Saint James the Fisherman Episcopal Church (Anglican) is a parish church of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida. Our parish began in 1959 when Episcopalians in the Upper Florida Keys wanted a place to worship without having to drive miles to get there. They convinced the bishop of the then Diocese of South Florida to open a mission in Tavernier, Florida. First named St. Andrews-on-the Keys, the name changed to St. Simeon's-on-the-Keys, then St. Adrian's Episcopal Mission, before the congregation finally settled on the name St. James the Fisherman, probably because fishing is so popular in the Florida Keys. St. James moved to its present location, on Plantation Key in the Village of Islamorada, Florida in 1970. It is appropriate that, with our name, we should be located in Islamorada, for Islamorada is the "Sports Fishing Capital of the World" and is President George Bush, Sr.'s favorite place for bone fishing.

We met, for services, in a secondhand, prefabricated structure until completion of the new church buildings in 2001. St. James is the only Episcopal Church between Marathon, Florida in the Middle Keys and Homestead, Florida on the mainland. St. James operates a Children's Center, for pre-school children, as a ministry to the community.

Saint James the Fisherman Episcopal Church offers a full range of parish worship, Christian education and programs for spiritual development. We enjoy a very active parish social life, and have numerous parish dinners, pig roasts, dances and other social events throughout the year. We attract a wide variety of worshipers, many from other denominations, who attend St. James, during the winter "Snowbird" season simply because they enjoy the beauty of our liturgy, the evangelical proclamation of the love of Jesus in our sermons, the emphasis on God's Grace in our teaching and the warmth and hospitality they experience in our parish church. Our congregation more than doubles in size each winter, as visitors from the north come to the Florida Keys.

Our worship is in the "Broad Church" tradition of the Episcopal Church. We celebrate the Holy Eucharist, Rite II as our principal worship service. During the fall through the spring, we have services at 8:00 and 10:00 A.M. During the summer months, we gather for worship at 9:00 A.M. We celebrate the major feast days of the Church on the appropriate date. During the winter / spring season, we also offer a Holy Eucharist, with healing.

You do not have to be an Episcopalian in order to worship with us. We welcome all to our parish worship and any baptized person who wishes to receive the Body and Blood of Christ may do so at our altar. If you do not want to receive communion, you may still come to the altar for a blessing.

This page is copyrighted, 2003 - 2008, by St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church