the nave and chancel are of carved Flemish oak, and the interior height is 48 feet. The altar is crafted from white Vermont marble, with four onyx supporting pillars. The reredos and tabernacle behind the altar are of carved Flemish oak, matching the surrounding walls, and rise into a set of panels containing wood burnings. A plaque designates the area in memory of first rector Gustaf Unonius, who died the same year the church was completed. The wood burning panels were created by Mrs. R.K. Paine, started in 1902 and completed in 1907. The original church building at Ninth and Chicago streets was sold to Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, and razed in 1927. Ecumenism St. James' is located on Eighth and State streets in the heart of the neighborhood locally referred to as Holy Hill (not related to Holy Hill National Shrine), immediately north of the National Register of Historic Places Eighth Street Historic District. The close proximity of historic ELCA Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic churches and the Jewish synagogue in this neighborhood has facilitated ecumenical partnership and collaboration among those congregations. A variety of community forums, joint educational opportunities, and ecumenical worship are offered by these congregations. Notable clergy Since 1848, St. James' has been served by 39 rectors, four deacons, and a number of interim clergy, with several clergy of note in addition to those of historical significance. George W. Thompson contracted cholera, while nursing cholera patients and died in 1854. G.B. Engel (rector from 1860–1864) gave up his pastoral duties for a time to serve as a military chaplain for the 14th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. B. Talbot Rogers was the first priest vocation from within the parish in 1855, and also served as rector in 1890. Joan Smoke became the first woman to be ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Fond du Lac in 1998. Worship St. James' Episcopal Church is a "broad church" parish, offering a balance between the high church and low church styles of churchmanship. In worship and theology, this stresses and embraces the breadth of Episcopal doctrine and practice. The original marble altar, raised up several tiers, is used to celebrate some Eucharists, while a simpler wooden altar placed at floor level near the congregation is used for others. Worship is from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, primarily using Rite II, written