It is not accidental that upon opening the doors of St. James Church in Davis, the eye is immediately drawn to the inviting entrance of a strikingly designed building on the parish grounds a short distance away.

That building, the St. James Memorial Center, was dedicated Sept. 13 to serve as a gathering place for religious education classes, recreation, and a variety of parish ministry activities.

Following a blessing ceremony by Bishop William K. Weigand, parishioners were invited on a tour of the new 21,000-square-foot Memorial Center, followed by lunch, musical entertainment and activities.

Father Daniel Looney, pastor, said the center was specifically designed to provide “a lovely transition” from one place to another.

“When you come from the church, you see an inviting doorway,” he said. “The connection is very visual and inviting.”

Named to remember parishioners who have helped build the parish and donated funds in memory of family members, St. James Memorial Center has set aside space for 35 parish ministries, providing new opportunities to come together.

The project includes class and meeting rooms, a dining room with meeting room options and seating for more than 200 people, a state of the art kitchen, outdoor gathering areas and a covered walkway with picnic benches.

A flowering pear tree-lined walkway from the church to the Memorial Center will feature stations of the cross and provide opportunities for liturgical processions.

Ronnie Nosek, who is religious education coordinator at St. James, has just moved into her office at the Memorial Center. She said she has already experienced a “new feel” to the expanded parish campus.

“There’s a real sense of parish unity and shared mission,” said Nosek, who looks forward to taking religious education students to the outdoor covered walkway and interacting with fellow staff members in the center. “There is a sense of energy that we’re all together in the mission of the parish.”

Excitement is building among students attending St. James School, who will for the first time in the school’s history will be playing basketball in the new 7,000-square-foot Monsignor Andrew J. Coffey Gymnasium. In addition to the basketball court, the gymnasium has a multi-media screen and may also be used for receptions and other social functions.

Hot food prepared three days a week in the Memorial Center’s kitchen will be available for student lunches in the new covered picnic area.

The entire school campus is now secured by gates throughout entrance and exit areas.

Parishioner Gigi Mar co-chaired the Memorial Center’s three-year capital campaign, in which $2.6 million was pledged to the project by 1,980 families. Mar, who has an 11-year-old daughter attending St. James School and a five-year-old son enrolling next year, sees children of both the school and parish benefiting from the center’s presence.

“Children will be able to use the gymnasium for games and tournaments and for indoor play on rainy days,” she said. “It will be a family place for spaghetti dinners, crab feeds and festivals, a way for people to connect with one another.”

Designed by Comstock Johnson Architects and built by Jackson Construction, both based in Sacramento, the $4.25 million center also serves as the administrative center for parish and ministry staff.

A library resource area in the entrance room and exterior features, including a mother-child fountain area and landscape with more than 160 new trees, complete the project.

Father Looney said that while the parish has experienced “tremendous generosity” from parishioners to fund the center, it was necessary to borrow up to $1.9 million from the diocese, which like a home mortgage is a debt that must be paid off in the years ahead.

“We still hold out hope more people will feel ownership by getting aboard,” he said.

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