This July, the St. James Episcopal Church in Midvale will celebrate St. James the Greater. St. James the Greater, also known as Saint Jacob, was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, and was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. He is the patron saint of Spain, as well as the patron saint of St. James Episcopal Church.

This year in particular the St. James Episcopal Church will have much to celebrate, along with the Feast of Saint James, they will also be celebrating their 60th anniversary of the parish. The church is a staple of the community and does its best to support and create a better and closer city. 

For example, on Sept. 23, the church will be hosting a free classic car show that aims to collect donations from the community in order to help fund their food bank. The senior warden of St. James Episcopal Church, Jessica Strout, stated, “This will be our third show and we would love the community to come see the cars, eat at one of the food trucks and participate in a fun raffle.” 

St. James Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion, the third largest group of Christians in the world. The Episcopal Church has 109 dioceses, three missions and operates in 17 nations with about 1.8 million members. On July 25, The Feast of Saint James the Apostle will be celebrated. According to legends about James’ life, he preached the gospel in Hispania and the Holy Land, and was martyred at the hands of Herod Agrippa. His body was then transported to Santiago De Compostela in northwestern Spain for burial. The exact site of his burial was lost to history, but was believed to be recovered by Theodemir of Iria, a bishop, on July 25, 812. And so Saint James is commemorated on this day.  λ