Welcome From The Rector
Dear Beloved,Welcome to the parish of St. James’ Episcopal Church, Arlington, in The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. St. James’ was founded in 1764 twelve years before the Revolutionary War began and is the oldest parish in the Diocese of Vermont. The present building was completed in 1833 but the congregation of St. James’ has been meeting in homes and other church buildings since 1764.
St. James’ is a very special place, something I hope you feel the moment you enter our front door. It is warm and inviting and upon entering the Nave or the main part of church, I hope you feel that this is a Spirit filled place. The air is electric with the Spirit’s presence. It is a holy place; a place of prayer; a place where people have come together to worship and praise God for almost 250 years. Over these past two and half centuries we have developed into a loving, caring community of believers.
We are not Biblical literalists at St. James’. We believe that the Bible contains many truths within its covers; we take the Bible seriously, but not literally. Each generation has the responsibility to ‘hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people’ and to live and grow into God’s Love. We are to read and interpret the Word with an eye toward the world today. We are called to go out into the world and proclaim the Good News of Christ to the world around us; to love God and neighbor with our whole heart.
We take our Baptismal Covenant seriously; we do our best to continue in the apostle’s teachings and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers; we work to persevere in resisting evil and when we fall into sin we repent and return to the Lord; we do our best to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ; we strive to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; and we strive for justice and peace among all people, and endeavor to respect the dignity of every human being. This is a huge calling and we know that we can achieve these things only with God’s help.
It is through this understanding that we are able to come together as a family and gather around the table and be fed with spiritual food and drink, the Body and Blood of Christ. “As it was with Jesus, the people of St. James believe in “open table” fellowship. All people present for the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist are welcome to receive the blessed bread and wine, the sacrament of Christ’s love for us.”
If you are looking for a spiritual home or a place to simply rest for awhile on your spiritual journey, we hope that you will consider St. James’ to be that place.
The Rev. Scott B. Neal, Rector
The 2008 St. James Vestry
Marilyn King, Rector's Warden
Robert Brower, Special Projects Warden
Sue Claro, Parish Life Warden
David Durfee, Worship Warden
Carol Farley, Christian Formation Warden
June Sherwin, Missions & Outreach Warden
Steve Smith, Administrative Warden
Joanna Taylor, Finance Warden
