TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2025

Weekly Prayer Practices

WEEK 2: LAMENTATION AS A PRAYER PRACTICE

How can we pray faithfully amid really difficult times? Lament is part of our wisdom tradition, found in the Book of Psalms, the Book of Lamentations and modeled for us by Jesus when he cried from the cross., “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” It is a prayer form that allows us to express deep issues of the heart like grief, sorrow, or regret in a way that leads us to healing and to a closer relationship with God. Through lamentation, we can grieve the personal, but it also gives us the space to grieve for issues and crises much larger than ourselves that we see in our community, our nation, and our world.

Of the 150 Psalms, fifty-eight are laments. Forty-two of those are psalms of individual lament and sixteen address community brokenness. The structure of a psalm of lament is first to address our living God, then complain to God, followed by asking God for response. An assumption of confidence in God’s interest in our welfare or other words that indicate a reconciliation with and trust in God always concludes the traditional prayer form.

Use the lamentation psalms to provide structure for your lament, whether personal or community-focused, or write your own. Seek out Psalm 13, 22 (see above), 88 or any of the other Psalms of lament as a place to start your practice of lamentation. Books like Ann Weems’ Psalms of Lamentation can provide further example for ways to write your own – or just pour the pain of your heart to God in direct address, closing with praises and gratitude for God’s constant and abiding love.

We're Expecting! Come Help with the Delivery!

Sit down, brace yourselves, and try not to faint! On Monday, March 17, a significant chunk of what we’ve been waiting for now for literally years will make an appearance at our door! What Orgues Létourneau, Ltée have officially dubbed Opus 138A will be delivered, and over the course of the next several weeks will be installed in the rear gallery of our sanctuary [aka “the choir loft”]. A skilled team of craftsmen will be accompanying this first portion of our new pipe organ and will start the process of reassembling it in its permanent home!

We expect to be out of the sanctuary and worshiping on Sunday morning, March 24th, in Frampton Fellowship Hall for both the 8:30 and 10:30 services. (If you’re a regular 10:30 attender and you wouldn’t find it a bother to come to the 8:30 service on that date, it would be a real help to cut down on potential overcrowding at the later service.)

Another way that you can be helpful, if you’re feeling relatively spry and curious, would be to arrive at the church at 8:00 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day (be sure to wear green!) and help us ferry all the pieces and parts from the truck into the sanctuary. There’ll be lots of things that you can safely carry and your presence will help speed things along rather nicely…plus you’ll be astounded by just what a jigsaw puzzle, figuratively speaking, this part of our instrument will turn out to be! We’ll have plenty of coffee on hand to help you get going!

The remainder of the organ, Opus 138B, is slated to arrive around Labor Day, and will take another several weeks to install. Once it’s in, the voicing of all 4494 pipes will commence, and that process will likely take six weeks. All thing considered, we should start hearing some serious sounds sometime around the end of October, just in time for a little Bach Toccata in D minor for Hallowe’en!

--Steven

Seeking Sanctuary Flower Donations

If you would like to donate flower arrangements for the two urns in the Sanctuary in memory or honor of a loved one for Sunday morning worship, please contact Libbie Reiss at libbiereiss@yahoo.com or fill out the form at scapc.org/flowers. If you wish, you can leave the arrangements for the Flower Ministry Committee to break down into smaller arrangements and deliver to those in the congregation who could use a brightening gift.

Audubon Park Walk Sunday Evening

All are invited to our Audubon Park Walking Group this Sunday! This is a chance for churchgoers of all ages to share fellowship and exercise in the fresh air together. At 5 p.m., we’ll meet in front of the Land Building. The group will make one loop around the Audubon track and return.

Easter Gift Bags for Eden Centers

Presbyterian Women are assembling Easter gift bags for the residents of Eden Centers for Hope and Healing. If you would like to contribute, please bring items in multiples of 17 to the wicker donation basket just inside the Chapel doors. Requested items include candy, journals, soaps, scented lotions, nail polish, toothpaste and toothbrushes, hairbrushes, bracelets, bandanas, colored pencils, adult coloring books, and sketch pads.

Spiritually Hungry Women: New Study

On March 19, the Spiritually Hungry Women group will begin a study of the book Grounded: Finding God in the World--A Spiritual Revolution by Diana Butler Bass. Weekly meetings are held on Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. in the Land Building. Please contact Beth Poe at bethpoe@tulane.edu with any questions.

Tree Planting with SOUL

Join us for a morning of planting with SOUL (Sustaining Our Urban Landscape)! All volunteers age 16+ are welcome. We'll be meeting on Saturday, March 22 from 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the Hollygrove neighborhood with specific location instructions to come. The work will involve using shovels and pick-axes to plant trees in 15-30 gallon pots, so volunteers should expect some strenuous activity. If you have physical limitations but still want to sign up, you can help greet volunteers at the check-in table at base camp. Sign up on the SCAPC app or on our YAF webpage. The deadline to sign up is March 19.

POLO (Parents of Little Ones) Party

Calling all POLO’s! We are hosting an afternoon play date for families with little ones ages 3 and under on Sunday, March 23 from 4-5:30 p.m. on the Land Building lawn. We will have bubbles, chalk, and snacks for children and grown-ups! Bring a lawn chair and a blanket and join us for fellowship and play time. Big siblings are welcome and older Baptism Buddies are encouraged to reach out to their younger buddies to meet up and play together at the event. Please RSVP to tyler@scapc.org. We will be doing a diaper drive for the Junior League Diaper Bank. Diapers of any size (infant-adult) are welcome, and both open and unopened packages are accepted.

New Blog by Michael Jinkins

Michael Jinkins, former Interim Senior Pastor at SCAPC, has begun a new blog on substack.com. Of the blog, he writes "I want to seek connections between us as human beings, and to make room for greater understanding and deeper reflection." Click here to view his first entry and to follow!

Clothing Drive & Highlights from Program of Hope

For the month of March, SCAPC is collecting clothing for the Program of Hope homeless ministry, one of our 20 community ministry partners. The program is especially in need of men's casual clothing. There is a donation basket in Frampton Fellowship Hall where items can be placed. Click here to view the ministry's latest highlights!

Adult Sunday School Classes

9:30 a.m. | Details on Sunday School page

FAITH AND LITERATURE

March 9-30 | Land Building Riverside Room

This week's topic is "Faith and Non-Fiction" led by Chris Currie. We will examine essays by Marilynne Robinson and The Identity Trap by Yascha Mounk.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

February 16 - May 18 | Phifer Library | recordings at scapc.org/sunday-school

In its tone, structure, and portrayal of Jesus, the Gospel of John differs greatly from the other three gospels. John’s story of Jesus is theologically complex, interweaving themes of light and darkness. This Sunday's topic will be "The Varied Responses to Jesus", led by Richard Ashmore. For the recording of last Sunday's class, visit the Sunday School webpage.

THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE INSTITUTION: A CREATIVE WORKSHOP OF FAITH AND BELONGING

January 12-April 6 | Led by Ashley Brown and Tyler Wheeler

2nd Floor Conference Room

In this interactive class, we invite you to explore your personal faith beliefs while understanding how they align with the broader Presbyterian Church (USA). Our topic this Sunday will be "Creating the Perfect Religion", led by Tyler Wheeler.

Crescent City Classic SCAPC Team

Join the SCAPC team for the Crescent City Classic 10k race/run on Saturday, April 19! Currently, race registration and fees total $67 per person which includes the post-race fest. Registration for the fest only is $20 per person. For race details and registration, visit runsignup.com/ccc10k and indicate "SCAPC" as your team. You can join us even if you've already registered. We will be in touch with you to arrange a post-race meet-up and pre- and post-race rides if needed.

North Carolina Mission Trip

This past weekend SCAPC's North Carolina Mission Trip team worked with CORE to rebuild mobile homes along the Swannanoa River. They also worked with Appalachian Community Relief to organize, sort, and distribute donations to folks in need. The group also cooked meals for Swannanoa residents at a local bakery, Blunt Pretzels, who provided a daily meal for 200-400 people with support from World Central Kitchen. Trip participants included Martha Beveridge; Sarah Chancellor-Watson; Sarah and Nina Edgecombe; Elizabeth Favret; Carro Gardner; Bonnie and Jim Hobden; John Koch; Kelley McWhirter; Benjamin and Campbell Morrison; Michele, Kevin, Ashlin, and Sean Murphy; Patti Pannell and John Dunlap; Linda Patrick; and Harriet Riley. 

Ash Wednesday

Last Wednesday we hosted an "Ashes on the Avenue" with imposition of ashes and prayer stations, followed by an Ash Wednesday worship service in the evening.

Bria Rault and Sarah Chancellor-Watson

Thomas Schulingkamp and Ashley Brown

Living Christ, Living Buddha Discussion

Last Thursday at PJ's Coffee, Bill Troutt and Ashley Brown led a discussion of the book Living Christ, Living Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh. Gathered there were (from left), Thomas Schulingkamp, Dave White, Charlotte Urban, Candy Cranch, Ashley Brown, Jeff Stricklin, Bill Troutt, and Beth Poe (with Miriam Hollar off-camera).

Ramadan Dinner

Last weekend, our congregation was invited to a Ramadan dinner (Iftar) by our friends at Abu Bakr Masjd. SCAPC members in attendance were Rachel Lu, Chris and Jenn Keene, Ashley Brown, Ann Byerly, Matt McCann, Dave White, Jeff Stricklin, Jacob Bruno, Melissa McDonald, and Charlotte Urban.

Care Packages for College Students

On Sunday, several churchgoers remained after worship to join the Spiritual Formation Youth Committee in assembling care packages for our college sophomores, juniors and seniors! (College freshmen received care packages in the fall).

Caroline Gill and Jenny Baldwin

April Weiser and Caitlin Wallace-Rowland

Bebe Marchal, Teresa Winslow, and Raven Breaux

Welcome, New Members!

Join us in welcoming the Perry Family: Brett, Sally, and baby Elizabeth, who joined SCAPC on Sunday!

Sympathy

We extend our sympathy to Ebie Strauss and her family on the passing of her husband Berney Strauss who died this morning.