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Parish Information
St James was founded in 1889 as a mission parish of St. Mary in Millersville. In June, 1889, nearly 20 families
petitioned the Bishop of the Cleveland Diocese, Richard Gilmour, for a church in Kansas. Two lots, 50' x 150', located
on Chestnut Street were purchased on August 6, 1889, for the sum of $177.00, and the building began on September 1, 1889.
The finished building measured 30' x 50'. It was named St. James the Lesser.
Throughout the entire history of the parish, no debt has ever been incurred. The church was always full on
Sundays, and in 2004 had 79% attendance on a weekly basis (including all of the months not named October). St. James
was conceived and maintained through the will of the Kansas community to have a Catholic church to worship in.
When word spread that St. James would be recommended for closure in 2005, it made little sense from a community standpoint.
But more importantly, it outed the diocese as an entity that was not appreciating the importance of viability in their vision
for building up the Church. St. James work was not finished, and dozens of members answered the call to continue breathing
life into this parish.
In May of 2005, members began a 24/7 prayer vigil. They faithfully sustained this vigil for just over 10 months.
While the vigil was peaceful, the diocese used hostility to bring it to an abrupt end on March 6th, 2006.
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Recent Events
St. James, sometimes referred to as "one of the last parishes standing", still exists as a faithful community, and the
building still stands.
Currently, the St. James Parish community strives to educate themselves and others about the diocesan model called
"corporation sole," which bishops in Ohio and other diocese in the United States use to assert entitlement to parish property.
Many Catholics feel strongly that this model does not square well with property law as it is administered outside
of the Catholic Church, and that the bishop's assertion of control of parish property is fundamentally flawed; but
often unchallenged. For this very reason, St. James has chosen to challenge this assertion. St. James declares
that this challenge has been mounted because something that belongs to parishioners has been taken from them, and allowing
this to continue while there are still parishes which will be targeted for similar liquidation practices in the future would
constitute a miscarriage of justice.
St. James is currently raising money to continue their case which asserts that parishioners own their parishes.
To find out more, go to http://www.stjameskansas.org
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