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ST.
JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH |
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HISTORY OF ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCHSt. James Episcopal Church began in 1955 as a mission sponsored by St. Paul’s and St. Matthias” Episcopal Churches in Shreveport. A small group of eight families first held Morning Prayer in a vacant store building in the Sunset Acres Shopping Center. The first baptismal service was held on April 3, 1955 with the baptism of Timothy Kelly, son of Brodie and Jo Kelly. The Rev. Meade Brown of St. Paul’s was the officiate. The Rev. Brown was appointed as Priest-in-Charge later that month.After losing the building lease, services for St. James were held in the Louisiana State Exhibit Building on the Louisiana State Fair Grounds until December, 1955. Meanwhile a tract of land on Marquette Street was donated by the Diocese of Louisiana and a building was purchased from Barksdale Air Force Base for worship. In March of 1957, the Rev. Alfred P. Chambliss, Jr., of Monteagle, TN, accepted the appointment of Priest-in-Charge of St. James Mission. The first service held at the church building on Marquette Street was Christmas Day, 1955.In November of 1962 Father Chambliss moved to Georgia and the Reverend Wallace H. Garrett, a native of Macon, Georgia, assumed the duties of Vicar of St. James. In 1967 land was purchased and ground was broken for a multi-purpose building on Flournoy Lucas Road, now Bert Kouns Industrial Loop. Services were first held in the plantation-style red brick building in March of 1968. The building now serves as the St. James Parish Hall.After the untimely death of Father Garrett, the Rev. Keith Hall became the vicar of St. James in 1971. In 1976 St. James became a parish of the Diocese of Louisiana and Father Hall became the first rector of St. James Episcopal Church. During Father Hall’s tenure the presently named Garrett-Hall Sunday School building was built. Plans began in 1977 to build a new church building.The present traditional church building, also of red brick, was finished and consecrated in 1985; Father Dan Krutz was the rector at that time. By this time the Diocese of Western Louisiana was in existence, formed from the 40 civil parishes in the western portion of the Diocese of Louisiana. Following the Rev. Krutz at St. James were the Rev. Rocky Proffitt, the Rev. Andrew Comeaux and the Rev. William Newby as rectors.Our present priest-in-charge is the Rev. William R. Bryant who has been a priest for 17 years after a career in the business world. He and his wife Judy have been married for 40 years, and they have two grown children and six grandchildren. |
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