TUESDAY, JULY 18, 2023

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;

streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above;

praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I've come;

and I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God;

he to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be!

Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart; oh take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above.

-Hymn text by Robert Robinson, 1758

Sung and preached in Sunday's worship service

Sermon Series: Singing Our Faith, Preaching Our Hymns

Prayers for Our Youth

This weekend, 16 of our high school youth leave for the Montreat Youth Conference in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. There, they will join senior high students from around the country for a week of activities including group worship and singing, small group bonding and discussion, and tons of games and energizers as they grow in faith. They will also spend time whitewater rafting and hiking in the mountains. Please keep them in your prayers!

Seeking "Hard Hats"

The SCAPC Nursery School is looking for “Hard Hats” who could build a short, wide bench for the kids to sit on during carpool pick-up. If you would like to help, please email the school at scapcns@gmail.com.

Updating Your Contact Info

If you have recently had a change in your address, email address, or phone number, please email Camille Zander, Membership Coordinator, at camille@scapc.org so that she can update your church record. Thank you!

Help Out Our Young Adult Volunteers!

This month we celebrate and thank the 2022-2023 New Orleans Young Adult Volunteers who have worked with SCAPC as one of our Community Ministry Partners, dedicating "a year of service for a lifetime of change." All are invited to the YAV's closing worship service at Lakeview Presbyterian Church at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25. A Volunteer Community Cleaning Day will take place at the YAV House on Saturday, July 29 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (Find details on the YAV Facebook page).

Your Pledge Dollars at Work:

Check-In on Our 2023 Goals

During our Stewardship Campaign last fall, in which we invited the congregation to make their annual pledges for the year 2023, we expressed nine specific goals towards “reconnecting our community pastorally, relationally, and spiritually”. In our last of three issues, we are spotlighting our goals of:

-       Embracing our identity as an intergenerational community of faith.

• Worship at SCAPC is designed for all ages to come together as one congregational family. We also have individual ministry programs to serve the faith needs of every age group. This year in particular, we rejuvenated the “40/50s Fellowship on the Go” group which recently hosted a “bread baking as spiritual practice” workshop and an Iris/Tucks Watch Party. Also this year, we established a partnership with NOLA Wesley campus ministry that has opened new pathways of ministry for college students. And in May we held an intergenerational Sunday School class to study Jesus’ parables from different family perspectives. Visit our homepage for links to all of our ministry groups.

-         Increasing support for our community and global partners.

• This summer we are welcoming a larger number of Camp RHINO participants and hosting Carrollton Camp onsite. The Aden Program also reopened its doors this year, offering support to elders and caregivers. On the global front, we have resumed volunteer trips to our sister congregations in Cuba and we are exploring opportunities to support refugees and Presbyterians working towards positive solutions at the Texas-Mexico border. For information on all of our community and global ministry, click here.

-         Maintaining our historic buildings.

• So far this year, the Property Committee has formed a committee who are in the process of developing a forward-looking equipment lifecycle and coinciding expense estimates for upcoming budgets.
• The red clay tile roof's underlayment has been replaced.
• Back flows have been added to the boiler and fire suppression systems to meet current city codes.
• Work will begin in late summer to water-proof the Sanctuary and Education buildings.

Water Bottles for Okra Abbey

Okra Abbey, a community garden in the Pigeon Town neighborhood of New Orleans, is one of SCAPC's 20 Community Ministry Partners. In addition to growing fresh vegetables for local residents and serving as a safe space for neighbors to get a cup of coffee and fellowship, Okra Abbey delivers food to shut-ins in Pigeon Town every Thursday through their Peas & Love program. Every Wednesday, staff and volunteers serve their Grace & Greens hot lunch to anyone who walks up. Okra Abbey also has a Community Fridge, and they especially need cases of water during the hot summer months. If you would like to donate and deliver water, please sign up below.

Aden Program Thank You's

Many thanks go out to all the wonderful participants, caregivers, staff, and volunteers who have contributed to the Aden Program this year! We are currently on summer break. Be looking for announcements about our program on our webpage or our facebook page!

Memorial Service

Our sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Margit Merey-Kadar who died on June 29. A service will be held tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the Chapel with visitation at 3:30. 

Mo Ranch Youth Conference

We rejoice for the lessons learned and friendships made at Mo Ranch’s Middle School Conference last week. Traveling with the Presbytery and pictured here are youth members Harrison Currie, Corinne Currie, and Madeline Cecile Rich. We praise God for this opportunity for them and the growth they experienced!

Camp RHINO

Last week SCAPC's Camp RHINO welcomed a group from First Presbyterian Church of Clinton, South Carolina. While here, they bundled diapers and other products for the Diaper Bank, assembled hurricane preparedness kits with Louisiana Just Recovery Network, and helped with weeding at 24 Carrot Gardens. To learn more about Camp RHINO, visit our camp webpage.

VBS at Cuba Church

Children and counselors enjoyed Vacation Bible School this week at El Fuerte Presbyterian Church, our sister congregation in Cárdenas, Cuba.

Presbyterian Women: Author Visit

The 2023-2024 Presbyterian Women's Horizons Bible Study beginning this fall is entitled "Sacred Encounters: The Power and Presence of Jesus Christ in Luke-Acts". SCAPC member Kathy Randall (left) spent last weekend in Mobile, Alabama with the study's author, the Rev. Dr. Olive Mahabir. To learn more about PW Bible Circles, visit the PW webpage.

YAF's Enjoy Sunday Morning Beignets

On Sunday, members of the YAF (Young Adults & Families) group gathered at Uptown Coffee & Beignets for a treat after worship! Pictured here from left are Monty and Julie Dimond, Ashley Brown, and Brittany Simmons.