Reaching Our Audience
Kevin Jeske-Polyak • February 1, 2022

REACHING OUR AUDIENCE - During 2021, the inspirational messages conveyed during our weekly  services at St. James were accessed in a variety of ways, including  in-person attendance, live viewing online, audio & video on demand, and on cable TV.  


Live Services . . . The total number of devices that accessed 21 live  worship services held via Zoom, (and simulcast on Facebook) reached 1,822 and 438, respectively. In-person attendance during 22 outdoor worship services reached 502. Attendance during 27 early morning worship services inside the church reached 257. Attendance during 35 regular worship services inside the church, (and simulcast on YouTube), reached 3,128 and 895, respectively.


Recorded Services . . . Archived video and audio recordings accessed online on demand expanded the reach of  these worship services to an even wider audience. The number of views logged for 21 video recordings accessed on Facebook reached 2,880. The number of views for 34 video recordings accessed on YouTube reached 2,005. The  number of views for 52 video recordings accessed at Archive.org reached 499. The number of times 54 audio recordings of sermons were accessed at Archive.org reached 762.  


In addition, recordings of all regular worship services, (both virtual and in-person), were aired on Community Television of Knoxville, accessible to approximately 100,000 cable subscribers in Knox Co. and viewers around the world via the Internet.

Weekly Letter, 06/12/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • June 12, 2025

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Weekly Letter, 05/29/2025

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Weekly Letter, 05/22/2025

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Weekly Letter, 05/15/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • May 15, 2025

Weekly Letter, 05/08/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • May 12, 2025
Friends and Neighbors, This Sunday is Mother's Day and also Good Shepherd Sunday. Both celebrations have been shaped and changed over the years. Good Shepherd Sunday got the name as we do read the passage from John 10 about Jesus the Good Shepherd, and Mother's Day has roots going back to Mothering Sunday in England. The establishment of Mother's Day in the United States was motivated by the recognition of the work of Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Anna M. Jarvis. These women worked for sanitary health care for soldiers and were advocates for peace during the Civil War. They imagined a union of mothers who would call for peace because mothers knew so deeply the loss of their children to war. Mothering and shepherding call for similar qualities of protection and care.

Weekly Letter, 05/01/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • May 12, 2025
We continue celebrating Easter as we move into a month full of celebrations and transitions. I am looking forward to just hanging out with folks this Saturday night at our spaghetti dinner. You can find details about that in this email. Please mark your calendars for the annual Justice Knox Celebration on May 19 from 6:30 PM- 8:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church. We will have dinner and share stories about the next steps. You will also be asked to consider making an investment in the work of Justice Knox. I hope that you will consider giving to this important ministry.

Weekly Letter, 04/24/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • April 24, 2025
Alleluia. Christ is risen. We celebrated the resurrection with so much joy this past Sunday. The Easter feast continues for 50 days. Thank you to everyone who made Holy Week and Easter Sunday so special. You helped people feel welcomed to this place where we proclaim the welcoming love of Christ in word, deed, song, Easter egg hunts, and something good to eat. We welcome others because we have known the love of Christ and want to share it.

Weekly Letter, 04/17/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • April 17, 2025
Friends and Neighbors, As we journey through Holy Week, I encourage you to pause and consider those events that lead us to the joyful celebration of Easter. May that also be reflected in our lives. We walk through hard things and know that God is with us. We hold to the hope that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Weekly Letter, 04/10/2025

By John Mark Wiggers • April 17, 2025
Friends and Neighbors, As the weather teases us with warm days followed by chilly ones, we enter Holy Week. You have probably heard me encouraging folks to experience the journey to the cross and the grave so we might celebrate the resurrection with that insight. God has shared this human experience and is with us in the darkness and the light. Our liturgies of Holy Week take us on that journey with Jesus and remind us that God is indeed with us on our own journeys.
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