The Rev. Dr. Kate Cress, rector of St. James’ in the City, Los Angeles, reads gospel Nov. 23 during Sunday Eucharist marking return to church after 16-month renovation. In 2026, sanctuary will mark its 100th year. Photo: Doug Jones
The singing of Sir Hubert Parry’s soaring anthem “I was glad when they said unto me (let us go to the house of the Lord)” – its text drawn from Psalm 122 – epitomized the spirit of two celebratory liturgies marking parishioners’ return to L.A.’s almost-one-century-old St. James’ Episcopal Church, reopened Nov. 22-23 after an 16-month renovation.
Composed in 1902 for the coronation of Britain’s King Edward VII in Westminster Abbey and offered at the crowning of subsequent monarchs, the quintessentially English work was sung at Sunday morning’s Eucharist by the parish choir and alumni assembled in honor of the concurrent retirement of Canon James Buonemani, organist and director of music at St. James’ for nearly 31 years. Under his leadership the choir of St. James in 1996 became the first U.S. choir to sing in residence at the fabled abbey.
“Today, this morning, is so special, so significant in our life together,” said the Rev. Dr. Kate Cress in her stirring sermon preached to mark the Feast of Christ the King, the final Sunday of the church year. Watch the sermon / service here.
“We have re-entered this beautiful sanctuary, we are cherishing our final moments with… our beloved director of music and friend, Canon Jim Buonemani, and it’s important to ask this question on this threshold: “How are we here at St. James going to lead and serve and inspire others to lead and serve for the next 100 years?”
Cress added: “How are we going to make this neighborhood and this city and this world more just, more humane, a more loving place to live? … How can we use the power that we do have not just benevolently but transformatively in the lives of others? I know we can, and I know we will – just as our beautiful space has been made new, our new realm. Let our hearts be refreshed and made new on this holy day.”
Los Angeles Bishop-elect Antonio Gallardo addressed the congregation during Saturday’s evensong, the parish’s first service back in the landmark sanctuary since St. James’ Day, 2024. “I congratulate all of you, the congregation, for this beautifully renovated space, dedicated to praise and worship God in community,” he said, adding appreciation for Buonemani and his musical leadership. “I also thank all of those involved in the great food program… being angels of God in feeding the hungry and unhoused. May God continue to bless your ministry.”
A gift from Bishop John Harvey Taylor, an illuminated manuscript of the scripture John 3:16 selected for the milestone occasion, was presented on behalf of the Diocese of Los Angeles. The framed verse was crafted by master calligrapher Vincent Mazzucchelli, parishioner of St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood, who at age 98 was born the year after the 1926 completion of St. James’ Church. The verse’s focus on God’s love was selected to echo the “labor of love” that guided the church renovation.
“What more can you say on an occasion like this than it’s good to be home,” said the Rev. Jon Feuss, associate rector of St. James’, in his homily during the evensong. After recounting the process of repairing and enhancing the church, he asked: “But why did we do all of this?” The improvements “enliven our souls and draw us closer to the source of eternal beauty,” he said. “Stones from earth united with living stones…. May this sacred place continue to preach and live out” Christ’s gospel “for generations to come.”
Ken Robbins, senior warden of St. James’, during the evensong added remarks expressing his gratitude, and during both Saturday and Sunday services, Cress and Feuss highlighted and thanked the construction, restoration, and design professionals whose work brought about the renovation. These include general contractor Kaptive Construction and Preservation with work coordinated by Mikael Alinger; Dr. Saum Nour, architect; Willet Hauser stained glass studios, Reason One sound and lighting, and noted church interior designer Rhett Judice for stonework added in the chancel area and a star-motif ceiling added to the baptistry.
Cress and Feuss added their gratitude that all work – funded by a capital campaign conceived and coordinated by Feuss – was completed on time and under budget. Projects included roofing, plumbing, and electrical repairs along with installation of an HVAC system for heating and cooling. Work proceeded after St. James’ received approval that the church is structurally sound under city earthquake codes.
Additional features – including a replacement crown to the Gothic Revival church’s 100-foot-tall bell tower, and the installation of statues in previously unfilled niches on the façade – will follow in coming weeks, Feuss said. Selected by vote of the congregation, the four 3D-printed statues are likenesses of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Bishop Sungsoo Simon Kim of Seoul, Korea; Massachusetts Bishop Suffragan Barbara Harris, the first woman ordained to the episcopate in the Anglican Communion; and the parish patron, St. James.
Located at 3903 Wilshire Boulevard, St. James’ Church – designed by architect Benjamin McDougall – stands at a nexus of L.A.’s Wilshire Center, Koreatown, and Hancock Park districts. Through the decades, the church – in recent years dubbed “St. James’ in the City” – has been the site of significant ministries including the on-site St. James’ Episcopal School serving students in grades K-6.
After first services were held in 1908, the congregation was formally organized in 1912. Four of the parish’s rectors went on to become bishops: Arizona’s Smith; George Barrett of Rochester, N.Y.; Ivol Curtis, suffragan of Los Angeles and later diocesan of Olympia, Wash.; and Robert Terwilliger, suffragan of Dallas.
The renovated St. James’ Church is home to the David John Falconer Memorial Organ, an instrument that includes the historic 1911 Murray Harris Organ that served L.A.’s former St. Paul’s Cathedral on two sites before their demolition, the first to make way for the Biltmore Hotel and the second due to damage suffered during the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. Installation of the organ in St. James’ Church was made possible by extensive funding from the Ahmanson Foundation.
The liturgical calendar’s Nov. 22 commemoration of St. Cecelia, patron of music, was a fitting backdrop for the evensong which featured works by composers including L.A.’s Morten Lauridsen, with whom Buonemani has collaborated through the years.
Veteran church music director Bruce Neswick, most recently in residence at St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in La Jolla, Calif., has been named interim music director to succeed Buonemani. More information about the parish’s Great Music series is online at www.stjla.org; with upcoming offerings including the popular Advent Procession of Lessons and Carols set for 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14.
–Robert Williams, diocesan canon for common life, is editor-in-chief of The Episcopal News and a longtime parishioner of St. James’ Church. During the Nov. 22 Evensong he presented the illuminated manuscript gift to the parish on behalf of Bishop John Harvey Taylor.