About Us
St. James Reformed Church has a long and storied history in the Mt. Pleasant community of churches. St. James’ congregation was organized December 3, 1894, in the home of Mrs. C.L. Foil where eight people signed the charter membership roll. Only two officers were named at first to the newly formed congregation and was given the name St. James Reformed Church. A petition was presented to the Classis of North Carolina of the Evangelical and Reformed Church from ‘persons in Mt. Pleasant asking that a Reformed church be organized in that town.’ The request was granted, and the interest was committed to the care of Dr. Paul Barringer, with instructions to ‘organize a congregation at his discretion.’ The original sanctuary was a wood structure that burned down in 1896 and was rebuilt in 1923 with the beautiful red brick façade and stained-glass windows that it has today. This year St. James celebrates 100 years in our present sanctuary!
The Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Church in 1957 and became the United Church of Christ. Due to the theologically liberal direction of the UCC, St. James disaffiliated with the UCC in 2005 and became nondenominational and changed its name back St. James Reformed Church. Over the past 18 years, St. James, has seen growth and decline in attendance like many other churches in America and in our community. What has become evident over this time is that St. James needed to be affiliated with a good, conservative, growing, denomination to help give the church an identity, structure, guidance, and accountability. In keeping with our reformed and liturgical history, over the past year, St. James leadership, along with Reverend Todd Davis, have been working with the Diocese of the Carolinas (ADOC) about affiliation with the ACNA. After much prayer, work, guidance, and divine providence, on November 2, 2023, St. James was provisionally accepted as a congregation in the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas. This ministry partnership will give St. James much needed guidance and resources to grow.
The ACNA is a conservative and growing denomination that was founded in 2008 that has approximately 185,000 members in North America. However, the ACNA is also affiliated with the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), whose membership numbers in the millions worldwide. Because of this relationship, St. James Church is now affiliated and in communion with millions of other Anglicans around the world. For those who are new to Anglicanism, globally, Anglicans form the third largest body of Christians in the world (around 80 million members) behind the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Anglicans make up the largest Protestant faith tradition in the world. Being affiliated with the Diocese of the Carolinas, and the leadership of Bishop Steve Wood, St. James is a ministry partner with a diocese who believes in church planting, church growth, and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Leadership
Church Vestry
Horace(Woody) Foil– Sr. Warden
Jane Cauthen– Jr. Warden
Marianne McLain– Finance Chairman
Rector: Rev. Todd Davis
Rev. Davis is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary earning a Master of Arts in Christian Ministries. Additionally, Rev. Davis has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology and is also a veteran of the United States Army.
Rev. Davis spent over 30 years in telecom engineering serving in engineering and management roles. Rev. Davis was originally ordained into the ministry in 2014 and credentialed as a priest in the Diocese of the Carolinas in 2023. Rev. Davis has been married for 33 years to his lovely wife Beth and they have four adult children. Rev. Davis enjoys being outdoors, jogging, working out, spending time with his family, and reading a good book on theology and or church history.