St James Church, Pokesdown

21/10/2026

Today’s work includes sorting out all the old church magazines that have lived in the church cellar. We will be sorting them all out and taking them to Hampshire Records office in Wi******er for long term storage. You may wonder why Hampshire and not Dorset. It’s because we are part of the Diocese of Wi******er and that is where their records live. Anyone who wants to access the records can then arrange to view the records, which is great.

We’ve just found the ordination service for our Associate Priest, Pam Schollar.

16/10/2026

Thank you Diocese of Wi******er for sharing news of harvest celebrations across the diocese. So great to see our fabulous Churchwarden Teresa and Parish Administrator Mara pictured here, getting the jacket potatoes ready for us to enjoy.

It's so lovely to see the creative ways churches across the diocese have been marking Harvest with special services, school events and collections for local charities and organisations.

From tractors and sheep to community lunches, the celebrations have brought churches together with local communities and school pupils to give thanks for God’s provision and all those who produce our food.

Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us.

🔗 Read the full article on our website, linked in the comments.

16/10/2026

There was such a great response to our children are welcome post a few weeks ago, from the families that come to church, from the people connecting with us on Facebook, that we thought we’d turn them into signs and let the world know, children, very real children that wriggle and squirm and need the toilet are very welcome here.

Diocese of Wi******er

15/10/2026

Bournemouth Foodbank are looking for more volunteers, can you help? Check out their info below.

How can you get involved in helping your community through Bournemouth Foodbank?
We are currently in need of warehouse volunteers to help sorting food donations and making up our food parcels. We are also desperately in need of volunteers for our supermarket collections. Both roles play an essential part in making sure no-one in our community goes hungry.
If you think you could help and join our amazing team of volunteers then we would love to hear from you. Please find out more and apply on our website.

13/10/2026

It was great to have Bournemouth Foodbank visit us this morning with their van, to collect all the items collected at the church and St. James' Primary Academy harvest festivals. Amazing generosity everyone, thank you so much.

Diocese of Wi******er

12/10/2026

We’ve had lots of fun this morning putting together the knitted and crocheted poppies that so many in our community have been creating. We’ve nearly finished the large poppy, two smaller poppies to go.

If you’d like to help, please join us in St James Church on Friday evening, between 4&7pm. St James Primary Academy is open, inviting all former students / families / staff to visit, and the church will be open too.

All welcome to pop along and say hello 🙂

10/10/2026

It's World Mental Health Day. If you need support, here are some really helpful places that can offer very real support.

Mental Health stuff shows up every day, not just today on mental health day, these organisations show up every day, throughout the year, they are there for you and able to offer very real help. Please turn to them if you need to.

Please share these support organisations with anyone you think might need it.

Diocese of Wi******er

We're here for you 💜

09/10/2026

Please enjoy the brand new St. James' Primary Academy video.

Next Friday (16th October) they are celebrating our 170th birthday, with an invite to all past pupils, staff and friends of St. James’ welcome between 4pm and 7pm. Our church will be open too, for people to come and explore.

Also, the School Open Morning is on Saturday 7th November, between 10am and 12pm, with a chance for prospective parents to see for themselves that St. James’ is the right choice for their child, and to visit the church too.

With Key stage 2 outcomes being recognised by FFT 5, as being in the top 5% in the country, local and national sporting achievements, local and national STEM award winners, our children belong and flourish.

07/10/2026

Tired of seeing misunderstanding and harmful stereotypes define public conversations about severe mental illness?
On Saturday 10 October, join Rethink Mental Illness as they challenge stigma and show the world what it really means to be severely affected by mental illness 👉 https://bit.ly/4mJaroY