A milestone anniversary for St. James The Less

The beloved Scarsdale church is turning 175 years old, and celebrating with concerts, lectures, and more.

The church in 1882.

We’re gonna need a bigger cake.

This year, the Church of St. James the Less—Scarsdale’s oldest— turns 175, and plans to mark the occasion in style. The kickoff starts with a gala on Saturday, September 28, and continues with a robust lineup of community events. The first of these is a Silver Dime ceremony: “It’s a stipulation of our lease, which was drawn up with William H. Popham in 1849, that any time a Popham descendant over our one-thousand-year lease asks for a silver dime, we furnish the dime and our lease continues,” said Mother Storm, the Church’s rector.

There’s no record of any Popham family member requesting that dime, but one will be given this month. “Eight descendants of the Popham family are coming and will be part of the gala,” Mother Storm shares. The Pophams will also be present at service the following day as well. “The service is where the actual silver dime is handed over…and we’ll also be doing liturgy from the past—it would be what parishioners would have heard for the most part in 1849,” Mother Storm adds.

Mother Astrid Storm, rector of the church.

Many public events

Everyone is welcome to the service and Silver Dime ceremony, and there are far more events the public is invited to attend going forward. After services on the 29th, for instance, Popham descendant James Boulden will discuss his research into his family’s history. On Sunday, October 6th, the Church will host a lecture about its earliest days. In another event, on Sunday, November 10th, attendees will learn more about the veterans who are buried in the Church’s graveyard. Looking ahead to 2025, one of February’s celebrations will be a concert featuring composers of St. James the less—which include the famed jazz singer and musician Cab Calloway. For a full list of events through the end of the year, click here.

The sermon delivered after Lincoln was shot will be featured in one event, as will legendary sermon that reflected the burgeoning civil rights and anti-bigotry movement of the Sixties. In 1961, a young lady invited a young man named Michael Cunningham Hernstadt to a local debutante soiree called the Holly Ball. Cunningham, 19, was a Christian convert, but when the ball’s organizers found out he was of Jewish heritage, they barred him from the event. His would-be date sat out the ball in protest. The Rev. George F. Kempsell, Jr., the rector of St. James the Less at the time, objected to the antisemitism as well. “If our lord Jesus Christ had come back to earth in time for the Holly Ball, we would not have been allowed to escort a young lady of this parish to that dance,” he proclaimed during a sermon. His bold words made it to the front page of the New York Times; a photo shows him staring confidently into the camera.

A photograph of The Church of St. James the Less, ca. 1905.

A heavenly history

Although the cornerstone of the Church was laid in 1851, the church itself was incorporated in 1849, and Sunday services were held in the homes of members. Sadly, the building burned on Palm Sunday 1882, but thanks to the love and hard work of its parishioners, it was restored within two years. As Scarsdale’s growth accelerated, a Church house was added in 1922. The present-day crossing, transept and chancel were added in 1925. In 1952, in honor of the Church’s 100th anniversary, the Church constructed offices and classrooms.

St. James happens to be the only church with a cemetery. Several of the graves were there before the church was even constructed, the oldest dating from or around the 1700s. The burial ground serves as the final resting place of many notable figures, including founding member Major Popham, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Veterans from every major American American conflict as buried here as well. So intriguing is the space that each year the Church hosts a graveyard tour and Halloween party in October, complete with costumed figures playing some of the cemetery’s most notable occupants.

Greatness in the past and present

Although it’s steeped in history, the church is also modern . “Our congregation is politically diverse. We’re LGBTQ+ friendly,” says Mother Storm. “We also co-run a food pantry in the Bronx with another Episcopalian church.” Russell Grant, a parishioner and member of the history committee, adds, “We've been involved with refugee ministry with Hearts and Homes for Refugees.”

Mother Storm hopes the Church’s anniversary will raise awareness of what a great house of worship the St. James the Less is. “One of our primary goals for this year is to be connected to the community and make sure it knows they're welcome. Sometimes we can seem tucked away here, perched on this hill surrounded by a rural graveyard, but we want people to come here and enjoy our graveyard and walk all around. That goes for all the time, but especially this year.”