Welcome to St James - our clergy, our history   Our clergy The Venerable Andrew Oddy Fr Andrew was trained at Trinity College for the Diocese of Melbourne and studied at the United Faculty of Theology at Parkville.  He has a strong background in community welfare.  He is a member of the governing committee of the Darebin Inter-Faith Council and meets regularly with members of other faiths.  He has a keen interest in New Testament scholarship.      In March 2010, the parish welcomed The Revd Cecilia Francis as associate priest. The Revd Philippa Wetherell The Revd Philippa was born in Brisbane and was a member of the Society of the Sacred Advent, an Anglican religious community, for 26 years. She was a teacher of speech and drama and English in the Queensland schools of the Society. The Revd Philippa studied theology at the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne, graduating in 1990 and then spent eight years teaching in Papua New Guinea, the last four as a partner in mission with the Anglican Board of Mission at Newton Theological College in Popondetta. From 2002- 2009 she ministered on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia in the Diocese of Willochra and was ordained priest there in 2003.  The Revd Philippa has a passion for mission in developing countries, for the cause of refugees, for the Brotherhood of St Laurence and social justice and for theatre, opera and classical music. History St James, East Thornbury began as weatherboard mission and branch church of the parish of Holy Trinity, Thornbury. So it remained until 1924 when it became an independent parish in its own right. It was during these first ten years that St James, under its first vicar the Reverend Briggs, became an Anglo-Catholic parish. In 1966, the parishes of St Aidan's, Northcote and St James were incorporated into the new parish of St James on the current site.  In 1969, from the proceeds of the St Aidan's property the congregation was able to build the church we have today and the old St James weatherboard building became the church hall. In 2001, the parish of St. James, Thornbury was merged with the already combined parish of All Saints, Northcote and St Paul’s, Fairfield to create the Parish of South Darebin.  St James continues to maintain its distinctive identity as a community despite this recent change and maintains its style of worship amidst an accepting, Christian community.