tower was constructed on the present lot. Work on the current church began after its cornerstone was laid in May 1866, and the building was consecrated in 1868.
The church retains its Victorian Gothic exterior even as the interior has changed over generations. Stained glass installed from 1886 through 1970 forms memorial windows honoring people connected with the parish. The tall spire and cross have long been visible across Painesville. Together, the main sanctuary, chapel, and education wing give the property a layered architectural history while serving present-day worship and ministry.
The 1887-88 chapel was built entirely through a gift from Laura Kerr Axtell. Designed as a place of worship for the parish’s children, this Victorian Gothic chapel was renovated in the mid-1980s. It now provides an intimate setting for the 8:00 Eucharist, Christian formation, Tai Chi, funerals, classes, and parish receptions. The connected two-story education wing, finished in 1958, houses offices, the Chuck Cost library, choir and guild rooms, classrooms, and flexible meeting spaces.
Four Days of Hot Meals
The Feeding Ministry has offered a hot meal since December 1983. Its regular schedule is:
- Saturday, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
- Sunday, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
- Monday, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Meals are also served from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on national holidays and Good Friday. The ministry welcomes neighbors experiencing homelessness, poverty, addiction, mental illness, loneliness, or other challenges. All are welcome for a hot meal, with attention given to nourishing mind, body, or spirit.
St. James serves about 15,000 meals a year with support from teams representing 16 churches and organizations, together with the Cleveland Food Bank. The partnership includes Episcopal, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, Assembly of God, and Orthodox congregations, as well as Rotary clubs, Civil Air Patrol, and local businesses. Parishioners participate as feeding-team volunteers, food preparers, board members, and donors of food or money.
The ministry began after parishioners recognized that no free community meals were available on weekends and holidays when the Salvation Army was closed. St. James received a Jubilee Ministry Center designation from the National Episcopal Church in 2003 and received the designation again in 2012. Its Feeding Ministry is identified as the heart of the parish, with diners received with dignity and nourishment offered for body and spirit.
In 2010, the parish added Monday and Tuesday dinners and joined St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in the Code Blue Ministry Network for emergency winter shelter. During the COVID-19 pandemic, meals continued through a takeout model, with LifeSpring Christian Church and Painesville Church of the Nazarene joining as new partners. The central commitment remained unchanged: offering a safe, hot meal to anyone who needs it.
The Skinner Organ and a Singing Congregation
Music is central to St. James worship. The E. M. Skinner pipe organ was installed in 1926 and underwent a complete restoration in 2009 and 2010. The restoration returned the instrument to its original tonal condition and added bells. At the 10:30 Eucharist, its sound is joined by the choir and congregation. Organist and Choirmaster Davis Badaszewski leads a music program that selects repertoire to reflect the day’s scripture readings and the liturgical season.
The congregation uses the 1982 Hymnal, Lift Every Voice and Sing, and selections from Glory and Praise. The choir’s repertoire reaches from Renaissance works to contemporary music. Soloists and instrumentalists join on some occasions, with saxophone, flute, trumpet, guitar, and other instruments blending with the mellow tones of the Skinner. Periodic concerts give parishioners additional opportunities to perform vocally or instrumentally, while weekly Coffee Hour after worship brings music and conversation together in an informal setting.
The parish has long remembered its Men and Boys Choir. J. Powell Jones organized the ensemble in 1892, and it remained renowned for decades until a mixed choir replaced it in 1966. The men’s and boys’ choir tradition briefly returned alongside other choirs in the mid-1980s. Young people and adults are both welcome to sing with the choir today. The ability to read music is helpful, but the only prerequisite is a love of singing.
Christian Formation Across Generations
St. James is committed to bringing people to a greater knowledge and love of the Lord through Christian formation. Its programs reach children, teens, and adults through traditional Sunday School classes, teen workshops, weekday and evening Bible studies, and special educational events. The education wing connects worship with ongoing study, while the Children’s Chapel retains a special connection to the parish’s youngest members. The aim is both a deeper understanding of faith and a life shaped by faith.
Education for Ministry, described as “seminary for lay people,” is a four-year intensive course from Sewanee School of Theology. It brings together Bible study, theology, church history, and personal reflection in small, mentored groups. Participants are encouraged to deepen their Christian faith and consider how that faith relates to lived experience. The course is intended to form informed and committed laypeople for ministry, strengthening both parish life and participation in the wider Episcopal community.
Lay Readers, Servers, and Welcomers
The church’s understanding of ministry begins with the laity, whose work is to represent Christ, bear witness, carry out reconciliation, and take part in worship and governance. That conviction appears in the many roles carried by parishioners. Lectors read scripture; Eucharistic Ministers administer wine; Worship Leaders conduct Morning and Evening Prayer; Lay Preachers preach; and Lay Ministers participate in the sacramental life of the church.
Men, women, girls, and boys over eight are invited to serve as acolytes, with training provided throughout the year. Ushers welcome newcomers and regular members and help people find their way. The Altar Guild rotates responsibility for preparing the sanctuary and makes special arrangements for weddings, funerals, baptisms, Christmas, and Easter. This practical work supports a traditional worship style in which many people have an active role rather than worship being led only by the clergy.
Coffee Hour, Sundaes on Mondays, and Saturday Prayer
Fellowship is a major part of life at St. James, beginning with weekly Coffee Hour after Sunday services. Monthly gatherings have included Sundaes on Mondays, pizza nights, paint nights, family movie nights, scrapbooking, Amish dinners, un-birthday parties, Mardi Gras, and Oktoberfest. Ellen Laitinen and Sally Hewis lead the fellowship effort, which also provides food and hospitality for the bishop’s reception, Easter brunch, graduation receptions, the annual meeting, and other parish events.
The Bishop Rogers Chapter of the Daughters of the King was chartered in 1927. This lay order is open to women who are communicants of the Episcopal Church or churches in communion with it, and its purpose is prayer, service, and evangelism. The chapter meets on Saturday mornings, and at least twice a year M. Vanessa leads a healing service open to parishioners. Its practical care includes collecting socks and mittens for meal-program guests and knitting hats and scarves for the Seaman’s Institute.
The Women’s Fellowship Guild, led by Patty Norman and Alice Griffith, serves the parish and supports women’s support groups in the community. Its traditions include a salad luncheon with music and book reviews, Christmas cookie trays, a Valentine’s Day tea, and White Elephant sales. The men’s breakfast meets once a month at a local restaurant for informal fellowship and conversation. These groups, along with family events and choir participation, give the parish several ways to build relationships across age and interest.
Scripture, Prayer, and Anglican Communion
The foundational texts of St. James are the Holy Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. The parish understands scripture as inspired by God, written within human history, and continuing as a living word that guides its journey. Its worship principle, “Lex orandi, lex credendi,” is expressed in the phrase “As we pray, so we believe.” Prayer and belief are thus joined within the lived worship of the church.
St. James is an Episcopal church within the Anglican Communion, a worldwide fellowship of churches tracing its heritage to the Church of England. The parish describes its worship as a bridge between Protestant and Roman Catholic Christian expressions through sacramental worship and culturally relevant theological discussion. Its mission gives practical shape to that inheritance: St. James seeks the spiritual and physical welfare of others in Christ’s name through worship, education, ecumenical ministry, service, love, truth, and justice.
Dignity, Justice, and Ecumenical Service
The Feeding Ministry is the clearest expression of St. James’ commitment to dignity and justice. The parish connects hunger ministry to its baptismal covenant to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. A hot meal offers nourishment, but the ministry also creates a safe place away from the difficulties of life on the streets. Welcome, practical care, and shared presence are central to how the church understands service.
St. James has also participated in community efforts involving the Salvation Army’s Back to School Bash, End 68 Hours of Hunger with Lake County, and support for the local Hope Chest. The parish has supported an LGBTQ+ organization in Lake County, hosted a Family Pride Fair, and received the NAACP Lake County Community Award for that work. These efforts reflect a broad understanding of welcome shaped by the gospel and a willingness to work alongside other organizations in Painesville.
Partnerships are as important as individual programs in this ministry. Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Assembly of God, and Orthodox congregations work alongside Rotary clubs, Civil Air Patrol, businesses, and other volunteers to provide meals. LifeSpring Christian Church and Painesville Church of the Nazarene joined during the pandemic, while Code Blue connected St. James with St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church for winter shelter. Ecumenical cooperation is built into the way the parish carries out its largest outreach ministry.
Endowment, Stewardship, and the Long View
Stewardship at St. James is guided by an elected Vestry of laypeople balanced with the rector. Church finances are audited independently each year, reported to the Diocese of Ohio, and presented in a full financial report to the annual parish meeting. Giving supports ordinary ministry and several specific purposes: the Feeding Ministry, assistance with community members’ gap needs, work connected to employment and care for children, inclusive community events, the historic music and liturgy program, and capital projects that preserve the church buildings.
The Rector’s Discretionary Fund works with county agencies on core issues of poverty, including gaps that protect life, support employment, and care for children. Donations designated for the Feeding Ministry go toward food, equipment, supplies, space, and volunteer development. Capital gifts support long-term preservation of the State Street church and its role as a center for hunger ministry and spiritual formation. Designated giving reflects the church’s use of resources across worship, service, community work, and its historic buildings.
The St. James Foundation gives that long view an institutional form. Its roots reach to a $75 endowment fund established in 1910, while the Foundation itself was incorporated as an Ohio nonprofit in 1994. A seven-member board, including the rector and senior warden, oversees assets intended to provide lasting support for the parish’s missions. The Foundation protects the principal, invests prudently, and uses earnings carefully as needs change over time. Its support can supplement church operations, assist with major maintenance and capital improvements, and fund local outreach, including the Feeding Ministry.
A Church Rooted in Worship and Service
At its State Street home, St. James remains a church shaped by Scripture, Common Prayer, Eucharist, music, formation, and the active work of many hands. The 1824 parish pairs the continuity of Anglican worship with the immediate needs of Painesville, sustaining a Feeding Ministry, a renewed choir, multigenerational learning, and lay service reaching from the sanctuary to the dining room.