Jim Fairburn

James (Jim) Fairburn was born in Washington, D.C., but as a member of a military family (USMC), he moved frequently while growing up, including 2 years in Tokyo, Japan, which influenced him profoundly. He received a BA in Sociology with a minor in Art from Allegheny College in 1972 and then moved to the Philadelphia area in 1973. He took a job as Administrator at Philadelphia Center for Older People (now Philadelphia Senior Center) where he worked from 1974-1985. In 1987, Jim graduated with an M. Ed. from Temple University (Tyler School of Art) and subsequently worked for Norristown Area School District, 1988-2010. He served primarily as a middle school Art Teacher, but also as an elementary classroom teacher for three years. He has been retired since June, 2010.

In the fall of 2016, with the troubling election noise and then the catastrophic outcome, Jim was in search of a new church home. During his residency in Chestnut Hill (1987-97) he had attended St. Martin’s occasionally, but gravitated elsewhere. Then in 2016, unhappy in his church situation, a friend, Judy Howard, strongly urged him to give St. Martin’s another try. The rest, as they say, is history.

Jim says, “The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields offers a meaningful synergy of spirituality and activism, as a church should but often doesn’t. The clergy, staff, and parishioners have always been welcoming and affirming. It has been a joy to be involved in so many facets of this parish over the past 4 years (SUPPER, lector, Eucharistic ministry, greeter, gardener, POWER LOC, and choir).”

“I look forward to a new chapter in my involvement with The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields as a member of the Vestry as the parish faces a host of new challenges in the days ahead.”