St. James' Episcopal Church

An Episcopal Church in Cedartown, Georgia

In 1878 a small group of Episcopalians held their first services in Cedartown, Georgia. Five years later, construction began on a lovely frame building on West Avenue. Up until this time, services had been held in homes, other churches, and various commercial buildings around Cedartown.  After carefully furnishing the interior of the building with appropriate pews and a hand-carved altar rail, the faithful gathered for their first worship service in the new building on April 27, 1884. Today that same building remains as a constant witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Our Faith Tradition

St. James is a member church in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, the (national) Episcopal Church and the (worldwide) Anglican Communion.  We are a liturgical church which follows the worship style of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, first published in 1549 in England and last updated for our American worship in 1979.  Our beliefs are defined in the creeds of the ancient church - the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed.  Our structure is "episcopal" (of bishops) and we trace the bishops' authority back to the original disciples through the laying on of hands.

"Liturgy" means "the work of the people" and aptly describes our interactive style of worship.  A typical Sunday worship service is always a "call and response" type of service, with the celebrant (leader) and other worship leaders offering a phrase or a reading from scripture or a prayer and the congregation offering some type of brief response.  We stand and kneel during our service.  Depending on one's personal piety (or preference) we sometimes make the sign of the cross, bow in reverence to the cross and altar, or kneel (genuflect) upon entering or exiting the church.  Beautiful brass bells call attention to profound moments during our worship.  On special feast days, we might use a little "incense" to help lift our prayers to heaven.  On occasions of baptism or the renewal of our baptismal vows, we might get sprinkled with a little "holy water" from the baptismal font.

Most importantly, at the heart of our corporate worship is our celebration of Holy Eucharist, which in essence is a prayer of thanksgiving for all the gifts we have been given from God, but particularly that of the gift of Jesus Christ.  As Episcopalians, we are "incarnation people" and believe that God made the Divine Self known to the world by taking on flesh (becoming "incarnate") in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  At the Eucharist, we receive the gifts of bread and wine offered by the people of the church, bless them and offer them back to the congregation.  The consecrated gifts are the enduring symbol of Christ's presence in our midst.  As Episcopalians, we believe that Jesus is indeed present with us through the bread and wine - transformed by our prayers into the Body and Blood of Christ.

What to Expect on Sundays

At our Sunday services, we read three to four selections from the Holy Bible: passages from the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures), the Psalms, the New Testament and the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).  Music from The Hymnal 1982 and Lift Every Voice and Sing II support the themes of the scripture readings appointed for the day.  A sermon is preached to illuminate one or more of the scripture selections.  Prayers for the church, the world, the nation and the community are offered.  A general (corporate) confession of sin is offered by the whole congregation in unison.  The Peace is exchanged - a friendly and most often lively exchange of greeting - between those present.  Then we celebrate Eucharist with the Prayer of Great Thanksgiving, using one of the various forms offered by our Prayer Book.  At the end of the service, the congregation is dismissed with the exhortation to go out into the world and do what God has asked us to do - to love and serve God's people.  It all takes about an hour.

Seasons of the Church Year

Our worship calendar follows a routine throughout the year, beginning with the season of Advent (four weeks prior to Christmas) and continuing through the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany, until we come to the penitential season of Lent.  The forty days of Lent (excluding Sundays) begin on Ash Wednesday, draw to a conclusion with special services during Holy Week and end with a grand celebration at Easter - the feast day of the resurrection.  Fifty days after Easter, we conclude this festive season with a celebration of Pentecost, the occasion remembered for the coming the Holy Spirit.  The long Season after Pentecost (or "Ordinary Time") continues throughout the summer and fall until we come back around to Advent in late November or early December.  Each season is filled with special meaning and defined by particular colors used in various appointments within the church and on the clergy vestments.

Mission and Outreach

Members of St. James are active, concerned members of the Cedartown community and generously contribute time and resources to support various community activities.  

Samaritan House provides food for those in need in our community through a food pantry, which is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:00am until 11:30am.  St. James provides volunteers to support operations for one week every four weeks.  Perishable and non-perishable foods are provided to men, women and families through the generosity and support of area churches.  Samaritan House is located at 302 Wissahickon in Cedartown.

On the last five (business) days of each month, a delicious lunch is provided for all who come to the Goodyear Community Center in Cedartown.  The kitchen is open to volunteers from 9:30am until 12:30pm.  Lunch is served about 11:30am.  St. James provides volunteers who prepare and serve the meal on the last Wednesday of each month.