Our Pastor

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The Rev. Noella Austin Buchanan

In May of 2005, Reverend Noella Austin Buchanan was appointed as the first female and the thirty-fourth pastor of St. James. She has challenged this congregation to become more community focused and has helped set up tutorial and state hiring programs for some of the neighborhood schools in the Ville.

Before her appointment to St. James, Rev. Noella was the founding pastor of Corona Community African Methodist Episcopal Church in California, a mission minded church that supported workers in the United States, Haiti and Africa. While there, she was instrumental in the start up of several non profit organizations and in receiving over a million dollars in grants for outreach programs. The main emphasis was on providing educational classes for the prevention of teen pregnancy and gang prevention; HIV/AIDS eradication; nutrition education and holding public forums on infant mortality which resulted in statewide recognition of these programs.

Prior to going into the ministry full time, Rev. Noella worked in the corporate sector as an Operational Auditor and Regional Personnel Manager for Southern California Edison for 32 years before retiring. She has served as Lead Executive for the United Way, was a member of the Board of Directors for the Sickle Cell Foundation, the Advisory Council for the College Placement Association and faculty search committee. She has received numerous citations and awards for her religious and community work.

Rev. Noella, a third generation of pastors and missionary workers, made history by becoming the first female Treasurer for the Missouri Conference. She was the president of the Fifth Episcopal District, Women in Ministry and has preached throughout the United States and internationally on the mission fields of Africa. She was named Pastor of the Year 2009 for the 5Th Episcopal District of the AME Church (covering the 14 Western State, Alaska and India)

Rev. Noella completed her undergraduate work at Redlands University, CA and matriculated towards her Masters of Divinity at Fuller and Payne Theological Seminary. She also attended Doctorial sessions at the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) Adrus Gerontology Center and Medical Center where she developed statewide programs in the fields of Pre-retirement and Grief counseling.

She is married to The Reverend Dr. Morris A. Buchanan, retired pastor. They have a daughter and two grandchildren. Reverend Noella Austin Buchanan's greatest desire is to serve the LORD and to be a blessing to His people.

Spirtual Leader
Rev. Dr. Morris A. Buchanan

Rev. Dr. Morris Alexander Buchanan retired after a very distinguish pastorate in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Dr. Buchanan was the founding pastor of Culver City Community AME Church and was then moved to Bethel AME Church in Fontana, California where not only did he restored a 50 years old congregation to its former glory but proved invaluable services to the populous of the areas which made him an intricate part of that community. He set up programs to meet the needs of feeding and clothing those disenfranchised received various citations bringing much adulation from the city government and other neighborhood groups.

His leadership ability was evident in the Southern California Conference where he served as the former president of the Ministerial Alliance covering 55 churches in California and Nevada, as Conference Statistician and instructor of the 4th year class of instruction. He did his undergraduate work at California State University at Los Angeles and taught for several years. He later completed his Masters of Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and received a Doctorate in Humanities, honoring his community service.

Dr. Buchanan spent previous years as an actor, producer and director. He starred in various roles in radio, movies, television, and stage. In addition to producing and directing plays on and off Broadway, he was the president of a production company specializing in Documentary, which made training films. He attended the Prestigious Pasadena Community Playhouse and has performed throughout the United State, Canada, Africa, England, and France.

After retirement, Dr. Buchanan moved to St. Louis, Missouri and serves as the Spiritual Advisor of St. James, where his wife, Rev. Noella Austin Buchanan servers as pastor.