Hello St. James Family,

On Thursday, December 14^th, a team that included our Trustee Chair, Treasurer, and Lawyer met with Dr. McQueen and the Central North District Staff. All documents and payments required by the North Georgia Conference were verified by Dr. McQueen who then signed the release of St. James from all obligations to the United Methodist Church including the release of the Trust Clause on our property.

Our church email addresses will undergo updates, with the introduction of new email addresses this week. Additionally, a new website is set to be unveiled by year-end. Stay tuned for the latest updates on our progress through a dedicated page on the website.

We extend our sincere gratitude for your overwhelming support during the new name selection process recently completed. There were 424 votes cast and the winner by a significant margin was:

ST. JAMES COMMUNITY CHURCH OF ALPHARETTA

There were several steps needed to secure a new name that were completed by our Trustees and Technology Team. We are grateful for their expedient efforts:

• The name had to be available and certified by the State of Georgia
• A website domain had to be secured and purchased
• An email domain had to be secured and purchased

In order to quickly move through the disaffiliation process, we had to secure the temporary name of ST. JAMES ALPHARETTA. We ask for your patience and indulgence as we complete the steps necessary to move to our permanent name over the next several months.

As we move along this process, below are a few positive highlights from the Governance and Polity Team.

• Benchmarking several churches (Non-denominational and Methodist) governance and polity processes to gain greater insight of other options that may be available for our church to use as we transition. Please stay tuned for polls/surveys as we consider the best options.
• Surveyed current church leadership to get a pulse on their thoughts, concerns, and recommendations as to how we potentially could move forward. We will be reviewing survey results in the near term with leadership for their edification.
• There is a “Governance and Polity” link on our current website where church members can give their suggestions/recommendations on how our church should be governed during this transition period. You can access the link by clicking on the button below.

As we progress through each new phase of reestablishing St. James Alpharetta, we will consistently provide more information to keep you informed.