St James 

St James was the first disciple called by Jesus along with his brother John. He is known as St James the Great, to distinguish him from James the brother of Jesus and a leader in the early church. (Greater in that context meant older or taller, rather than more important.) 
 So what do we know about St James?:

• James was one of the sons of Zebedee and Salome, he and his brother John were nicknamed Sons of Thunder by Jesus
• Tradition says that St. James preached the gospel in Spain, as well as in the Holy Land; he was killed under orders from Herod Agrippa, and his disciples carried his body by sea to Iberia, then took it inland for burial at Santiago de Compostela.
• The Camino de Santiago  known in English as the Way of Saint James is a network of pilgrims' ways leading to the shrine of  Saint James. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth. 

The Scallop Shell

The traditional symbol of St James is a scallop shell, which is why our logo is based on the scallop shell. This was because St James was a fisherman by trade until he left his family to follow Jesus. By doing so, his life was changed forever. Instead of fishing for scallops, he was to become, in Jesus' words "a fisher of people".
In the porch, you will see a wooden sculpture in the shape of a scallop shell.