Parish Life


  • Supper Group meets monthly at area restaurants and organizes other activities such as trips to baseball games, picnics and occasional theater and field trips. About 12 to 15 people join the monthly dinners, and rides are available for those without transportation.


  • Book Club meets monthly over dinner at either a member's home or a restaurant on the third Wednesday of each month to discuss the current book selection.


  • Writers Group comes together online twice a month.


  • Spring and fall church clean-ups and a summer tag sale are additional volunteer  opportunities.


  • Website and online presence:  a powerful way to connect with parishioners, the community and Episcopalians near and far. About 20-30 people regularly view services weekly on Zoom or YouTube. Saturday "reminder" emails are sent to about 195 parishioners and friends and are also posted on the St. James Facebook page. Tuesday church emails go to those same parishioners and friends, plus our Southeastern Region contacts, for a total of 210 weekly. The website receives about 200 page visits a week. Our Facebook page has 998 followers. Our Instagram page continues to grow; currently with 964 followers.


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St. James celebrated the 300th anniversary of its founding in 2025 with meaningful activities and commemorations to highlight the history and accomplishments that are the story of our church in New London. One of these was the Witness Stones Project, which "seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities." An event on May 5 honored the lives and humanity of the two slaves recorded in Bishop Samuel Seabury's 1796 estate inventory: Nell, 38, and her daughter Rose, 9. The event was the capstone of a history class project at the Williams School in New London. Students studied archival documents newly researched by our parish historian and the Witness Stones Project staff, and the the students gave their presentations in the church at this event. The 60-voice Killingly High School choir also performed, under the direction of our choirmaster and organist, Jason Largent.. The memorial Witness Stones for Nell and Rose have been placed in front of the church near the intersection of Huntington and Federal Streets. The YouTube recording of the event can be seen by clicking here.


We also had a celebratory choral Evensong service commemorating the 240th anniversary of the consecration of Samuel Seabury as our country's first American Episcopal Bishop in 1784. While serving as bishop, Seabury was also the pastor of St. James from 1785 until his death in 1796. A celebratory Eucharist and dinner event with CT Bishop Jeffrey Mello was held on June 7th.