928 Effingham Street in downtown Portsmouth
757-399-7707 phone
757-399-0080 fax
saintjamesportsmouth@gmail.com
Priest-in-Charge
The Reverend Diane C. Hill
Staff
Mrs. Bonita Albergottie-Pugh, Secretary
Ms. Patricia Burns, Sexton
Vestry
Mrs. Bonita Albergottie-Pugh, Secretary
Ms. Patricia Burns, Sexton
Vestry
Dr. Robert Campbell, Sr. Warden (2023)
Mrs. Carolyn Kelly Jr. Warden (2024)
Ms. Patrica Burns (2023)
Dr. Faye Felton, Registrar/Vestry member (2025)
Dr. Soji Akomolafe (2024)
St. James History
Click here for a complete history of St. James.
In 1890, a few members of Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk, who lived in Portsmouth, persuaded their rector, the Rev. George Freeman Bragg, Jr., to arrange to hold services in Portsmouth, which resulted in the establishment of a mission with Dr. Bragg serving until other arrangements could be made. The home of the mission church was an old blacksmith shop, various halls and an abandoned saloon before the first church was built on High Street. The congregation moved to the current building in 1924. The parish house was built in the 1920's as well and was the only recreation hall available to and used by the surrounding black community for many years. The Portsmouth Community Library began in the parish house in 1937, funded by the Works Progress Administration and the National Youth Administration of the New Deal.
St. James History
Click here for a complete history of St. James.
In 1890, a few members of Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk, who lived in Portsmouth, persuaded their rector, the Rev. George Freeman Bragg, Jr., to arrange to hold services in Portsmouth, which resulted in the establishment of a mission with Dr. Bragg serving until other arrangements could be made. The home of the mission church was an old blacksmith shop, various halls and an abandoned saloon before the first church was built on High Street. The congregation moved to the current building in 1924. The parish house was built in the 1920's as well and was the only recreation hall available to and used by the surrounding black community for many years. The Portsmouth Community Library began in the parish house in 1937, funded by the Works Progress Administration and the National Youth Administration of the New Deal.
