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The St James' Community
welcomes as friends, all who come here to share in the life of
Church, Pre-School or Community Primary School.
Together, we offer care for
body mind and spirit.
You and your companion animals
are always welcome to
share our life in Christ.
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ABOUT ST JAMES THE GREAT AND ITS PEOPLE
The church is situated in the midst of
Melbourne's vibrant Jewish district, with the great
household shopping that is Carlisle Street in Balaclava and
close-by the village atmosphere that is nearby St Kilda,
Albert Park, Malvern or Toorak with the restaurant, deli and
café life that Melbourne is famous for.
Click here for a map of "How to find St James".
An Anglo-Catholic parish, since its foundation in 1915, St James the Great is known for its observant liturgical tradition in a building described by one bishop as a hidden gem.
The Sunday Solemn Mass is sung by the congregation sometimes assisted by The Canterbury Singers, a liturgical choir informally based at St James'.
For Baptisms, Confirmation preparation, Weddings, Reconciliation (Sacramental Confession) Home Communions, House Blessings or any other pastoral ministries please contact the Vicar, Father Roger Kelly. Telephone: 9527 1017.
Please contact us us if you are interested in
visiting us or would like further information.
You are welcome here.
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Parish Personnel
The Reverend Father Roger F. Kelly
Father Roger has been Vicar of St James the Great since December 1977. During his first twenty years as Priest-in-Charge of St James' he also served in Anglican Schools, first as the Chaplain of Wadhurst Junior School at Melbourne Grammar (for eight years) and then as Chaplain of Yarra Grammar School (for twelve Years). During this time, he also served as the Diocesan Chairman of Chaplains in Anglican Schools for six years.
In 1999 he was appointed Incumbent of St James the Great. And in 2000 was appointed as the Area Dean of Port Phillip. He is committed to ministry in inner suburban areas and to the church maintaining its presence in East St Kilda in the midst of ultra orthodox Jewry.
Born in Glasgow and baptised in the Scottish Episcopal Church, Father Roger was educated at Rutherglen Academy in Scotland and in Australia at Nunawading High School and at Melbourne and La Trobe Universities. He prepared for Holy Orders at St John's Morpeth and at Ridley College Melbourne.
An Probationer of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd and an Oblate of the Order of St Benedict, Father Roger is committed to the call to holiness as epitomised in Religious Life and is interested in the formation of a dispersed religious community.
Father Roger enjoys theatre, opera, baroque music and is a member of the National Gallery.
He loves international travel and has combined this with three locums in the U.K. and one in Europe and another in Japan. He has twice enjoyed the privilege of courses at St George's College in Jerusalem. He would love to make the great pilgrimage to the Shrine of St James at Compostella in Spain. And he is grateful for the privilege of serving as the parish priest of this unique parish community for the last 28 years. This makes him the longest serving Vicar of the one parish in this Diocese.
The photograph of Father Roger was taken at the 11th Annual Blessing of Animals at St James' last year - one of the great annual events in the St James' Calendar.
Sister Hilary C.H.N.
Sister Hilary is a member of the Community of the Holy Name, an Order with particular association with the Diocese of Melbourne and with significant links with this Parish since the 1940's when the then Vicar, Father Walter Green was the Chaplain of the Community.
Sister Hilary began her religious life as a Sister of the Order of the Good Shepherd in New Zealand. As a sister of the Holy Name worked in the Brighton Home for Little Children and at the Holy Name School in Papua New Guinea and has had a long and rich experience as a religious sister in a variety of apostolic and pastoral ministries. She became the Pastoral Worker at St James the Great in 1984 and her ministry among the people of the congregation and beyond continues to be a valued by all who experience her warmth and caring friendship.
The Reverend Dr Brian Porter
Fr Brian recently retired as Senior Chaplain of Melbourne Grammar School and is currently a Chaplain at Brighton Grammar. He is married to Muriel and they have two children: Patrick 30 has recently completed a Doctorate of Philosophy at Magdalen College Oxford on the Great War. He has been appointed Lecturer in Defence Studies at King's College, Univ of London. Emily (27) is a solicitor with a Melbourne law firm in preparation for a career as a barrister.
Brian was born in Melbourne, educated at Caulfield Grammar School, and at Monash, New England and Cambridge Universities and has a doctorate awarded for a study of Archbishop Sir Frank Woods. His biography of Archbishop Frank Woods will be launched at the Frank Woods Centenary celebrations to be held at Trinity College on 13 – 14 April. He has been an associate priest at St James the Great since 2002, but has always been a school chaplain assisting in a wide variety of parishes in Sydney, Cambridge, Canberra and Melbourne. He is book review editor for The Melbourne Anglican, and spends most of his spare time reading and writing.
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St James the Great
435 Inkerman Street
East St Kilda
