Following Jesus is a core value at St James Anglican which has an evangelical tradition and emphasis on Bible teaching. This bible teaching church with an evangelical tradition caters for people of all ages, has strong missionary links and outreach. St James is a wonderful community of people journeying through life together following Jesus as our Lord, Saviour and Friend. The people of St James have been proclaiming the love and grace of Jesus since 1908. Our purpose as a Christian Community is to be Following Jesus and Loving People which will Change Lives. Our vision is to be Growing Connected Communities which are Strong, Healthy and Vibrant. We express this by gathering together in a variety of worship services, LifeGroups and engaging in our communities of work, learning, play and living. We’d love to say ‘Hi’ in person and have a chat over a tea or coffee so please join with us and find out more about us at one of our St James community gatherings.
Chinese Ministry at St James – 本堂特設中文部負責華人信徒的牧養及福音的傳播. 本堂華人牧師多年在墨爾本照顧移民, 兒童及青少年的培育工作. 我們希望在本 區建立一個守望相助的華人团体. 我們相信三位一体創世真神, 我們確認我們需要耶穌基督赦罪的救恩. 我們願意學習聖經真理, 並以上帝聖道指引我們的人生旅程. 敬請與我們聯絡, 讓我們彼此認識, 並在屬靈生命一起成長, 一同領受上帝無窮厚恩. 歡迎致电張黃燕芬牧師 0403 380 837
Services range from the traditional such as the Thursday morning Holy Communion Service where the 1662 Prayer Book is used to more contemporary worship at some of the other services. A Chinese Mandarin Service is held at 1.30pm on Sunday. All services are reflective focusing on the Word of God, prayer, praise and worship.
Stephen was inducted as our Vicar in 2013. Prior to coming to St. James he ministered for 22 years in parishes in the Bendigo Diocese before moving the Melbourne Diocese in 2008 to serve in the Parish of Mount Dandenong.
Stephen is married to Kathryn and they have two adult daughters Rachel and Kirsty. Rachel is married to Jon. Their son Harry is the newest arrival in the family and Stephen and Kathryn’s first grandchild.
Stephen is passionate about the church being a place of welcome, nurture and mission; a place where Christ is proclaimed with integrity in word and deed and a place where God’s word is faithfully preached and applied.
In his spare time Stephen, enjoys keeping fit, playing golf, reading, sudokus and cryptic crosswords. He is an Essendon supporter.
Jessica was born in Hong Kong and she migrated to Australia 25 years ago. Jessica is married to Rick with two adult sons Dietrich and Calvin. Over the years Jessica has been working with Chinese migrants and international students. Jessica is a priest and she works in parishes, universities and grammar schools. She speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Please feel free to contact her for any referral, concerns or issues in Christian faith.
張黃燕芬牧師出生於中國香港. 廾五年前移居澳洲, 在墨爾本聖公會神學院接受造就. 按牧前後多年負責華人開荒及牧養工作, 與主流西人教會合作興起福音事工. 張牧師對兒童, 婦女及青少年工作素有心得, 多年在大學及中學培訓學生, 並積極關注華人家庭生活的平衡和協調. 各界人士歡迎與張牧師聯絡, 一同砌磋人生及信仰真道.
Fiona joined our ministry team on February 1st 2016. She has a wide experience of work and ministry with children. She has worked in parish ministry over many years, and in a range of roles with CMS and Scripture Union. Fiona has two teenage daughters. Her passion is to engage children in the bible narrative so that they develop their faith continuously as they grow into adulthood. Fiona enjoys mind puzzles, and keeping fit.
Jeff commenced ministering to St James’ Church at 3081 in May 2017. He also serves as the College Chaplain at Charles La Trobe P-12 College in Macleod. He is married to Cheryl and they have 2 adult children. Mark who is married to Emma and Eva who is married to James. Cheryl and Jeff have 4 delightful grandchildren that keep them busy. Jeff’s passion is in the pastoral care of people and in social justice. You can catch Jeff on Monday, Tuesday or come along to our service on Saturday mornings at 10am.
Steve joined our staff team in July 2017. Steve has worked in youth and young adults ministry since 2011, across different churches in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. He is passionate about seeing young people empowered and equipped to be the best followers of Jesus that they can be. Steve is married to Ione and in his spare time enjoys road cycling, watching and playing sport, supporting the Western Bulldogs, and reading.
Lynne was a member of St. James parish before she took on the role as Pastoral Care Coordinator. Lynne has a great passion and love for people. She generally works on a Thursday and sometimes on a Friday. She also coordinates and trains a team of volunteer pastoral carers.
Carol has been our Office Manager for over 5 years. She is married to Nabil and has two daughters. The office is open from 9am to 12pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. You can contact Carol for any of your administrative needs.
The parish council and wardens are members of St James who have been elected to take responsibility for the running of the church.
Wardens: Nabil Elhage, Zbig Andrzejewski, and Kent Williamson
Parish Council : Leith Elliott, Veena Lingam, Wendy Ogden, Saku Ratnam (Treasurer), Tony Yang, Bob Zheng.
St James has a long history in the Ivanhoe area. Anglican residents of Ivanhoe have been worshipping locally since 1854, initially in a wooden school building at the corner of Waterdale Road and Upper Heidelberg Road. This congregation was part of the Parish of St John’s, Heidelberg. By the early 1900’s the congregation had grown considerably and in 1908 the foundation stone of the present building was laid by the Governor of Victoria, and the Parish of St James’, Ivanhoe, was formed with the Rev Roscoe Wilson (later Dean of Melbourne) as incumbent. The vicarage was built in 1910 and the hall in 1914.
In February 1915 St James’ Grammar School (later Ivanhoe Grammar School) opened in the parish hall with 14 pupils. The Rev Sydney Buckley combined the roles of vicar of the parish and headmaster of the school. Miss Frances Lowe was granted use of part of the hall for her school, ‘Cooerwull’ (later Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School).
On 11 September 1915, a stained glass window was dedicated to the memory of a parishioner, Len Everett, who died on the first Anzac Day (25 April, 1915). In 2003 the Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School centenary window was installed and dedicated. St James has many stains glass windows including the work of Napier Waller. For a history of the Stained Glass at St James click here – St James stained glass PDF.
The church building was extended in 1938 and renovated in 1981, leaving the building as it is today. Golden Jubilee celebrations were a feature of 1958, and, after active fund-raising, the Parish Centre was built in 1961.
In the Bicentenary Year of Australia, 1988, the parish had a very successful reunion of many former parishioners to celebrate 80 years of worship at St James’.
1989 saw the closure of the daughter church, St Stephen’s, Darebin, and the dedication of the side chapel as “St Stephen’s Chapel”, where most of the stained glass windows from that church were placed. The majority are the work of the artist, Napier Waller.
Although Anglicans have been worshiping in the area since 1854 it was in October 2008 the people of St James’ celebrated 100 years of parish life in Ivanhoe. It was a celebration of God’s faithfulness and many came to renew friendships and to give thanks to God.