St. James celebrated its 30th anniversary in September 2019 as a parish of the Archdiocese of Detroit. We have grown from a few hundred families meeting for Sunday Mass at Parkview Elementary School, to our current enrollment of 2,179 families or households. Our population really exploded when we moved into our permanent home in the fall of 1993. We continue to grow and have completed a Parish Family Life Center which enhances our sense of community and family. Our Parish Family Center has religious education classrooms; a gymnasium; an enhanced kitchen; and meeting spaces. A long-awaited opening and ribbon-cutting took place on January 28, 2006. While we continue to be a “growing parish family,” we also desire to be a parish community where “all are welcome!”  

     St. James parish was created in 1989 by Edmund Cardinal Szoka, Archbishop of Detroit, in response to the ever-growing Catholic population in the city of Novi, Michigan. From July to September of that year, the word was put forth that the Mother Parish, Holy Family, would be divided and the new parish would become St. James the Greater. On September 16, 1989, St. James celebrated its first Mass as an independent parish community in Parkview Elementary School. Archbishop Adam J. Maida gave his approval to proceed with the new parish, and on June 28, 1992, over five hundred parishioners took part in a festive groundbreaking ceremony. Just over a year later, on September 16, 1993, Archbishop Adam Maida dedicated the church building.

The exterior of the building reflects a long heritage in the tradition of Christian churches. Its purpose cannot be mistaken: the image of the Cross is prominent in its overall structure as well as in the windows facing each direction of the compass.

     The narthex serves as a splendid gathering place and leads to the office complex or into the church proper. A dramatic skylight accents the Verona marble of the floor.
The baptismal font occupies a prominent position just inside the doors of the church. It symbolizes the role that baptism plays in our lives, leading us through its cleansing, life-giving waters to membership in the people of God. As members of the Church, our greatest joy will be found in celebrating the Eucharist. Passing the baptismal font, we move into the main body of the church, known as the nave.
     
     The sanctuary, where the main altar sits is at the front of the church. Above the sanctuary platform is a window filled with wheat and grapes, heavy with colors of wine and bread. Through the prayer of the Mass, our simple gifts will become the sacred presence of the Lord Jesus upon the altar just below. This window is the most important in the church, helping us to remember the central purpose of our church: to unite us around the altar to celebrate the Eucharist.  Looking back, above the baptismal font, our attention is drawn to the south window. Here, the Holy Spirit is depicted; descending into the water, from which new life, in all its splendor, comes bursting forth. The window speaks of our new life in Christ, originating in our baptism, through water and the Holy Spirit.

     The east window, facing the rising sun, speaks of the Resurrection. The trumpet-like lilies proclaim the dawn of a new day given to us through the Lord’s triumph over the darkness of sin and death. The west window boldly speaks to us in shades of the evening sunset. The cross reminds us of the necessary end which faces every one of us in the world. Careful observation, however, reveals the hand of God in the upper left quadrant, ready to receive the dying soul into the glories of the eternal kingdom when we arrive at the sunset of our lives.

The window in the daily chapel highlights a few events in the life of Jesus. Staring at the bottom right quadrant, the scroll represents the boy Jesus studying the scripture as he grows in wisdom, age, and grace. The fish symbolizes the apostles, called by Jesus to be the fishers of men. James, the brother of John and himself a fisherman, was one of the first to receive this call. The five roses call to mind the five wounds Jesus suffered in His crucifixion. The butterfly has long symbolized resurrection in Christian art and it is the most glorious of the four panels.

     St. James Church has incorporated a separate chapel for the reservation and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The floor in this very special space is an onyx of rare color and beauty. The five windows in the chapel repeat the same design, a modern interpretation of medieval church windows, intended to bring a sense of repose and meditation to the prayerful believer.

A figure of the Risen Christ dominates the west wall, its arms reaching out to embrace all to worship here. Cast bronze Stations of the Cross flank this figure. This is the main crucifix of the church. It is the norm that there is only one prominent crucifix in a church and that is the reason that the crucifix at the altar is a much smaller one and is used in processions. Statues of Mary, the Mother of the Lord, and St. Joseph, are placed in special niches. The statues are all hand-carved in northern Italy.

     The daily chapel offers a smaller space for liturgies which require and can benefit from more intimacy. This room can also be used to wake a body before a funeral Mass or for small weddings.

An explanation about the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament might be helpful. Catholics have a great deal of reverence for the Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle. Early traditions in the Church held that the tabernacle is given a special place of honor. A tradition that is seen in St. Peter’s in Rome is to have the tabernacle in its own chapel. Consequently, the tabernacle becomes a focus for private prayer and devotion. Most appropriately, the faithful can concentrate on the calling down of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine that have just been placed on the altar at each specific celebration of the Eucharist.

     The use of the chairs in the main church offers a great deal of flexibility for different sorts of liturgies. And, to demonstrate our belief in the presence of the Risen Lord and our union with him, we stand during Mass. Once again, this custom puts us in touch with an ancient tradition observed from the earliest days. When churches were first constructed after the Roman persecutions ended in the fourth century, Christians celebrated Mass by gathering around the table of the altar. The Council of Nicea in 325 AD went so far as to forbid Christians from kneeling on Sundays. The day of the Resurrection was not a day for penance or for assuming a servile position. It was, and it is, a day for rejoicing in our salvation and standing tall in the knowledge of our redemption.

     St. James the Greater of Novi has had four pastors: Reverend James Cronk from September 1989 until June 2003, Reverend George Charnley from July 2003 until June 2012, Monsignor John Kasza from July 2012 to July 2019, and Reverend Edward F. Zaorski from July 2019 to present All have served our community with the spirit of Christ in their hearts.