ST. JAMES FAMILY HOPING TO SAVE ITS HOME
“When we moved to Lakewood, we shopped around for a Catholic parish that would be a good fit for our family. For weeks we sampled area parishes, but something was always missing. Then one weekend we decided to try St. James. We walked through those bronze doors and were astounded by the beauty that surrounded us—but that was only the beginning! By the time Mass ended, my wife and I turned to each other with big smiles and said, This is it—we’re home!”
That story, related by a member of the parish council at the Church of St. James the Greater, is not untypical at the Lakewood parish. As a group of parishioners explained, many people are drawn to St. James by the building itself—intrigued by the exterior and then awed by the magnificent art and architecture they find inside. “But they stay, because they discover the pervading spirit that makes this building a home—a true sense of family manifested in warmth and caring and service to others.” (In the past fiscal year, 637 individuals made that discovery and registered as new members.)
And “home” is what St. James is to over 4,400 residents of Lakewood and other western suburbs. (At least 15% of parishioners live outside the parish boundaries.) The imposing Sicilian Romanesque structure at the corner of Detroit and Granger Avenues features twin bell towers that can be seen blocks away; and, the rich chiming of the massive bronze bells is a reassuring sound throughout the neighborhood.
But those bells may not resonate much longer. St. James is among the dozens of churches scheduled for closing by June 30, 2010 as part of the reconfiguration program of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. That has led to a proliferation of blue and white signs on lawns and in windows in the area: SAVE ST. JAMES. And that’s exactly what many parishioners and non-parishioners alike have pledged to do: preserve St. James as a vibrant parish family and as an artistic and architectural treasure for future generations. To that end, the Friends of St. James have filed an appeal with the Vatican to overturn the decision of Bishop Richard Lennon to close the parish.
St. James was founded in 1908, when the Rev. Michael D. Leahy was appointed to form a new parish in the growing village of Lakewood. For the first few years, Masses were celebrated in a store room at 15607 Detroit Avenue and then at Miller Hall near Warren Road. In 1912, on property purchased from the Cannon family, work began on a combination church/school/auditorium building, which today serves as a gymnasium. A school addition was built in 1916.
With the population rapidly increasing, particularly following World War I, St. James took on the role of founding parish. In 1922 boundaries were redrawn and three additional parishes were created: St. Clement and St. Luke in Lakewood and St. Christopher in Rocky River.
Construction on the present church building was begun in 1925 and completed ten years later in the midst of the Great Depression. The Lakewood Post referred to it as, “The finest church in the diocese and perhaps the best modern example of this particular style of architecture in the world today,” while the Plain Dealer termed it, “A church which should be a precious heritage for generations to come.”
The new church, in the words of F.R. Webber, an authority on church art, was, “One of the best examples of church art in greater Cleveland, and for that matter, in the entire country… Its interior has that elusive quality known as devotional atmosphere.” It is, he stated, “Perhaps the most complete example of the use of Christian symbolism in existence.”
A veritable artistic and architectural feast, St. James is modeled on the eleventh-century Cathedral of Monreale in Palermo, Sicily. Three circular rose windows are among the numerous stained glass windows, all the work of George W. Sotter of Pennsylvania, known as the Tiffany of church stained glass art. Beautifully carved wood, gold leaf, rich colors, and a variety of fine stone and inlaid ceramic tile are much in evidence. Among the many kinds of Italian marble are eight massive columns of Porta Santa marble dating to ancient Roman times. The vaulted blue ceiling of the sanctuary is embellished with the signs of the zodiac in gold leaf. It has been said that it would take at least an entire day to explain, even briefly, every symbol in the church.
The largest parish in the Lakewood/Western Cleveland Cluster, St. James has the highest Mass attendance and most Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, and marriages. (The fact that the church building is the most sizable in the Cluster holds particular significance if, in the years ahead, reconfiguration reduces the Cluster to only one or two parishes.) St. James is one of the three parishes that founded and support Lakewood Catholic Academy, which fulfills Catholic education needs in grades K-8.
Besides its spiritual influence and its cultural and artistic significance, St. James impacts the Lakewood area with such services as a community meals program, a wellness ministry, a monthly food collection for Lakewood Christian Service Center, Helping Hands assistance to the needy, and an award-winning daycare center. It is a Red Cross bloodmobile site and the home of several Scout troops. Last Christmas its annual Giving Tree provided gifts for 400 children and much-needed supplies for a number of service organizations. It houses and sponsors the Lakewood Family Room (assistance to disadvantaged mothers and children) and leases its former school building to the Positive Education Program.
St. James has come a long way from 60 families and a Detroit Avenue storefront. Its people have witnessed myriad changes in their parish, their community, and their world.
And what of the future? Together, they say, by the grace of God and with a favorable decision from the Vatican, generations to come will live out the parish mission statement, being, “Christ’s beacon of light, love, and hope to all we encounter on our journey to salvation.”
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Noted Cleveland architectural historian Tim Barrett will present a program on the artistic and architectural treasures of St. James on Sunday, September 27. The program begins at 3 p.m. in the church. All are welcome!