We’re delighted that on Monday, 1st September 2025, Fr Matt’s collation service was held at St. James’s church with Bishop Roger conducting the service along with the induction and installation which was undertaken by Archdeacon Ruth. We all look forward to working with him, Siân and the family. We are Read more…
Dear friends, I am thrilled to be joining you in Clacton and Jaywick in September and wanted to write to introduce myself and my family. I grew up in Sudbury and Ipswich, the son of a vicar and a nurse. At a young age I developed a deep love of Read more…
We are pleased to announce that Fr Matt Simpkins, Priest in charge at St. Leonard’s, Lexden has been appointed as Vicar of Clacton St James with Jaywick St Christopher.Details of his licensing date will be announced once known.Please pray for Matt, his wife Sian and family as they prepare to Read more…
Every year we look for new volunteers from the members of our congregation to help lead the parish. We have been blessed over the years to welcome some very skilled and dedicated individuals that have helped bring St James’s Parish to the present day. Our team this year contains some Read more…
A peace which passes all understanding It is received wisdom that when you take on a Church as a new vicar you should change as little as possible. When you do change anything it should be slowly and in agreement with the community you serve. The people in this parish Read more…
We all have our heroes: personal, historical, real and fiction. These are the people we set up as idols, to be respected, adored and imitated in the difficult decisions and hard times of our own lives. Sometimes these heroes are deeply personal, unknown by the world, but their personal triumphs, Read more…
There is no doubt that our work in God is to live according to, and in order to spread, the good news that is Jesus Christ. And it really is good news; although sinners, God came down to earth and took our sin upon himself in his son Jesus, dying Read more…
Suddenly there is another news story dominating social media, the front-pages of our papers and the conversations of those who are interested in current affairs. It is the story of George Floyd, an African American who died of asphyxiation (suffocation) after a police officer knelt on his neck for an Read more…
Earlier this month parishioners from different walks of life joined together to pray. It is our first calling in our service to the parish, to bring it and all its people before God, and so we united in this project to make a short film using the words that Christ gave us to pray with. Know that you are being prayed for.
What will Church and services look like when this lockdown is over? What have we learnt? What have we lost? How are we blessed? These are just some of the questions we will need to ask in the coming weeks and months as society comes to terms with whatever the new normal will look like.