Hymn Sing Sunday; Faith on the Silver Screen; Events, Highlights & More

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024

Angels Sing; The Devil Only Speaks

Music has been with us since we slithered from the sea and began to squeak and howl. In fact, if the songs of sea creatures are any indication of our past, our ancestors sang even before they hit the beach. The tunes may be different, but the impulse is the same—to call out in pain, joy, warning, herd fellowship...

Music is transcendent theology. Hildegard of Bingen, the twelfth-century mystic and composer, took music so seriously that in one of her plays, while the soul and the angels sing, the devil has only a speaking part. Music has been denied him.

—Bill Henderson

Simple Gifts: Great Hymns: Songs of Love and Wonder

Worship Shorts

To align with our SCAPC Strategic plan in offering some alternative worship opportunities beyond what happens on Sunday mornings, we are planning ‘Worship Shorts’ that will take place on several Sunday evenings this summer.

Our first Worship Short will be a brief service of hymns this Sunday, June 30, at 5:00 p.m. in the Land Building, followed by a time for congregation members to make requests. All ages are welcome! We will conclude with ice cream and fellowship on the Land Building porch.

Stay tuned for future Worship Shorts including a Jam Session BBQ, Backpack Blessing, and more! Contact Judith Halverson, Worship & Music Committee Chair, if you have ideas for more Worship Shorts.

Our Organ's Last Sunday?

To make way for our new Sanctuary organ, our existing Austin organ will be removed this summer. Therefore, we will be including a decommissioning service for the organ during worship this Sunday, just in case this is its last service with us. Special music has been prepared for this momentous farewell. Stay tuned, pun intended, for an article in next week's Quatrefoil explaining where we are in the process of preparing the Sanctuary to receive the new organ.

Our Church Mission in Photos

In January of this year, following five months of listening sessions with the congregation and various church groups, the Strategic Planning Committee presented a new plan envisioning where SCAPC strives to be in the next five+ years. The plan draws from an updated mission statement, an illustration of which can be viewed in the 2-minute slideshow below. You may find yourself in this photo-rich display! To review the complete plan, click here.

For the month of July, our pastors will lead a series of sermons at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday services (Sanctuary and livestream) on how the life of faith intersects with themes and issues depicted poignantly in the movies. Each sermon will address a theological theme in a particular movie, and then that evening all will be invited to watch and discuss that movie together.

Movie Nights will be held each Sunday from 5-7 p.m. in the Land Building.

JULY 7: ABOUT A BOY

"No Man Is an Island", Chris Currie

JULY 14: INDIANA JONES

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

"Forces Beyond Imagination",

Ashley Brown

JULY 21: LION

"Finding Our Way Home", Chris Currie

JULY 28: INSIDE OUT

"Anatomy of a Soul", Sarah Chancellor-Watson

Ashley Brown's Sermon at Berean Presbyterian

This past Sunday, SCAPC Pastoral Resident Ashley Brown served as guest preacher at Berean Presbyterian Church. Her sermon transcript can be found on our transcripts page. This Sunday, June 30, Ashley will guest preach at Metairie Ridge Presbyterian Church.

Set Up Automatic Monthly Donations

If you would like to establish automatic monthly payments to the church, to break out your Stewardship pledge or other gift, we invite you to do so on our new recurring donation page at scapc.org/donate-recurring. If you have any questions, please contact Hallie Boh. We thank you always for your continued dedication. All of our ministries, both within and beyond our congregation, are simply not possible without your financial gifts.

Youth News

LETTER WRITING THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday, June 30, from 10:30-noon after our morning service, up in the youth room, we will be writing letters to homebound friends in our SCAPC community. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about members of our church you may not see regularly and to bring some joy to folks that are elderly or can’t connect with our congregation like they used to, so we hope you will stick around after the service to be part of this small but important project.

PEACE PROJECT

The church is trying to put together a gallery of sorts this fall demonstrating all the different places we find “peace” in our world, and we want our youth to be involved. So we have a mission for each of our youth this summer: Find one person, place, thing, or activity that brings you PEACE and send it to Chris via text or email. It can be a photo of your summer camp, your dog, your favorite free time activity, or an individual that makes you feel calm and safe – anything works! Our plan is to make a collage of these for the church and our families to see upon returning from vacation.

MORE GRADUATE NEWS

We recently learned the college plans of three more SCAPC high school grads: Adele Barba will attend Washington & Lee University; Jack Christie will attend Purdue University; and Gloria Ruiz will attend Tulane University. We send our prayers to each as they embark on their new journeys!

Books Donated to Learning Center in Ghana

In a partnership with our community ministry partner STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading), STAIR and SCAPC sent three 33-pound boxes of books to the Senchi Ferry Learning Center in Ghana. Pictured here is Katie Brendler labeling some of the books that will go to their library. To learn more about our mission work in Ghana, visit scapc.org/ghana.

Meeting: June 24, 2024

The SCAPC session is embarking on a summer reading project using the book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millenials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future, by Jean Twenge. The financial report as of May 2024 indicated YTD budgeted revenue of $989,419 (total budget of $2,501,765) and YTD expenses of $874,072 for a surplus of $115,347 YTD. Session will not meet in July and the next stated session meeting will take place on Monday, August 26, 2024.

Another Successful Summer for Camp RHINO!

Camp RHINO has officially wrapped for the summer! In our final two weeks of camp we welcomed youth and sponsors from Oakhurst Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, McAlester Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois. They worked on service projects with our partners Rebuilding Together, Okra Abbey, the Junior League Diaper Bank, The New Orleans Mission, and Berean Presbyterian Church. Pastor Sarah would also like to extend special thank you our staff this year for all their hard work – Steffan Johnson (YAV), Madeline Weiser, and Matt McCann.

Crescent City Café Brunch Fundraiser

Crescent City Café, one of our community ministry partners, provides free breakfasts twice a month for the homeless and low-income population, serving the poor and marginalized members of our community with dignity, and building relationships through the sharing of meals. This Saturday, June 29, the café will hold their Me+3 Brunch from 9:45-10:45 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Come enjoy delicious food, introduce your friends to the Café, and pay-it forward. A $20 donation provides a meal for you and three future guests. Click here to make reservations or submit a donation.

Okra Abbey Grace & Greens

Okra Abbey, one of our community ministry partners, is a community garden and sacred space for the residents of the Pigeon Town neighborhood. Fresh produce is grown and provided to neighbors who have trouble accessing healthy foods. On June 12, several SCAPC volunteers helped with the Abbey's weekly community meal, Grace & Greens. Kathy Randall brought supplies donated by SCAPC Presbyterian Women. Lunch included fried chicken, green beans, baked beans, rolls, and tomato cucumber salad. In addition to those present who enjoyed the meal, 20 to-go boxes were assembled. Savannah and Arden Weiser, Nicole Patel, Lorrie Powell and Lee Randall all helped the meal go smoothly. Desserts were baked by Helen Barnett and Mary Lou O'Keefe. Waters were provided by Beth Wren, Libbie Reiss, Nicole Patel, Kate Prechter and Kathy Randall.

YAF Kayaking Outing

Last weekend, our YAF group (Young Adults & Families) enjoyed a sunset kayaking cruise on Bayou St. John! Visit scapc.org/yaf for upcoming events.

This Week's Prayer List

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