St James Downley

Welcome... to St James' (CofE) Church in the Parish of Downley
part of High Wycombe Team Ministry

Our Mission:– To allow the love of God in Jesus Christ to transform our community, starting with ourselves.

Everybody's Welcome!

Our congregation is very diverse with people of all ages and backgrounds. We are well-known and much loved for our genuinely warm welcome.

Every Sunday, worship starts at 11.00am
This is usually Holy Communion

Please note: There will no communion service at 10am on a Wednesday until further notice.

CofE Logo

Church front image

**Electoral Roll Update for 2019**

In 2019 St James Church Downley is due for its six-yearly Electoral Roll update. As part of this update, we will be checking that those who are currently on the register for St James are happy to remain on the register, as well as compiling contact details for those who wish to be added to the register and/or are happy to be contacted by St James Church to receive details of future events, either by email or telephone.

St James Church Downley is committed to complying with the 2018 GDPR Legislation, and as such we will also be asking those wishing to remain on the register, and those wishing to be added to the register, to confirm their consent for St James Church Downley to retain and use their contact details for this specific purpose.

If you would like to be added to the Electoral Roll for St James Church and/or would like to update your current details, please download a copy of the Welcome to the Church form by clicking on the Download button below:

(Please fill out a copy of the form and hand it to one of our Churchwardens at one of our services, or alternatively email it to one of our Churchwardens - you can find the contact details on our Contact Us page)

If you would like to download and view a copy of our Data Policy, please click on the Download button below:

**Current Vacancy - Team Vicar**

St James Church Downley are currently seeking a half-time Team Vicar, with special responsibility for the 20s to 30s age groups and family development, to help us build and develop God’s church in this urban location in Buckinghamshire.

He or she will regularly officiate at Sunday Services, where these are not lay led, and at weddings, baptisms and funerals, as these occur. In addition this role would involve:

· Giving encouragement to us in our own prayer life and spirituality.

· Sharing our vision for the future and providing the motivation and leadership skill to guide us towards achieving these objectives.

· Working with us to release the gifts and ministries within our church community and know when and how to inspire others to use their talents and being able to delegate tasks appropriately.

· Offering sympathetic leadership within the local communities and being able to communicate at all levels.

· Giving time and energy to the needs of young people from toddlers to teenagers, young adults and families, in our church, in local schools and in the wider community.

Further details of the role can be found in the Team Vicar profile, which you can view by clicking the download button below:

If you or anyone that you know are interested in the role or would like to apply, please visit the posting on the Church of England website by clicking here.

(PLEASE NOTE: The closing date for applications is Sunday 10th March 2019.

Follow St James' Church on Facebook:- https://www.facebook.com/stjameschurchdownley/

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All of us connected with St James' believe it is a very special place to worship

...and to find fellowship with other Christians, not to mention those who are just browsing!

People come from across the town to worship with us - will you be one of them?

Those of us based in the Anglican tradition have a wide experience and understanding of how we can worship God. You could say we are the Church of England in a nutshell!

But what we all have in common is a desire to become more like Jesus Christ every day of our lives, not just on Sunday!

We are situated just off the top of Plomer Hill in Downley, which is the western most parish belonging to the wider High Wycombe Team Ministry (read more about the churches that belong to the Team Ministry, plus a few others, here ).

When you see the church, you might be forgiven for thinking it's a family home because it looks like a modern bungalow. But perhaps this is appropriate. We want St James' to feel like home, somewhere that people of all ages will be happy to be themselves whether they come for worship or other events. Mind you, there aren't many family homes with such a big car park at the front!

St James' wants to be a place where people can confidently start or carry on their journey of faith; a place which is prayerful but not pompous, a place which nurtures young and old alike.

Our logo is a scallop shell.

Scallop Shell It is the traditional symbol for St James the Apostle, one of Jesus' very first followers and someone who helped take the Christian faith to different parts of the world.

But why a scallop shell?
St James was a fisherman by trade until he left his family to follow Jesus. By doing so, his life was changed forever. Instead of fishing for scallops, he was to become, in Jesus' words "a fisher of people".

Read more about the life of St James here

As you might expect, our logo is a familiar feature in church. For example, the scoop sometimes used to pour water over the head of someone being baptised (christened) is a silver scallop shell. In the porch, you will see a wooden sculpture in the shape of a scallop shell. Our roadside signage and official letterhead also carries the logo.

How does the logo relate to the life of St James' Church?

Jesus told his first followers that if they went with him, they would become fishers of people. It was a huge step for any individual to do so but they put their faith in him and, in turn, their lives were transformed. They kept close to Jesus, learning from him but, most importantly, coming to the understanding that he was the Messiah, but not just that long-hoped for leader who would lead the people of that land out of oppression.

Through his distinctive teaching and specifically his death and resurrection, Jesus would lead the whole world into a fresh understanding of God. Essentially, Jesus taught that it was possible to know God intimately and be known by him just as deeply. He also taught that His apostles (meaning 'messengers') were charged with taking this amazing gospel (meaning 'good news message') all over the world. In St James' case, it was taken as far as Spain.

All of us at St James' Church are the modern day recipients of that message. We now share in the role that Jesus gave his apostles; that of passing on the gospel through our words and actions. Interestingly, when Jesus invited James to join him, he didn't say James would become a 'trawler of people', he used the simple word 'fisher', someone who catches fish one by one.

Anyone who has done any fishing will know that it takes a lot of patience and dedication. For Christians, one of our chief responsibilities is to call, just as Jesus did, people into a conscious relationship with God. But, just like fishing, we have to do so in a way which is patient, gentle and dedicated to helping the individual find their way to God.

We hope that you too will want to join us in our quest to become 'fishers of people'. Yet, even if you're "just looking", you will be made every bit as welcome.

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