St. James Episcopal Church
Monahans, Texas
About Us

Worship

Our main worship service, Holy Eucharist, and other services follow the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Holy Eucharist consists of two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Liturgy of the Word, we hear the Word of God read from the Bible and respond to it by saying the creed and listening to the sermon. The prayer book contains the Lectionary, which assigns the Bible readings (New Revised Standard Version) for each Sunday. The creed is a summary of basic Christian belief in God that is based on Scripture.

In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we participate in the Lord's Supper, which we call Holy Communion, after preparing ourselves for it through prayer. Holy Communion is the partaking of bread and wine in remembrance of Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension. Instead of Holy Eucharist, we occasionally do Morning Prayer, which includes readings from the Bible, prayers, Psalms, and hymns. Our music, by the way, comes from The Hymnal 1982. If you need help with following our services, just ask anyone sitting near you.

Beliefs

The Bible is the foundation of Episcopal worship and belief. About eighty percent of the Book of Common Prayer is taken directly from the Bible, and most of the rest paraphrases or refers to Scripture. With its Biblical foundation, the prayer book not only guides our worship but also expresses our beliefs. The prayer book contains our central statements of belief, the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, which we say every Sunday during worship. Our beliefs are also documented in the Articles of Religion, which are found in the back of the prayer book. One of the 39 articles states that the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation, and another prohibits the Church from asserting or ordaining anything that does not agree with the Scriptures. For more information about Episcopal worship and belief, see this Web page.

Organization

The vicar is our priest, pastor, and spiritual leader. An elected committee, which is led by a Senior Warden, helps our vicar manage all aspects of life in our church. St. James Episcopal Church in Monahans, St. Peter's in Kermit, and St. Matthias in Andrews form the Sandhills Episcopal Ministry. All three are mission churches of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwest Texas. The Bishop of Northwest Texas visits our congregation once each year, and two delegates represent us at the annual diocesan convention. Our diocese is part of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA, which is commonly called The Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church and its counterparts in other countries are members of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church and each of its 113 dioceses is governed and organized on a constitutional and democratic basis. In this organizational structure, bishops, priests, and lay people have equally important roles.

History

Did you know that George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, James Monroe, John Marshall, and other founders of our nation were Episcopalians? In fact, as lay persons, many of them helped to establish The Episcopal Church. Soon after Americans had won independence from England, American members of the Church of England separated from this church to form the Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA. Today, both The Episcopal Church and the Church of England are members of the Worldwide Anglican Communion.

St. James Episcopal Church was formally organized as a congregation in 1955, but it took eight more years of hard work and faithful perseverance from its dedicated members to firmly establish the church in Monahans. Until the early 1960's, Episcopalians in Monahans worshipped in the buildings of other local churches under the leadership of Episcopal clergy from other West Texas cities. After Pyote Air Force Base closed in 1954, the congregation purchased the base chapel and had it moved to St. James' present location at the intersection of Eighteenth and Calvin Streets in Monahans. During the next few years, members and friends of the congregation contributed time and materials to renovate and modernize the chapel building while they worshipped in its partially completed interior. The interior of the church building was completed on Palm Sunday, 1964, a few months after St. James received its first resident priest. During the early 1970's, members of St. James again volunteered time and materials to build the parish hall. The parish hall, which was completed in 1973, sits next to the church building.

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St. James Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 1887
Monahans, Texas 79756-1887
432-943-3631
http://stjamesmonahans.org