TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2026

Youth Sunday is This Week!

Youth Sunday is celebrated annually at SCAPC as an opportunity for our 6th-12th graders to lead the congregation through all aspects of our liturgy. Our youth create all of the worship components from the prayers to the sermons to the hymn selections. We at SCAPC believe that youth are not just the “future of the church”, they are the church here and now, with God-given gifts, creative instincts, and thoughtful theological insights that we are called to honor and learn from. We encourage you to welcome their leadership at the 8:30 and 10:30 services this Sunday with an attentive heart and open mind. 

For Families During Worship

While families of all ages are welcome to remain in the Sanctuary for worship, we also have a "Pray Ground" set up in Frampton Fellowship Hall every Sunday during the 10:30 service. The Pray Ground is a special place that is designated for children where families with children of any age can experience worship together. The worship service is live-streamed to a large screen and there are toys, books, and puzzles provided to help kids stay engage and present. The Nursery is also open for children age 3 and below from 8:15-noon in the Bear Classroom which is in the corner classroom on the first floor.

From the Pastor's Desk:

Associate Pastor Transition

Dear SCAPC community,

Thank you for the wonderful celebration and thanksgiving for Sarah Chancellor Watson’s ministry Sunday. It was a special way to shower Sarah and her family with our gratitude and well wishes for their next chapter of ministry.

Not surprisingly, there are quite a few steps in the process of a called and installed pastor search, so I wanted to give you a brief sketch of what comes next for an associate pastor transition now that Sarah’s ministry with us has officially concluded. Over the past month personnel committee of the session has already been reviewing the associate pastor job description. In addition, during the month of February, we will share that job description summary with the congregation and solicit your feedback about the position and what is needed in this role moving forward.

On February 22nd at our annual congregational meeting, the Leadership Development Committee of the Session will present to the congregation those who are serving on the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will begin their work soliciting recommendations for elder, as they do every year, but they will also be soliciting recommendations for congregation members to serve on the associate pastor nominating committee. Sometime in April or May, once the Presbytery of South Louisiana has approved the session to move forward with the election of an associate pastor nominating committee, a congregational meeting will be called to elect an APNC. Once elected, the APNC will begin working on a Ministry Discernment Profile or a narrative that helps tell interested candidates about the ministry position and about the points of emphasis of this congregation. Once the MDP is approved by the presbytery, then the search can go live, through the Presbyterian Church Leadership Connection website and through referrals from friends of this congregation throughout the greater church. The timeline gets a little murky here, but my guess is by the fall, the APNC would be interviewing candidates and by late fall inviting several candidates to visit New Orleans for in-person interviews. Perhaps by Advent/Christmas or the beginning of 2027, the APNC would be ready to make a recommendation to the congregation, but it is hard to gauge how long these searches take and it is an important not to put a fixed timeline on a discernment process that will impact our church’s ministry for this next chapter. 

In the meantime, our pastoral resident Ashley Brown is with us until her pastoral residency concludes at the end of May and Ashley will assist with worship and preaching responsibilities this spring. Currently, we are exploring several transition options during the interim and are in conversations with colleagues in ministry who may be interested and willing to come and help during summer and fall stints this year; at some point the possibility of a transitional associate pastor may emerge, and when there is more information to share, we will surely give a transition update.

If you have any questions for me about this process, please feel free to contact me any time. For now, we give God thanks for Sarah’s ministry with us, and we look forward to what God will do in this next season.

Many blessings,

Chris 

Sarah Chancellor-Watson's Farewell Celebration

On Sunday we bid a tearful goodbye to our Associate Pastor Sarah Chancellor-Watson who has accepted a call as Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Richardson, Texas! Sarah was presented a resolution honoring her 9 1/2 years of service to SCAPC. A reception followed where a whimsical video entertained all. View below! Our love goes out to Sarah, her husband David, and her sons Chance and Sam as they embark on this new chapter in their lives.

Needle Arts Group

The Needle Arts Group will meet on Sunday, February 8 from 4-6 p.m. in the Land Building Lakeside Room. If you enjoy crocheting, knitting, sewing, cross-stitching, or any other needle arts, come join us!

YAF Parade Watch

Join the Young Adults and Families on Wednesday, February 11 at 6:15 p.m. outside Sophie B. Wright School (Napoleon and St. Charles) to watch the Druids and Alla Mardi Gras parades together! Wear your sequins, bring your drinks, and let's have fun together! Family friendly! Questions? Email Caitlin, caitlin@scapc.org.

Volunteer Opportunities in the Community

BE WELL-COME TOGETHER is a community of faith and hope that supports spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. It is one of the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s 1001 New Worshiping Communities and was organized by First Presbyterian Church of Harvey, LA to serve the surrounding community. The organization is seeking a volunteer to serve as Treasurer. The Treasurer spends two-three hours per month fulfilling responsibilities that include: recording 10-15 transactions each month in Quicken, providing and interpreting monthly financial statements to the Board, preparing monthly payroll transactions (one employee) through digital authorizations each month, and preparing simple tax filings. Board meetings can be attended via Zoom. Contact Jean Marie Peacock at bewellcometogether@gmail.com to learn more.

STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading), one of SCAPC's community ministry partners, is a children’s literacy program that provides one-on-one tutoring for at-risk public elementary school students. They are currently seeking office volunteers to service Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to make student boxes and scan photos of former STAIR students and tutors. A volunteer sign-up form can be found in the STAIR listing on our community ministry page.

Job Opening at Crescent City Café

Crescent City Café, one of SCAPC's community ministry partners, holds a twice-monthly breakfast as well as a pay-what-you-can café serving homeless and marginalized New Orleanians with dignity and love. Volunteers are largely young adults who seek to connect through service. They are seeking a full-time Kitchen Manager. Details can be found in the Crescent City Café listing on our community ministry page.

Sunday School Adult Classes

We Believe...1700 Years with the Nicene Creed

January 4 -February 8 | Phifer Library | led by Chris Currie

For class recordings, click here

Writing from the Heart: Journaling as Sacred Practice

January 4 -February 8 | 2nd floor conference room | led by Harriet Riley

Member News

OUR SYMPATHY is extended to Sheelah Strong Black and her family on the death of her brother, Robert Alexander Strong, who died on Sunday, January 25.

NEW MEMBER: Join us in welcoming Knight Worley into membership! Knight became a SCAPC member on Sunday.

First Grade Bibles Presentation

For the last three Sundays, our first graders have participated in a Worship Workshop in which they learned about the parts of the service, how to actively listen, and ways to participate in the service. This past Sunday, each first grader was presented with a Bible during the 10:30 service. Shown here from left (with their family members), are Elaine Graves, Emelia Keene, Lilly Wheeler, Reid Wilson, Miriam Seigel, Owen Kutsch, John Lazar, Amelia Smith, Grace Smith, Beau Moore, and Taylor Allen. Not pictured: Gardner Morison