St. James, Meltham Mills

This Church owes its existence to the influence of the Brook family who seem to have moved to the area from Manningham in the late 1770's when William Brook arrived. His son, James Brook owned James Brook & Sons, one of the largest mills in the area. In 1838 a dual purpose building was erected by James Brook, to serve both as a school and a church with private dwellings at each end for the minister and school master. This building was soon found to be too small and plans were approved for another church building.

The new Church was consecrated in 1845. The former building was then used as a Sunday and Day school until its closure in 1962. A parsonage was built in 1856, though the congregation had to wait until 1931 for electricity to be installed in the Church.

The cemetery contains many gravestones with monumental inscriptions to various members of the Brook family who gave much to the area, including a new school, built in 1856 by Charles Brook and the People's Pleasure Grounds provided by Charles Brook, junior.

Outreach and Mission
Weekly Sunday Services
All services begin at 10 a.m

1st Sunday in the month
Family Holy Communion

2nd Sunday in the month
'5 Alive'5pm - 6pm in the Church
A service for all ages.
An informal service with puppets, drama songs and prayers, led by all ages!
You are welcome to come for afternoon tea at 4:30pm,
please bring some food to share
3rd Sunday in the month
Holy Communion
Children in Groups

4th Sunday in the month
Morning Worship with Meditation
Children in Groups

There are two House Groups which meet weekly to explore and deepen faith.

Vicar of the Parish of Christ the King, Meltham:
Rev. Maureen Read: Telephone: 01484 850050

Priest with responsibility for St. James' Church, Meltham Mills:
Rev Peter Rolls : Enquiries - 01484 340342

History
The church has an evangelical tradition and the Church’s patrons are the Simeon’s Trustees.

The Church building was erected in 1845 by Charles Brook, a local mill owner to serve the community who were mainly his employees. In 1984, the building was substantially altered internally to meet modern day requirements giving a worship area, crèche, hall, kitchen and toilets. There is also disabled access with accesss to the main areas of the building and a disabled toilet.

Worship and Church Family
St. James’ Church has a number of young families attending but the variety of the services that are held cater for both young and old alike. There is a Creche avaiable for Pre- School aged children.

Children's groups: Twice a month the children meet together in the hall to worship in age appropriate ways and learn more about the Christian faith. During the other services, children are very welcome to attend as the whole church family participate in worship together.

The Church encourages and values lay involvement in every area of its life. Worship is accompanied by a mixture of traditional hymns and modern songs led by the organ and the Worship Groups.

After being involved in the charismatic movement in the 1970s the church continues to seek and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Mission
St. James’ has a strong commitment to mission.

Linked through the South American Mission Society / and CMS the church supports work in Spain and Brazil, and linked through CMS supports work in the Philippines. The church family help to support financially and in prayer a crèche in Olinda, Brazil, formed to care for babies and toddlers, and supports the work of the Mustard Seed Project in Uganda. Each year the church holds an event to support the work of CRISIS, a national organisation for the homeless and Traidcraft and Tearcraft goods are on sale during the year.

Finance
St James puts a strong emphasis on direct giving rather than fundraising. Over two thirds of the income is received through covenant giving. For many years the church has maintained a policy of donating at least 10% of their income to charities and other missionary giving.

Pre-School
St. James’ Church Pre- School meets in the church hall (within the church) 5 mornings per week and enjoy a good reputation and are Ofsted approved.Opening times are 9:15am till 12:15pm. For more information contact Jane Morrow on 07747894749 term time only.
Events:
'5 Alive' Priaise and Worship service at St James' Church Meltham Mills 5-6pm
Sunday 29th April: 4:30pm - bring some food to share
'5 Alive' multi generational worship at St James' Church 5-6pm
Sunday 20th May. Food served from 4:30pm (bring some along to share)