About
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Our History
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While St. James was formally established as a parish in 1843, the first Mass in Creedville (now White Oak) was celebrated in Sylvester Oehler’s barn on August 15, 1840, by the Reverend John M. Henni, S.J., pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Cincinnati. (He would later become the first Archbishop of Milwaukee.) Families like Ambrose and Eva Oehler, George and Theresa Werth, Martin Maier and Thomas Gehrlach worked hard to build a church. On May 5, 1844 that church was blessed and became the gathering place for Catholics in northwest Hamilton County. The parish school was started shortly afterwards.
St. James remained a country parish for a long time but is now a suburban community. The founding families continued to grow and many of their descendants still call St. James their parish. In 1960, the 1849 church had to be replaced with a much larger one. By the early 1970s, there were over 1400 children in the school in grades 2 through 8. The parish had become one of the largest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Despite its size, the people of St. James continue to be a close community, sharing faith as the center of our lives. The same values that gathered families to the Oehler’s barn in 1840 continue to draw families to St. James today.
With about 2200 families, St. James is a vibrant parish, responding to the call of Jesus to spread the Gospel. Dozens and dozens of parish organizations touch the lives of parishioners and those who are not part of our Church. In 170 years, our parish has grown in size and, more importantly, matured in faith. We continue to build on the foundation laid by our ancestors to buildup the Kingdom of God.
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Tour of Our Church
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After a renewal process involving hundreds of parishioners. Comments in that process solidified the sense that a lot of parishioners dislike the church. The Worship commission began discussing repairs for the church.
Father Nolker began talking privately with parishioners about their feelings toward renovation/repair of the church.
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A committee was formed to consider whether to repair or fully renovate. The decision was made that full renovation was the best approach.
Pastoral Council was asked by the Worship Commission if this project was something they would endorse studying. Council advised that the study should be made.
By late summer several architects were invited to view the existing space, listen to our needs/goals and give a preliminary assessment of what might be done. David Sweeney was chosen to pursue the study.
November 7
at Sunday Masses the parish was told that the study was underway.
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February
An update about the work being done by the committee was given to the parish. Preliminary concepts were developed and revised many times. By May a plan was accepted by the committee.
June 15
The preliminary designs and budget were presented to Pastoral Council and Finance Council. Both were enthusiastic and made the recommendation to proceed with design development and fund raising.
June 24
The Sunday Masses included an update.
September 20 - 28
The design video was presented to the parish for comment. It was put on the parish web site.
November 20
The first presentation about the fund drive was given at the Sunday Masses
December 4
The second presentation on the fund drive was given at all Sunday Masses.
December 11
This was “Commitment Sunday” with a third presentation and pledge cards were filled out by parishioners. Over $700,000 was pledged that day, bringing the total to $1 million.
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March 18
It was announced at all Sunday Masses that the drive had met its goal of $1.5 million.
May 17
Approval of the designs was given by Archbishop Schnurr an Archdiocesan Worship Office.
November 21
Bids from general contractors were received and opened.
December 26
The church closes. Parishioners remove the pews from the church.
December 31
The contractor starts!
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May 11
Church Reopens!
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Church Renovation Gallery
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