At the behest of three women in the town of Clinton (now a part of
Oakland) Fr. Benjamin Akerly began Episcopal services in the living room of
a local home in 1858. One of them convinced her non-Episcopalian husband
to donate a lot. The women raised the funds for the building which was
constructed and occupied in 1860. Akerly said, "we owe it ... to the women
of the Parish, that we have a house of worship." The congregation was
formally organized as the Church of the Advent.
Most churches rented pews to raise money. Without fanfare, Advent
decided to join the new movement-- free pews. All people were welcomed and
seated where they chose. Income was from voluntary donation.
A series of short pastorates followed, during which the
congregation grew slowly. In spite of many baptisms and a large Sunday
school, the adult membership remained small. The women of the Church
continued to raise critical funds for major local needs, but income was
always small and finances were difficult. The congregation remained
distant from the Diocesan structure; the Bishop rarely visited, and the
congregation made few contributions to the various Diocesan funds.
In 1880 the church building was moved to a larger lot seven blocks
away. The interior of the building was renovated, and the congregation
grew.
For the next quarter century the Parish had a period of prosperity.
Throughout the period there were about four women communicants for each
male communicant. Without substantial funds or financing, Henry Lathrop,
the new Rector, daringly began the construction of a new church on the
vacant portion of the lot in 1886. It was ten years before the debt was
erased, and that happened only because of a "challenge grant" from John
Valentine, the Senior Warden who also was President of the Wells Fargo
Company. Yet, even during this period, the finances present the picture of
a Parish which was largely in-ward looking.
During the period of prosperity, the Church of the Advent depended
on its clergy. During Lathrop's year-long final illness in 1894, the
membership declined by 25%, and rebounded under new clergy. In 1905,
during the final year of another Rector, communicant membership dropped by
33%. The period of relative prosperity was at an end.
Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, there were three
refugee camps within 8 blocks of the Church. However, without a Rector,
the congregation took no notice of those needy people. It was a
continuation of the inward focus.
A five year period of stagnation ended with the Rector being
deposed from the priesthood. Then for 15 years the Parish was in a state
of decline; even the building was in great disrepair.
In 1927 the Church of the Advent merged with St. Philip's, a
mission congregation in the upper Fruitvale District. Fr. W. H. G.
Battershill, of St. Philip's became the Rector of the merged congregation.
He wanted to move the church from the poor "flatlands" to a wealthier
hillside development-- St. James Woods. So, he arranged to change the
church's name to "St. James." Mortgages were gotten for repairs and the
purchase of a Rectory, and the struggle to repay continued for 16 years.
Finally, Battershill paid 85% of the cost of the Rectory. Though the
number of parishioners increased, Battershill reported "many being out of
work for years and living on relief doles." Up to Battershill's forced
retirement in 1955, there seemed to be an inverse relationship between
membership and income-- membership increased while income decreased. Then
the reverse happened. The Battershill family provided and secured the
major income for the Parish, but its income was constantly less than its
proper minimal expenditures. During the late 1930's a few Afro-Americans
began to attend St. James.
Under the leadership of Fr. Frederick Lattimore (1957-1972), St.
James experienced some growth. The number of Afro-American parishioners
increased, and they were allowed to take leadership roles. The worship
space was renovated and other buildings and grounds projects completed.
Lattimore wanted to build a senior citizens' housing project and arranged
for the purchase of adjacent property, and the construction of a large
parking lot. Project financing could not be arranged, so the Parish was
left with several new mortgages.
During a brief rectorship from late 1972 to 1976 the Parish was
stagnant. Indeed, the rector expected to "preside over the death of this
Parish." Two volunteer clergy joined the staff: John Rawlinson and Ellen
McIlroy. For many years, McIlory had been a national leader in the
movement for the ordination of women, and she was one of the first women
ordained to the priesthood in California. Once more the ministry of women
was important in the life of St. James. Rawlinson and McIlroy served as
Co-pastors from 1976 through 1984, when McIlroy left. Since then, Fr.
Rawlinson has been the pastor.
In early 1982 Fr. Rawlinson began visiting a seriously injured
Korean Anglican. As a result, other Korean Anglicans began attending St.
James, and a layreader was appointed. In 1983 a bi-lingual Korean was
elected to the Vestry. However, the national Asian ministry official was
not allowed to provide the Parish with a Korean prayer book, and in 1984
the Bishop chose to establish the Korean ministry in another location. So,
Korean ministry was not successful at St. James.
Then, in early 1984 Ricardo Frances, a former Jesuite priest,
agreed to work with Fr. Rawlinson in establishing an Hispanic ministry at
St. James. Frances met people on the streets, and in their homes for
several months. Then, on May 6, 1984 the first Spanish-language Mass was
conducted. Attendance was sparse for many months, then regular and stable
attendance began. At the time, Fr. Rawlinson spoke no Spanish, and worked
hard to learn to read Spanish aloud; later, with the support of the
Diocese, he had brief periods of language study. The Hispanic parishioners
are from several Latin countries.
In recent years the Parish has been blessed by the active
participation of people from Belize and Liberia. They have enriched our
lives and expanded our vision. They have made St. James a more diverse
community of faith.
St. James is a bi-lingual Parish which believes that "we are ONE
people of God, with two languages." Usually we have separate language
services, but for special occasions the services and activities are
bi-lingual. We work to understand and respect cultural and linguistic
differences, while building friendships within the community of faith.