Children's Ministry

St. James' Sunday School program is open to children pre-K through 5th grade. Our programs are offered for a 35- to 40-minute period during the 10 a.m. Sunday service.

The children gather in the children's chapel at 9.45 a.m., review past teachings and have some worship time with Deacon Peg Bradley.  At 10 the children go to their respective Sunday School rooms with parent volunteer teachers and assistants.

Pre-kindergarten through kindergarten children are in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program run by trained volunteer and parishioner Allison Rector, along with a parent assistant, in the Atrium.  Catechesis is a child-centered experiential program based on the Montessori method that introduces parables, liturgy and prayer in a miniature "church-like" environment.

Grades 1 / 2, 3 / 4, and 5 meet separately with assigned parent volunteer teachers and assistants in designated rooms in the St. James' nursery school and church building. The curriculum is the Episcopal-based "All Things New" program.  It is developmentally age-appropriate and uses reading, listening, discussion, arts and crafts,  movement, drama and song as avenues for understanding and expression.

The 3rd-5th graders also meet several times a year for church activities outside Sunday School, going on field trips and community building at St. James'.  This group is called SURF.(Students Under a Rad Father).

There is supervised nursery care for babies, as well as separate toddler care available at St. James' during the Sunday 10 a.m. service, and during special congregational events.

Sunday School Director Mary Chalon

Sunday School Director Mary Chalon has been an active member of St. James’ for 15 years. During that time she has been a lay reader, Lay Eucharistic Minister, small group leader, vestry member, search committee member, event coordinator, founding Youth Center board member, occasional altar guild member and St. James’ Sunday School teacher when her daughter, Jemma Davis, was younger.

Mary has an extensive background in professional theater and has worked as a professional actress, director and educator on the East Coast, West Coast and major cities in the United States. She is associate director as well as artistic director of Parsons Nose Productions, with her husband Lance Davis, a professional actor and writer. PNP is a professional 501C3 theater company dedicated to adapting classic theater for family audiences in the greater Los Angeles area.

Mary has a Bachelors in Theater Education from Emerson College, and has done postgraduate work in speech communication linguistics and family systems. She is currently a part-time graduate student at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena.

Mary Chalon reflects on the lessons of a Sunday morning: click here