St. James' Episcopal Church

Funeral
2025-08-02 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States

Adult Sewing Class (Parish Hall)
2025-08-01 17:00 - 19:00, 2025-07-25 17:00 - 19:00 | HP Farmers Market

[New Deal] Musical Theatre Camp (Parish Hall)
2025-08-01 08:30 - 16:30, 2025-07-31 08:30 - 16:30, 2025-07-30 08:30 - 16:30, 2025-07-29 08:30 - 16:30, 2025-07-28 08:30 - 16:30 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States

Summer Hangs @ St. James'
2025-07-31 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-07-24 18:30 - 20:30 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States
On Thursday evenings from about 6:30 pm, starting on June 26th, come by to hang out on the church front lawn—no agenda, just good company.
You might bring a chair or blanket, a game, or snack or drink to share. You could bring a book or a craft! The church will be open for prayer and air-conditioning (and the restroom).

Evening Prayer (Online)
2025-07-30 18:30 - 19:00, 2025-07-23 18:30 - 19:00 | Online
Join us online every Wednesday at 6:30 pm for a brief service of Evening Prayer led by Deacon Gail. Please email the parish office at stjames.hydepark@gmail.com to request the Zoom link.

Bible Study (Online)
2025-07-30 11:00 - 12:15, 2025-07-23 11:00 - 12:15 | Online
Our weekly Bible study on Zoom usually focuses on the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday and is led by Mtr. Meredith. We practice a contemplative, prayerful style of Bible study that focuses on how God is speaking to us through our questions, responses, curiosities and doubts as we engage Scripture.
The study is followed by a brief, optional service of noonday prayer.
Join in any Wednesday at 11 am. No previous preparation is required. The Zoom link is distributed via our weekly email newsletter (or contact the parish office).

Knit+Craft+Chat (Wilks Room)
2025-07-28 13:30 - 15:30, 2025-07-21 13:30 - 15:30 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States
A community of crafters and conversationalists meets Mondays from 2-4 pm (drop-in) at St. James’ Episcopal Church in the Wilks Room of our Parish House. We are a friendly group: knitters, embroiderers, crocheters, conversationalists and miscellaneous other activities. All are welcome; no previous skill is required.

Hyde Park Group AA Annual Party (Parish Hall)
2025-07-27 17:30 - 21:00 | HP Farmers Market

Sunday Worship—Holy Eucharist, Rite II with Sunday School and Coffee Hour
2025-07-27 10:00 - 11:30, 2025-07-20 10:00 - 11:30 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States
Join us Sundays at 10:00 a.m. for a celebration of Holy Eucharist (Communion). This service has music (usually organ and choir, along with special guest musicians) and uses a variety of prayers and language from traditional to inclusive and expansive, drawing from Rite II of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Enriching Our Worship, and other sources.
Coffee hour in the Parish House usually follows this service.
Sunday School for kindergarten and up meets today on the second floor of the Parish House at 10:00 a.m. Students will rejoin the congregation just before Holy Communion. New to St. James’ Church? Your kids are welcome to Sunday School any Sunday. More details about St. James’ Sunday School at: https://stjameshydepark.org/for-children/

Sunday Worship—Holy Eucharist, Rite I
2025-07-27 08:00 - 09:00, 2025-07-20 08:00 - 09:00 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States
Join us Sundays at 8:00 a.m. for a celebration of Holy Eucharist (Communion). This is a quiet service, usually without music, though we often have a soloist with acoustic guitar playing before and after the service. The service uses Rite 1 from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, with traditional language.

Compline (Online)
2025-07-26 18:30 - 19:00, 2025-07-19 18:30 - 19:00 | Online
Join us online every Saturday at 6:30 pm for a brief service of Compline (Night Prayer) facilitated by Deacon Gail. Please email the parish office at stjames.hydepark@gmail.com to request the Zoom link.

Vestry Meeting (Wilks Room)
2025-07-23 19:00 - 21:00 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States
The Vestry meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7 pm in the Wilks Room (exceptions noted). 2025 meeting dates are:
January 22
Sunday, January 26—Annual Meeting (following 9 am worship)
February 26
March 26
April 30th (5th Wednesday)
May 28
June 25
July 23
No meeting in August
September 24
October 22
November 19
December 17th (3rd Wednesday)
January 21, 2026 (3rd Wednesday)
January 26, 2026—Annual Meeting

[New Deal] Auditions (Parish Hall)
2025-07-23 17:00 - 21:00 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States

Men's Group (Antonella's)
2025-07-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Antonella’s Restaurant, Hyde Park, NY, 4246 Albany Post Rd #1700, Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States

Hyde Park Group AA (Parish Hall, Rm. 201)
2025-07-20 18:30 - 21:00 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States

Congregational Meeting about the Nursery School
2025-07-20 11:15 - 12:00 | HP Farmers Market
The following letter was emailed to the congregation on July 12, 2025.
Dear friends,
On behalf of the Vestry, we invite you to join in a brief (30-45 minute) congregational meeting after the 10 am service on Sunday, July 20.
The purpose of this meeting is to share information about the current realities of our Nursery School ministry, and to include you in the Nursery School Committee and Vestry’s ongoing discernment process about this ministry.
Nursery School Ministry Finances & Enrollment
Enrollment in our Nursery School has declined since the pandemic. We have space for up to 12 children each day, but for the coming school year we expect only 4–6 children daily.
The needs of Hyde Park families have changed. Poverty levels have risen, and most families no longer have a caregiver at home during daytime work hours. As a result, our half-day Nursery program is difficult for many families to access. Many find their needs are best served by our school district’s free universal pre-k program, or by other full-day programs.
For nearly sixty years, the Nursery School balanced ministry costs with tuition income—we were even able to provide scholarships! But since 2020, tuition income has halved due to declining enrollment. The resulting deficit has cost the church about $81,000 since 2020, or about $13,500 per year—the equivalent of seven to ten church members’ average annual pledges.
What we’ve tried
We are proud of our Nursery School, which has offered a loving, child-centered environment since 1963. Many members, and members’ children, had their earliest learning experiences here! So leaders have been working very hard to overcome these financial and enrollment challenges:
Our dedicated Nursery School Committee and teachers have done an excellent job marketing the Nursery School. They’ve hosted open houses, tabled at community events, sent mailings to new families, canvassed our local schools, campaigned on social media, and partnered with talented St. James’ artists to create beautiful marketing materials like a new brochure and video. They also secured generous gifts and grants to renovate our playground, making it a more welcoming draw for families.
At this year’s Annual Meeting of the congregation, the budget presentation outlined a plan to eliminate the Nursery School budget deficit by expanding our family ministries, adding a before-school care program starting this fall. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen delays in the permitting process, we were only able to open the program to one local elementary school, and so far have only one student enrolled. While we are still hopeful and excited about expanding into before-and-after-school care—which seems like a real community need—we are unsure about when we’ll be able to get the permit to do so successfully.
The Path Forward
The best of St. James’ is our relationships—with God, one another, and our whole community. We want to be a hub for a variety of ministries, community groups, and nonprofits that are actively meeting the needs of our neighbors today.
Our church is not a business, but it is an institution called to invest its resources in service to the good of our community. The question before the Vestry is whether, given the changing needs of the families of Hyde Park, St. James’ is doing the right thing by investing approximately $13,500 annually in the Nursery School ministry.
The July 20 meeting is an opportunity for you, as a congregation, to fully understand the realities and challenges this beloved ministry is facing. You may have ideas to share or questions to ask, and these will be gratefully received. We ask that you pray for the Nursery School Committee, teachers, students, families, and your Vestry.
Please plan to join this important conversation on July 20, immediately following the 10 am service.
Faithfully,
The Rev. Meredith Kadet Sanderson
Priest-in-Charge
Mike Glancey
Senior Warden
Joseph Gasparini
Junior Warden

Finance Committee Meeting (Wilks Room)
2025-07-19 16:00 - 18:00 | St. James’ Episcopal Church, 4526 Albany Post Rd., Hyde Park, NY, 12538, United States

Garden Committee ~ Gardening at the Chapel
2025-07-19 10:00 - 12:00 | St. James’ Chapel, 10 East Market Street, Hyde Park, NY, 12567, United States
St. James’ Garden Committee members meet at the Chapel for garden maintenance at 10 am on the third Saturday of each month. Breakfast treats are provided. All are welcome!
