St. James on Holmes received its architectural remodelling under the supervision of Bp. McNeley, with the collaboration of Lynn Baxter and the workmanship of the Daniel-Klein duo. In Mr. Klein’s own words:
My first impression of 8107 Holmes was a white naugahyde covered piano in the front entrance that looked like it was waiting for Little Richard to come and get it. Once I moved on into the main church I noticed piles and piles of bird nesting material hanging from the light fixtures and spilling onto the floor. All of the woodwork was light blond in color and there were rusted radiators everywhere. It was an enormous task to transform this mess into the beautiful church we see today.
Our first task was to find a contractor willing to oversee the remodel. I had worked with Dave Rood on some health clinic remodels and we retained him as our general contractor. His crew began work and the first order of business was a huge cleanup. Bird nesting, old boiler, radiators, white piano, and other junk was cleared out. We experienced many challenges, some environmental and some code requirements. How would we ever change a cinder block sanctuary into an Anglican Church? “
We ended up plastering the main part of the church and stained the woodwork dark walnut. Our Altar was right at home in the new space along with the beautiful altar rail and paneling from 4400 Wyoming. But something was still missing and Jim Daniels stepped forward with some wonderful design ideas. The team of Daniels and Klein seemed an unlikely pair – Daniels being a successful lawyer and Klein being from the computer world. We discovered in each other a common desire to make our church as beautiful as possible and set about building two huge rood screens. Jim made the rounds of antique shops and we went to the lumber yard. Jim had the design and I made sure the construction was structurally sound. Many parishioners were enlisted to help finish and erect these 12 foot high screens. Jim went off and came back with some beautiful panels to finish the screens and this portion was complete. But wait. During this time Lynn Baxter found a confessional for sale on the internet and had it shipped to St. James. Jim and I went buy the pictures that showed the confessional before it was disassembled and shipped to us. We managed to duplicate some missing parts and the finished product is at the back of the nave.
There were many additional Daniels doo-dads that showed up over the following months and were hung in the appropriate places. Lynn Baxter shopped the internet and found the beautiful stations of the cross. With my trusty hammer drill I mounted them to the walls in the correct order. It was hard to believe but our beautiful church was finally complete.
Today St. James on Holmes serves as the perfect ambience for Anglican worship and is the cathedral parish of the diocese, where ordinations, synods and ecumenical congresses take place, besides the regular parochial worship schedule. We are truely blessed thanks to the benefactors and long standing and faithful members of St. James.