Parish History continued

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As a mission church for thirty-five years, St. James served the needs of a number of Shore communities and worked to achieve parish status. On January 1, 1942, the Reverend Harry L. Hadley became Vicar.  The work that began with his predecessors reached its fulfillment and under the brilliant leadership of Father Hadley - after 35 years as a mission church - on May 8, 1946, St. James became a Parish in Communion with the Diocese of New Jersey.  

St. James Church from a 1947 Sunday Bulletin

During the next decade under his leadership, the parish continued to grow and experienced its first major additions in April 1955.

Rev. D. Stewart Alexy and Rev. Harry L. Hadley

 George Hall, and his successor, D. Stewart Alexy continued the tradition of a pastoral church with continued growth in membership and in size.  The congregation of St. James undertook a major capital campaign to expand and renovate the physical structure of St. James. On Christmas Eve, 1964 the parish celebrated in its newly remodeled nave and sanctuary.

In the 1970’s the parish began to look beyond its doors in its ministry, areas of education, and food distribution.  With the calling of The Reverend Kenneth A. Gluckow in 1978, we expanded our outreach further, and with the leadership of Mrs. Eleanor Pierson the Bradley Food Pantry was born.  

Outreach is a vital component of the St. James character. Our outreach extends through local communities, and even into Haiti where we continue to educate young people and help them develop their full potential.

In 1998 with the hard work of many pantry volunteers and the generous donation of the estate of Bea Shafer, we built and dedicated the Bea Shafer Outreach Center. The Outreach Center houses the BRADLEY FOOD PANTRY, located at the rear of the Church property.  

The joint efforts of St. James, Bradley Beach, 1st United Methodist Church, Bradley Beach Roman Catholic Church of the Ascension, and West Grove Church Neptune, the pantry serves people from the Monmouth County area with kindness and love.  The 20-year ministry of this food pantry is the longest in Monmouth County.  

Father Gluckow retired on January 1, 2003 ending a 24-year ministry as rector of St. James.  This was the longest tenure of a priest in the 92-year history of our parish. 

The Rev. Anne McRae Wrede became the Interim Vicar of St. James during the parish's search for a new rector.  Mother Wrede, together with Wardens Ed King and Bruce Weiss helped navigate the parish through the process of calling a new rector.

On September 5th 2004, the Rev. Frank M. Goss began his tenure as rector of St. James.

Under his leadership, we continue to serve our membership, our church and our community as a body of believers who worship and witness to the Gospel of the risen Christ in our lives.

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