Here is a list of all our upcoming events. Click on the image or text summary to find out more about any of our events and to book your place.
2019 Subscriptions
Annual Subscriptions available
The 2019 programme has now been launched. Tickets for individual events are now on sale. Please scroll down this page to find the event(s) you wish to book for. Annual subscriptions are $175 or $155 for concession. These can be purchased from the Parish Office or by phone to 8227 1305.
Lent Studies: Reconciliation
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2019 by Dr Muthuraj Swamy
Groups will be meeting during the six weeks of Lent to discuss themes of reconciliation, in response to questions posed in the book. Register for the group that suits you best: registrations@sjks.org.au or 8227 1305. Copies of the book $20.
- Mondays 10am-12noon Cremorne (first 3 weeks) then Chatswood, with Fr John Stewart and Sue Mackenzie
- Tuesdays 1pm-2pm St James’ Hall, with Fr Andrew Sempell
- Tuesdays 7pm-8:30pm Kareela, with Fr Glenn Maytym
- Wednesdays 7:15pm-8:30pm St James’ Hall, with Christopher Waterhouse
- Thursdays 6:30pm-8:30pm Pyrmont, with Libby and Ross Hindmarsh
Hatch, Match and Dispatch: Occasional Services of the Anglican Church
Associate Professor Michael Horsburgh AM
Option 1: Sunday 17th March, 2pm-4pm
Option 2: Thursdays 21st and 28th March, 1pm-2pm
Anglican prayer books contain services that are used only when the necessity arises: baptism, marriage and funeral services are the chief of these, but there are others. What are these services about? How did they come to their present form? Do they contain any surprises? Tickets $30/$25 (free for SJI subscribers). Click here to book online.
Captivity and Freedom in the Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dr Katherine Firth
Saturday 6th April, 3pm-4:30pm, St James’ Hall
‘Restless, yearning, sick, like a bird in a cage… hungry for colours, for life, for birdsong’.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a theologian for our times: an intellectual who worked across barriers of race, denomination and language. For his role in heading an underground seminary, and his work with the resistance against the Nazi regime, he was imprisoned, interned in concentration camps and executed. Bonhoeffer’s writings invite us to ask about what captivity really means, and what it is to have freedom. Tickets $30/$25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/captivity-and-freedom-in-the-writings-of-dietrich-bonhoeffer
In Conversation: Preparing for Holy Week and Easter
The Rev’d Dr Gregory Seach in conversation with Christopher Waterhouse
Palm Sunday, 14th April, 2pm-4pm, St James’ Hall
On Palm Sunday afternoon join SJI Director Christopher Waterhouse in conversation with our Holy Week and Easter preacher, the Rev’d Dr Gregory Seach as we prepare for the most significant week in the Christian calendar. This is an outstanding opportunity to meet and to get to know our Holy Week preacher, who will be preaching at services throughout the coming week including the Great Three Days of Easter. We’ll discuss life, faith, and the significance of Easter as we continue to journey through Passiontide towards the joy and celebrations of Easter Day. Tickets $30/$25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/in-conversation-preparing-for-holy-week-and-easter
God Behind Bars: The Prison Fellowship
Peter Abood
Sunday 5th May, 2pm-3:30pm, St James’ Hall
Across Australia there are over 1000 volunteer men and women visiting prisoners, running programmes in prisons, organising camps and providing Christmas presents for prisoners’ children, supporting ex- prisoners when they are released, playing sports, running in-prison Bible studies, and providing many other services. Peter Abood, State Manager of Prison Fellowship NSW/ACT joins us to talk about the work and ministry of Prison Fellowship through a number of these programmes including Christian courses such as The Prisoners Journey, restorative justice programmes like the Sycamore Tree project, and the annual exhibition Art from Inside which is coming to Sydney in June 2019. Tickets $30/$25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/god-behind-bars-the-prison-fellowship-nsw
Book Discussion Group
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God
Thursdays evenings, 23rd May, 27th June, 18th July, 22nd August, 26th September, 7:30pm, Cremorne
Our book discussion group will be meeting monthly from May to September. Our 2019 book is The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God by Robert Wilken. “Wilken’s work is a wonderful achievement and a marvellous synthesis, eloquently making his massive learning and historical expertise readily available and accessible to those who seek to carry on the pattern of early Christian thinking by seeking the face of God.'(J. Taylor, The Gospel Coalition). Copies of the book will be available for sale from the St James’ Parish Office. The group meets in Cremorne (address supplied after registration). Register here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/book-discussion-group-the-spirit-of-early-christian-thought
The Poetry of George Herbert
Dr Benjamin Myers
Saturday 25th May, 3pm-4:30pm, St James’ Hall
George Herbert (1593–1633) was an English poet of the metaphysical school. He was born in Wales and educated at the University of Cambridge. He was made a fellow of the university in 1616, and was later ordained in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as rector of Bremerton, near Salisbury Cathedral. Many of Herbert’s poems reveal his own spiritual struggles and the solace he found in the priesthood. He also wrote A Priest to the Temple, a book of guidance for rural clergy. The Choir of St James’ Concert of music by George Frideric Handel follows at 5pm (tickets for the concert must be purchased separately). Tickets $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/the-poetry-of-george-herbert-with-dr-benjamin-myers
Letters from a Most Unlikely Friendship
Monsignor Tony Doherty and Ailsa Piper
Thursday 13th June, 6:30pm, St James’ Hall
Ailsa Piper and Tony Doherty, co-authors of The Attachment: Letters from a Most Unlikely Friendship, discuss pilgrim spirituality, connecting across divides, the challenges of real friendship – and friendships that really challenge. They’ll reflect on nature, grief, the gospels, and the challenge of walking their talk in these troubled times. Tickets $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/letters-from-a-most-unlikely-friendship
The Spiritual Formation of Evelyn Underhill
Dr Robin Wrigley-Carr
Sunday 30th June, 2pm-3:30pm, St James’ Hall
Evelyn Underhill (1877-1941) was an English, mystical theologian and Anglican spiritual director and retreat leader who authored nearly 40 books and 100s of articles. She was the first woman to lecture in theology at Oxford University. In this session, Dr Robyn Wrigley-Carr takes us on a journey through some of the writings and life of Underhill. She outlines the discovery of Underhill’s prayers in Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book (SPCK, 2018) as well as Underhill’s spiritual journey, explored in The Spiritual Formation of Evelyn Underhill (SPCK, 2019). Tickets $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/the-spiritual-formation-of-evelyn-underhill
Filling the Wind With Stories
Rev’d Elaine Farmer
Saturday 10th August, 3pm-5pm
Preaching evokes strong feelings. It offers comfort, enlightenment and grace. It has also been called arrogant madness, and a manipulative tool. Preaching in a modern, educated and sceptical world, should look to real life and the creative worlds of literature and theatre. This address discusses homiletical arts and crimes. The Rev’d Elaine Farmer is a priest in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of her association with St James’ King Street. Tickets $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/filling-the-wind-with-stories
Ecclesiastical Embroidery: Finer than Gold
Presented and curated by Marianne Close
Saturday 17th August, open from 10am-4pm, Christ Church St Laurence Parish Hall
An exhibition and series of short talks showcasing the skill and craftsmanship of ecclesiastical embroiderers and vestment makers. With highlights from the vestment collections of St James’, Christ Church St Laurence and a number of private collections. Talks include the history and development of vestment making, embroidery styles and techniques, conservation and restoration techniques, and information on how to go about designing and commissioning new works for churches. Exhibition open from 10am-4pm, talks on the hour. All tickets $20. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/ecclesiastical-embroidery-finer-than-gold
God Give Me Joy: St James’ Retreat
St Mary’s Towers, Douglas Park
from 5pm Friday 6th to 2pm Sunday 8th September
Our theme for the annual retreat is ‘God Give Me Joy’. We’ll focus on psalms, readings, prayers and poetry that speak of joy and about giving thanks to God, the hope of the Resurrection, and the joy contained within the praises of the liturgy. A quartet of choristers from The Choir of St James’ will lead us in the singing of Evensong, Compline, Matins and the Eucharist. $230 per person, includes accommodation and all meals. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/st-james-retreat-god-give-me-joy
Campanology Unmasked: A Bell Ringing Walking Tour
St Stephen’s Uniting, St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, St James’ King Street
Saturday 21st September, 2pm-5pm, starting at St Stephen’s Uniting Church, Macquarie Street.
If you spend time around Macquarie Street, Hyde Park, the Domain and the Sydney Botanic Gardens, you’ll often hear the bells of three well-known city churches. Come and join us on this unique walking tour to learn about different bell-ringing methods and uncover the mysteries of campanology.
Please note: there are many steps and stairs involved in this excursion.
We’ll meet at St Stephen’s Church on Macquarie Street and end our tour with refreshments in the Crypt of St James’ Church, King Street. $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/campanology-unmasked-a-bellringing-walking-tour
Adoption by Grace/Disgrace
The Rev’d Canon Dr Scott Cowdell
Saturday 12th October, 3pm-4:30pm, St James’ Hall
Leading Australian theologian Scott Cowdell has accepted our invitation to reflect on his experience of being given up for adoption by his single natural mother, of growing up in an adopted family, of meeting his natural parents and half-sisters, and of what he has learned from all this. His experience of living long-term in a childless marriage has added a further dimension. In a world of natural belonging in which family has a talismanic quality, but also a world of widespread estrangement and endemic urban loneliness, what might someone who does not experience life in terms of natural belonging have to say about this condition? And what about the gift of baptism, which sacramentalises our adoption as God’s own beloved children by the grace of Jesus Christ? Come and hear a theologian thinking out of his heart, on behalf of that other ‘stolen generation”: the more than sixty-thousand Australians given up for adoption in the 1960s and 1970s. The Choir of St James’ concert performance of Haydn’s The Creation follows at 5pm (tickets for the concert must be purchased separately). $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/adoption-by-grace-disgrace
Faces of Christ: Depicting Christ in Art
Christopher Waterhouse
Sunday 10th November, 2pm-4pm, St James’ Hall
Artworks depicting Christ are housed in many of the world’s leading galleries and private collections. The most expensive painting ever sold was Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of Christ, Saviour of the World (Salvator Mundi, sold in 2017 for US $450.3 million). Does it matter that very few of these paintings give us a true sense of what Jesus might have actually looked like? How does art help us to consider Jesus Christ as shepherd, as the light of the world, as teacher, as friend, as Son of God, as Saviour of the World? $30 adults, $25 concession. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/faces-of-christ-depicting-christ-in-art
Meeting God in Matthew: Advent Quiet Day
led by Christopher Waterhouse
Saturday 7th December, 10am-4pm, St John’s Balmain
Our annual quiet day of prayer and reflection before the busy season of Advent and Christmas preparations. Join us for this ‘spiritual health day’ as we seek to encounter God and refresh ourselves spiritually at the beginning of the new church year. Our theme is ‘Meeting God in Matthew’ as we prepare to hear readings from the Gospel of Matthew in the coming year in ‘Year A’ of the three-year lectionary cycle, which begins on Advent Sunday. $40, includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea. SJI subscribers free. Book here: https://events.humanitix.com.au/advent-quiet-day-meeting-god-in-matthew