St. James Church Reopening This Week

The liturgy will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the feast of St. James the Apostle. There will be a reception immediately following the service. All are welcome.

The music and the musicians are ready; the pastor selected; and all the pews, windows and floors have been cleaned at St. James Church on Detroit Avenue.  “(We’re) ready for the doors swing open,” said Toni Sabo, the president of the Friends of St. James Organization. “We’re ready to welcome our parish family back to our spiritual home.” Sabo said the organization is looking to invite the community as a whole to participate in the reopening.  The shuttered church on Detroit Avenue is slated to open its doors again after Lennon reversed his 2010 decision to close about a dozen parishes in Northeast Ohio. The liturgy will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the feast of St. James the Apostle.  There will be a reception immediately following …

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Snapshot: Dedication, Crowning at St. James

Starting to officially feel like a church, with the reopening of the parish expected by August.

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St. James Parishioners Ready to 'Roll Up Their Sleeves'

When the church eventually reopens, volunteers will be ready.

Parishioners at St. James Catholic Church are ready to “roll up their sleeves and begin the hard work” of restoring thire shuttered church on Detroit Avenue. That’s according to Toni Sabo, president of the Friends of St. James organization, who earlier this month asked parishioners to take a survey about the reopening of the church. The feedback was immediate. “We have had a robust response to our survey,” said Sabo, adding that 220 people have already responded. “So when Bishop (Richard) Lennon assigns our pastor, we will have an army of volunteers ready to help him to begin the work of spreading the good news to the community.” The church is expected to reopen sometime this summer, but the Cleveland Diocese said Wednesday that churches …

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St. James Expected to Reopen This Summer

Shuttered church on Detroit Avenue set to reopen, but questions remain.

St. James Catholic Church is expected to reopen sometime this summer. But that’s about where any certainty regarding the parish ends. Questions remain about the church's leadership and physical restoration — and no firm date has been set. The shuttered church on Detroit Avenue is slated to open its doors again after Bishop Richard Lennon reversed his 2010 decision to close 12 parishes in Northeast Ohio. “It’s time to have peace and unity in the diocese of Cleveland,” Lennon said in April.  On Wednesday, he met with Toni Sabo, president of the Friends of St. James organization, to discuss a “rough timeline” for the restoration of the closed parishes. “He hopes to begin to reopen the parishes mid-June and open all 12 by mid-July,” she said…

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St. James Saved: Parishioners’ Prayers Answered

A community rejoices following the decision by the Cleveland Diocese to reopen a dozen area churches — including Lakewood's St. James.

Julia Rutkowski grew up at St. James Catholic Church on Detroit Avenue. It’s where she was baptized, confirmed and went to school.  She stopped going to church altogether in 2010 when Bishop Richard Lennon issued a decree to close St. James and dozens of other Cleveland-area parishes. For the past two years, Rutkowski went from protesting to praying — hoping that the parish would reopen. On Tuesday morning, her prayers were answered. The shuttered church on Detroit Avenue is set to open its doors again after Bishop Richard Lennon reversed his 2010 decision to close 12 parishes in Northeast Ohio. “It’s time to have peace and unity in the diocese of Cleveland,” Lennon announced in a press conference Tuesday morning. "We need to continue to …

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Colin McEwen

3:09 pm on Wednesday, April 18, 2012

This church couldn't have been demolished. After it closed, the parish was named Lakewood's second historic landmark (the other one is the Oldest Stone House on Lake Avenue)   more ›

Praying, Waiting for St. James

Bishop Richard Lennon has 60 days to appeal the Vatican’s decision to overturn his decision to close 13 parishes — including Lakewood’s St. James.

For the past two years, the parishioners of the shuttered St. James Catholic Church in Lakewood have been hoping and praying. Now, they’re just waiting. After the Vatican recently overturned Bishop Richard Lennon’s 2010 decision to close 13 parishes in the Cleveland area, the bishop has 60 days to appeal the decision.  According to sources, if he doesn’t, it’s likely that the church will reopen. “It’s in the bishop’s court at this point,” said Toni Sabo, president of the Friends of St. James. “He’s got the keys.”  Sabo said members of the organization haven’t heard anything from the Cleveland Diocese, despite sending out a letter to the bishop and hosting a press conference last week. “He hasn’t really said anything,” she said. “We’re just…

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Poll: Would You Return to St. James If It Reopened?

There's still hope that the church open its doors again after the Vatican reversed Bishop Richard Lennon's 2009 decision.

If the St. James Catholic Church were to reopen its doors, after the Vatican reversed Bishop Richard Lennon's decision to close the parish, would you go back? According to news reports, the Vatican made a decision to overturn Bishop Lennon's move to close 50 parishes in 2010. According to reports, 13 of them would reopen. Attorney Peter Borre told the Associated Press that the Cleveland diocese failed to follow church law and procedure in its closings of the Cleveland-area parishes. So, take our poll and let us know if you'd consider going back.

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