Serving in Christ's Name

St. James' Women of The ELCA prepared sack lunches for a rally for the South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association (SCSCIA) on March 6. The SCSCIA gives hope and assistance to all those who have suffered spinal cord injuries in our state. It is estimated that more than 12,000 people in our country experience spinal cord injuries every year from vehicular accidents, sports, falls, violence, and military combat. We pray for those with spinal cord injuries, that they would be given strength and would be filled with God's peace. 

All ladies of the church are invited to join us at our next WELCA meeting on Tuesday, March 19, at 7PM, when we will be welcoming a guest speaker from Sister Care.  

Lowman Home Luncheon at St. James

The Women of the ELCA at St. James are hosting guests from the Lowman Home for a luncheon in our fellowship hall on Saturday, March 24, at 12PM. They will enjoy food, fellowship, and music provided by our God Rockz handbell choir.

Lutheran Groups at St. James

On January 30, the Lutheran Men in Mission had their quarterly Saxe-Gotha Conference Gathering here at St. James. Wow! What a crowd we had. We welcomed guest speaker, Doug Haugen.

Our Women of the ELCA also met that evening, and made plans for the many different ways in which they will serve people in our congregation and in the community this year. One of those ways is through their annual dinner they provide free of charge to USC students, which will take place in February.

Our Lutheran Girls met on January 14. Their focus this month was on the story of Queen Esther. They had a class in makeup that was based on the story of Esther, and they also received charm bracelets that had charms for each of the skills they have learned this past year.

What fun it is to be Lutheran, and to work and learn together as we share the good news of Jesus Christ in this world!

Hunger And Thirst No More

The Women of St. James as well as our Lutheran Girl Pioneers used our time and our skills to put on a bake sale and a cake auction this month. The purpose of all of our baking was to earn money for our sister synod in Tanzania, as our Christian brothers and sisters miles and miles away continue to suffer through a time of drought. The money we earned will go toward the purchase and building of pipelines to make water accessible to these Tanzanian village people.

Another exciting project that we have taken on this Fall has been to help school children at nearby Red Bank Elementary School who go hungry on the weekends because of no food in their homes. We are currently accepting donations of individually pre-packaged foods, such as mac and cheese, ramen noodles, juice boxes, poptarts, fruit or pudding cups, and chef boyardee food items.

Together, we fight hunger and thirst in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to set the prisoner free, to make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the hungry to be filled, and the world to know of his love!

WELCA Sunday

This Sunday, February 27th, was Bold Women's Day, a day when the Women of the ELCA led us in celebrating all women followers of Jesus, who take risks on account of the gospel. The mission of the Women of the ELCA is to mobilize women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ. During our worship service, we honored Mrs. Helen Monts, (11/5/26-10/10/10), a woman who was bold in her faith and who was a faithful member of the Women of the ELCA throughout her lifetime. We give thanks for Helen and for so many others like her, who make Christ known in this church and in the world.

All Lutheran women are invited to take part in monthly Women of the ELCA meetings beginning with a shared dinner with the Lutheran Men in Mission at 6:30PM, and then breaking up into our groups for bible study and service projects. Check our church calendar online to find out when our next meeting will be held.
The Women of the ELCA at St. James is also starting a new group for the girls of our church called Lutheran Girl Pioneers, that will meet regularly to hear about women in the Bible and to practice basic skills together including sewing, cooking, babysitting, and other fun activities. Our first Lutheran Girl Pioneers meeting will be held on Saturday, March 26, at 9:30 AM. Please call the church office for more details.

Come To The Waters

The SC Women of the ELCA had their annual convention this weekend at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in Lexington, and some of our own ladies from St. James were there in attendance. This year, the theme was, "Come to The Waters," and these ladies celebrated the ways that Christ's living water flows in their lives and in the lives of others around them. Together, they engaged in a service project to collect bingo prizes for five different Lutheran homes in SC. They also attended various seminars that included subjects such as Prayer Journaling, Latino Ministries, and Spiritual Yoga. The ladies of WELCA at St. James invite all of the women at our church to join us as we gather together again this fall to do women's ministries in Christ's name.

Mother-Daughter Banquet

This weekend, the ladies of our church gathered together to celebrate grandmoms, moms, daughters and sisters. Our guest speaker was Ms. Cristy Fossum, author of the series, Sunday by Sunday, a fictional tale about Lutheran women and their common spiritual questions, joys and sorrows througout their lives of faith.

What a wonderful time our ladies had together today as they learned more about Ms. Fossum's book, and they celebrated their sisterhood in Christ.

Bold Women

This past Sunday was Women of the ELCA Sunday, when the women of our church helped to lead the worship service. Part of the service included an offering of 21 blankets and shawls. These handmade items were knitted and crocheted by St. James' own "Stitchers for Christ," a group of ladies who gather together on the third Thursday of every month at 7PM. These shawls and blankets were blessed by Pastor Andrea, and will soon be sent out to people in need of comfort and solace, joy and celebration. We pray that all who receive these handmade gifts will see the shawls and blankets as signs of God's unconditional love, in which they are covered forever.