St. James Presbyterian Church

06/23/2026

There are days when the world teaches us to measure life by what we have, what we lack, who seems ahead, and who seems left behind.

This week’s Prayer Break Gathering pauses with Jesus’ words in Matthew’s Gospel and listens for a promise deeper than our worry: God is still making possible what we cannot make possible on our own.

Join us for a brief time of meditation, honest prayer, and shared stillness in the middle of the day’s demands.

The written meditation is available on our Meditations page, and Zoom information can be found on the website calendar. We are grateful for all who support this ministry through prayer, presence, and giving through PayPal.

06/22/2026

Sometimes the prayer begins with only two words:

**How long?**

How long, O Lord?
How long must we wait?
How long must we carry what feels too heavy?
How long before provision appears?

This week in Bible Study at St. James, we will sit with scriptures that do not rush past hard questions. Psalm 13 gives us language for honest prayer. Genesis 22 brings us into one of the most difficult stories of faith and provision. Romans 6 asks what it means to live as people brought from death to life. Matthew 10 reminds us that even a cup of cold water offered in love matters to God.

Maybe that is where we begin this week: with the courage to pray honestly, the patience to trust what we cannot yet see, and the grace to offer someone else a little refreshment along the way.

Our Bible Study Companion Guide is available on the St. James website.

Zoom information may be found on our website calendar for our Bible Study, tonight, Monday 6:00-7:30.

You may also support our Bible Study ministry and the ongoing work of St. James through PayPal on our website.

Come with your Bible, your questions, your prayers, and your openness to the Word that is still speaking.

06/22/2026

This worship service at St. James became a sacred gathering at the meeting place of Father’s Day, Juneteenth, Scripture, song, and Black family healing.

Led by Ruling Elder Andréa Bradford and Ruling Elder Chris Boesel, we entered worship through Psalm 86: “Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me.” We sang **“Lift Every Voice and Sing,”** prayed to the God who hears every cry, and listened again to the story of Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness — a mother and child pushed beyond the safety of the household, yet still heard, seen, and provided for by God.

There was no sermon this Sunday. Instead, we received a sacred literary reading from Toni Morrison’s *Beloved*: Baby Suggs, holy, in the Clearing. Children laughed. Women cried. Men danced. And the community was called to love the flesh that the world had tried to despise, use, wound, and break.

On Juneteenth, we remembered that freedom is more than a legal announcement. Freedom must reach the body, the heart, the family, the child, the father, the mother, and the whole community.

On Father’s Day, we gave thanks for fathers and fathering figures whose love can become tenderness, protection, joy, repair, and sacred presence. The image of Black fathers dancing before their families becomes more than celebration. It becomes healing. It becomes dignity. It becomes hope.

We invite you to watch, worship, remember, and share in this service of prayer, Scripture, sacred reading, and song.

The Bulletin and Sacred Reading Companion Guide may be found on our website. To support the ministry of St. James, please see the PayPal button at the bottom of our main website page.

St. James Presbyterian Church
Harlem, NYC
A Church of Faith
A House of Justice
A Pillar of the Black American Journey

06/21/2026

This Sunday, St. James gathers at the sacred meeting place of Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and the healing hope of Black family.

In worship, we will hear the story of Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness, where God hears the cry of the child and opens a well of life. We will also receive a sacred reading from Toni Morrison’s *Beloved*, remembering Baby Suggs, holy, in the Clearing: children laughing, women crying, and Black fathers dancing before their families and community.

That image matters.

On Juneteenth, we remember that freedom is more than a legal announcement. Freedom must reach the body, the family, the heart, the child, the father, the mother, and the whole community.

On Father’s Day, we honor the tenderness, protection, joy, labor, repair, and sacred presence of fathers and fathering figures. We give thanks for Black fathers dancing life back into the clearing — not only as celebration, but as healing, dignity, and hope.

Join St. James Presbyterian Church for worship as we pray, sing, remember, and give thanks for the God who hears, heals, frees, and calls us into newness of life.

The Bulletin and Sacred Reading Companion Guide may be found on our website. Zoom information is available on our Calendar page.

To support the ministry of St. James, please see the PayPal link at the bottom of our main website page.

St. James Presbyterian Church
Harlem, NYC
A Church of Faith
A House of Justice
A Pillar of the Black American Journey

06/19/2026

Join Us Tomorrow at the Crossroads of Culture and Community St. James Presbyterian Church 141st and St. Nicholas Avenue!
Rev. Derrick McQueen Pastor. 12:00 noon - 6:00 pm

  This year’s theme, “Harlem Welcomes the World,” celebrates the spirit of cultural exchange, creativity, and global connection that makes New York City extraordinary. In the heart of Harlem, residents, visitors, and families are invited to experience live performances, global traditions, fo...

06/17/2026

Join Save Harlem Now! TOMORROW NIGHT for Road to Harlem: The Churches where we will take an in-depth look at how early African American churches impacted and sustained the lives of Black Manhattanites on their journey from lower Manhattan to Harlem.
Our first program in this virtual series, Road to Harlem: Shiloh Presbyterian Church, A Beacon of Hope, will examine the founding of Shiloh Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village, the earliest Black Presbyterian congregation in New York City. Founded in 1822, Shiloh played a vital role in the abolitionist movement, and was an active station on the Underground Railroad. https://www.saveharlemnow.org/events/road-to-harlem-the-churches
Event Details: Thursday, June 18, 2026
6:00 PM 7:30 PM
Virtual
See website to register!

We are excited to announce the continuation of our Road to Harlem series, with Road to Harlem: The Churches . We will take an in-depth look at how early African American churches impacted and sustained the lives of Black Manhattanites on their journey from lower Manhattan to Harlem. Our first prog

06/16/2026

In this week’s Lectionary Bible Study, St. James enters the scriptures through prayer, wilderness, new life, and courage as we prepare for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Father’s Day, and Juneteenth Sunday.

We begin with Psalm 86, praying with one who asks God to listen, strengthen, and teach. Then Genesis 21 brings us to Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness, a mother and child cast out, yet not abandoned by God. Their story opens a deep Juneteenth connection: the God who hears the vulnerable, opens wells in wilderness places, and refuses to let the future of the cast-out be erased.

Romans 6 invites us to walk in newness of life, and Matthew 10 calls us to courage when faithfulness is costly.

Join us for this Bible Study as we listen for the Word that meets us in prayer, survival, liberation, and testimony.

The Bible Study Companion Guide may be found on our website.

To support the ministry of St. James, please see the PayPal button at the bottom of our main website page.

St. James Presbyterian Church
Harlem, NYC
A Church of Faith
A House of Justice
A Pillar of the Black American Journey

In this week’s Lectionary Bible Study, St. James enters the scriptu...

06/16/2026

A city can carry joy in its streets, and sometimes that joy opens a deeper prayer.

Today’s Prayer Break Gathering meditation, based on Psalm 133, pauses with the lingering gladness moving through New York City and listens for what shared celebration may teach us about unity, blessing, and life still rising among us.

Join us today from 5:00–5:30 p.m. for St. James Presbyterian Church’s weekly Prayer Break Gathering. The meditation may be found on the Meditations page, and the Zoom information is available on the website calendar.

We are grateful for all who continue to support this ministry. Contributions may be made through PayPal by way of our website as well.

06/16/2026

Watch **Let the Children Come: “A Place to Come Back To”** from St. James Presbyterian Church.

This message is for young people, families, caretakers, mentors, teachers, and everyone who wants to help children recognize the grace already present in their lives.

As summer begins, we are invited to notice the memories being made: playground games, warm evenings, snacks after playing, lightning bugs, safe places, familiar voices, and the people who remind young people they are loved, known, and meant to live fully.

One line from this message resonated deeply:

**“Take a picture with your spirit.”**

Not every picture needs a phone. Some moments belong in the heart. Some memories help young people come back to who they are when life becomes difficult, confusing, or unfair.

Watch this message with a young person, share it with a family, or carry it into your own summer as a reminder to notice grace while it is happening.

Please consider supporting this ministry for young people and families through PayPal via our website.

Watch, share, and subscribe.

St. James Presbyterian Church
Harlem, NYC

Watch **Let the Children Come: “A Place to Come Back To”** from St....

06/16/2026

Watch the Special Music **“Can’t Give Up Now”** and the sermon **“Hospitality in a Home of Hope”** from St. James Presbyterian Church.

This song carries testimony across generations — the sound of a people who know the road has not been easy and still believe God has not brought us this far to leave us.

In this worship moment, **“Can’t Give Up Now”** becomes the song we sing while walking up the sidewalk after a long, hard day, making our way toward the front porch of grace.

The sermon, grounded in **Romans 5:1–8**, invites us into a home of hope where suffering does not get the final word, where endurance finds breath, where the table is set wide, and where God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Come receive the song, the sermon, and the Spirit’s reminder:

**You are not merely welcomed by grace.
You are affirmed, loved, and expected to live.**

The Sermon Companion Guide is available on our website. Ministry may be supported through PayPal via our website.

Watch, share, and subscribe.

St. James Presbyterian Church
Harlem, NYC

Photo: Mikey Gulcicek, BFA Photographer FIT

Watch the Special Music **“Can’t Give Up Now”** and the sermon **“H...