Before the people of Lark Harbour had their own church, they attended services at St. Ambrose Church in John's Beach. In June of 1895 work on the new church began.Mr. Michael Rourke, a contractor from the Bay of Islands, began putting up the framing and as soon as fishing season was over that year, the parishoners intended going after boards and shingles.Rev. A.C. Waghorne visited the parish in Oct. 1895 and helped the ladies set up a committee for the purpose of fund raising. The ladies started a sewing class and on New Year's day they held their first church sale. Proceeds from the sale went toward the purchase of windows for their new church. By hard work and determination, the people of Lark Harbour finished their church and in 1898 it was consecrated by the Bishop Jones. The first baptism in the new church was that of Edith Park on Feb. 1,1898 and one of the first marriages was that of Jonathan Sheppard and Lena Seymour on Oct.22,1898. The first St. James Church was located at the lower end of Lark Harbour where the present day cemetery lies. The present St. James Church was built in 1962 and is located on the intersection of Lark Harbour Road and the road to Bottle Cove. St. James celebrated its 100th anniversary on Feb.1, 1998 and special celebrations were held to mark the occasion.

Incumbents - Mission/Parish of the Bay of Islands:

• The Rev. A.C. Waghorne - 1895-1898
• The Rev. H.G. Pegg - 1899-1903
• The Rev. H. Petley - 1903-1933
• The Rev. G.S. Templeton - 1934-1949
• The Rev. W. Wells - 1949-1963
• The Rev. J. Reid - >1963-1970
• The Rev. A.W. Churchill - 1970-1978
• The Rev. L. Collett - 1978- 1983
• The Rev. K. Turnbull - 1983-1986
• The Rev. R.J. Thomson - 1986-1990
• The Rev. Canon Joyce Payne - 1991-