St James', Franklin Village
St James’ Anglican Church, Franklin Village (Youngtown), is at the southern end of Launceston, Tasmania, and is part of the parish of Holy Trinity Launceston. Regular services are held on Wednesdays at 11.00am.

Our services follow the set Anglican liturgy, and the intimate nature of the building creates a friendly atmosphere. Visitors are most welcome. As with all Anglican churches, there is an emphasis on hearing God's word through readings from the Bible, and an attempt to grapple with its meaning and significance in Bible focused sermons.

The parish also includes St Andrew’s, Evandale and St Matthias’, Windermere.

The church is located on Hobart Road at Youngtown directly opposite Franklin House.
Staff
Rector: Dane Courtney
Archdeacon Dane Courtney grew up in Sydney, attending Trinity Grammar School and then the University of Sydney, where he trained as a teacher (Mathematics). He taught briefly, and then worked for the Crusader Union before studying for ordained ministry. He has served in the Anglican Churches at St Ives, South Carlton, Quakers Hill, Strathfield, and since May 2017, Holy Trinity Launceston. Dane and his wife, Bronwen, have three adult children and two grandchildren. His other interests include sailboards, computers, music, Rugby and golf.

In addition to his role as Rector of Holy Trinity (which includes St Andrew’s, Evandale), Dane is Archdeacon for the Northern Ministry District in the Diocese of Tasmania and a member of the Diocesan Council. He is a member of the General Synod Liturgy Commission and has been a member of the General Synod since 2001. He is a Board member of Launceston Church Grammar School, having previously served on the Council of Trinity Grammar School for 23 years, and was chairman of the Council of Rouse Hill Anglican College from its commencement in 2002 until the end of 2007. He is a Board member of Broughton Publishing, which is owned by the Anglican Church of Australia and publishes A Prayer Book for Australia.

Senior Associate Priest: John Tongue
The Rev’d John Tongue grew up around Tamworth in northern NSW and studied Science, teaching at Calrossy Anglican Girls School in Tamworth. He studied theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, where he met and married Shirley, herself a former student at Ridley who had stayed on to work in the office as assistant to the Registrar. They have two adult children, Peter and Kimberley, both currently living at home. After initially exploring the possibility of Missionary Service, John was ordained in the Armidale Diocese, spending time in Boggabri and Boggabilla before becoming Vicar of Tenterfield. At the end of 2002, the family moved to Hobart, where Shirley had grown up, with John becoming Rector of Holy Trinity, North Hobart (since incorporated into the Wellspring Parish). That was followed by time in the parish of Ulverstone, where John was also made Archdeacon of the North West, later moving to be Priest-in-charge of Devonport. John and Shirley are both keen bird-watchers, engaging in ‘twitching’, birding, survey work, and guiding from ‘Friends of Lillico Penguins’, a hobby which has taken the family to most parts of the State and Country. John is also keen on ‘country’ wine making – using fruit, flowers, vegetables, etc – and is a member of Lions.
Honorary Assistant Priest: Ken Box
The Rev’d Ken Box was born and grew up in Launceston, attending Scotch College before commencing an apprenticeship as an Automotive Electrician and winning the Apprentice of the Year award in 1964. Ken is married to Lyn with 2 children, 1 surviving grandchild and 4 great grandchildren.

He worked as an Auto Electrician until he experienced God’s call to ministry in 1974. He travelled with his family to St John’s College Morpeth to study for the ordained ministry.

On returning to Tasmania he served in the parishes of Burnie, St James New Town and George Town before accepting a chaplaincy position in the Royal Australian Air Force. For the next 20 years home was where the air force sent them. Ken completed his time in the RAAF as Director of Chaplaincy in Training Command. During his RAAF career he completed a Diploma of Education and Master of Ministry degree together with qualifications in relationship counselling and psychology.

In semi-retirement he has served in several locum roles in Tasmanian parishes before accepting his current position as Associate Priest at Holy Trinity.

Ken’s hobbies include working around his farm, sailing and a vintage MG sports car.

Office Assistant: Lorraine Andrews
Lorraine Andrews grew up in Launceston and first came to Holy Trinity Church in 1973 when she joined the choir. Her occupation has always been in office work. After a couple of years travelling and working overseas she married Norman. They have four adult children. When the children were young Lorraine was involved with the Sunday School and children's activities. Since that time Lorraine has been involved in parish life as the office secretary, parish council secretary, rector's warden, parish council member, various committees, Mothers' Union, Friday Cafe, sacristan, altar server, thurifer and choir. Her other interests include gardening, cats, music, family history, tai chi and learning new skills.
History
St James’ Church, originally known as Franklin Village Chapel, was built in 1845. From the early 1800s, Long Meadow (known as Franklin Village from 1837) had become a thriving colonial settlement and there was a demand for a place of worship to serve the needs of the local population and of the boys who attended the school established in 1842 and run by Mr William Keeler Hawkes. The first Bishop of Tasmania, Francis Nixon, agreed to a request for a regular Sunday service provided there was a suitable place for the conduct of church services. An acre of land was given by Mr Britton Jones, licensee of the Sir William Wallace Inn, for ‘a school and for the celebration of Divine Worship according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the United Church of England and Ireland and for a place of burial’. The foundation stone was laid on 12 October 1844 and the building opened just six months later on 15 April 1845. The first Rector was the Rev’d William Stackhouse of Perth. At various times St James’ has been attached to the parishes of St Leonards, St John’s Launceston, and Launceston South. Launceston South merged with the parish of Holy Trinity Launceston at the beginning of 2019 and St James’ continues to serve the needs of the local community with a small congregation meeting on Thursdays at 11.00am.
Conservation
St James' is currently in good repair, but new maintenance and conservation projects arise regularly. Community support is very welcome. Contact us for more information. The church and grounds are maintained by volunteers and we invite you to become part of this network.
Services
Wednesday 11.00am
Sunday services for the parish are held at Holy Trinity at 8.30am and 10.30am, and at St Andrew’s, Evandale at 5.00pm. The 10.30am service at Holy Trinity is also live-streamed via our Youtube channel. Services at St James’ are held on Wednesdays at 11.00am (except during January or on public holidays). It is usually a short service of Holy Communion following the Second Order in A Prayer Book for Australia 1995. As in every Anglican service, there is a clear emphasis on hearing God's word in the Bible readings, and grappling with its meaning and significance in Bible focused sermons. Joining in Holy Communion is a regular reminder that we gather in the name of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for our sins.
Christmas & Easter
Christmas and Easter are two of the best known and most popular occasions in the church calendar. We warmly invite you to join us in celebrating them. Of course, we hope to see you more often than just twice a year! Christmas and Easter Services are generally held for the whole parish at Holy Trinity. Times can be found here.
Sermons
Sermons are recorded whenever possible at Holy Trinity's 10.30am service. They can be found here.
Baptisms, Weddings & Funerals
Baptisms
Baptism is a public expression of putting your faith in Jesus Christ (that is, a public expression of becoming a Christian). The baptism of a child can be a very significant social event for families, and parents request baptism because they are eager to do the very best for their children. We ask parents to take time to properly understand what baptism means, so that the words expressed in the service are meant from the heart. In past generations, baptism of children was very common, but many adults today - and especially younger adults - are not baptised. To find out more, come along to one of our services and speak to a member of the staff. (By the way, many people use the term ‘Christening’, but both the Bible and our Anglican Prayer Book use the proper term, which is ‘baptism’.)
Weddings
St James' provides an attractive setting for a small and intimate wedding ceremony and we welcome inquiries. In order to satisfy the requirements of Australian law and Anglican Church policy, our Marriage Services always follow one of the authorised Anglican Prayer Book forms and are conducted by one of our staff. It may be possible for other Ministers to assist in the service. We will be pleased to meet with you and discuss what is involved. Marriage services can be conducted at any mutually convenient time, but our regular activities on Sundays mean that we are unable to accept bookings for Sunday weddings.
Funerals
Christian funeral services provide an opportunity to express grief and say goodbye. More importantly, they point us to the hope we have in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was raised again to life. Whether a service is planned for the church, crematorium chapel, or other location, we welcome enquiries from those who live in our parish or who have had significant connections with St James' in the past. Please contact us as early as possible to ascertain the availability of the church and ministers.

A columbarium wall is available for the interment of ashes.

Special Events and Activities
Special Events
For up to date details of other special events, please refer to the parish's Facebook page