Episcopal Church (United States) by the House of Deputies for a nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop is the chief pastor and primate of the Episcopal Church and is charged with providing leadership in the development of the Church's program as well as speaking on behalf of the Church. The Presiding Bishop does not possess a territorial see; since the 1970s, however, the Presiding Bishop has enjoyed extraordinary jurisdiction (metropolitical authority) and has authority to visit dioceses for sacramental and preaching ministry, for consulting bishops, and for related purposes. The Presiding Bishop chairs the House of Bishops as well as the Executive Council of the
St. James Episcopal Church (Amesbury, Massachusetts) at St. James under Fr. Mike Shirley. The Reverend Susan Esco-Chandler became a Priest-in-Charge at St. James in 2006, and oversaw extensive renovations to the church and growth in children's programs, Christian education, and membership. St. James Episcopal Church (Amesbury, Massachusetts) St. James Episcopal Church is an historic parish in Amesbury, Massachusetts. St. James parish, in Amesbury, Massachusetts, has its roots in 18th century Anglican worship, and takes its present form from the Episcopal Church of the 19th century. Episcopalians were worshipping in Amesbury as early as 1711. The first Episcopal church was built around 1745, in what is now