Staff Directory

Reverend Doctor Camille LeBron Powell,  Pastor

Camille was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a religion major and art minor from Austin College (Sherman, TX) in 1998 and, in 2002, a Master of Arts degree in Christian Education and a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

Camille was ordained in July 2003, when she began her first call at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, as Associate Pastor for Young Adult Ministry. This newly created position charged her with developing young adult ministry (20s and 30s) and creating a new worship service that was both Reformed in nature and contemporary in style. Camille has strong denominational ties and has enjoyed serving the larger church through national young adult ministry groups, Montreat Youth Conference leadership, workshop leadership, the Presbytery of Arkansas’s Committee on Ministry and General Council, as a Commissioner to the 221st General Assembly in Detroit (2014), as a mentor for the Company of New Pastors program, and on the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry, administrative commissions, and Personnel Committee.

Since February 2015, Camille has served as Pastor/Head of Staff here, where she gets to do a little bit of everything and loves looking at the big picture. Throughout her ministry, she has found passion and purpose in connecting with people through relationship building and helping others connect to God, the church, each other, and the world. In May 2023, Camille graduated with a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Her doctoral project is Aiding and Abetting the Holy Spirit: Enriching the Impact of Worship for Faith Formation.

Camille lives in north Decatur with her teenage children, Lily and Jackson, and their two cats, Mila and Jet. She enjoys playing board games, traveling, Zooming with friends and family far away, reading, cheering for her three favorite soccer teams (her son’s school and club teams and Atlanta United), and crafting of all sorts (crocheting, sewing, painting, etc.).

Camille can be contacted at camille@SAPCtucker.org

LaVerne Byas-Smith, Coordinator of Congregational Vitality

David Lukens, Music Director

David grew up in nearby Lilburn and graduated from Parkview High School. His music experience started at age four down the street at the Tucker First United Methodist Church (TFUMC) music program. He has sung or rung in all 19 choirs at TFUMC (except the women’s ensemble). In May 2010 David became the 5th generation of his mother’s family to graduate from Auburn University earning a Bachelor of Music Education with minors in Organ Performance and History. During college he served as Co-President and Treasurer of the Auburn University Chamber Choir. Since graduating from college, David has been working with numerous youth choirs in the area including Gwinnett Young Singers, Georgia Young Men’s Ensemble, and the youth choirs at TFUMC. He joined us in 2011 and has been inspiring all of us with his creativity and enthusiasm.

David can be contacted at dlukens@SAPCtucker.org.

Ed Weaver, Organist

Ed Weaver, who retired after 20 years as Music Director at nearby Eastminster Presbyterian Church, is a talented organist and musician with a history of serving as organist/choir master in mainly Presbyterian churches since the 1970s. He received a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music, both in organ performance, from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore.  He has served as a church organist since the age of 13. In addition to his services at St. Andrews, Ed is Music Director of the Park Springs Chorus and the Lilburn Summer Singers and has been the harpsichordist for the past 39 seasons of the annual performances of Handel’s Messiah at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He is also a certified Special Olympics coach in artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. Ed is married to Linda and resides in Tucker with daughter Elena. Daughter Christa and Son-in-law Gene, and grandson Aiden also reside in Tucker.

Ed can be contacted at ejweaver@SAPCtucker.org

Pat Baker, Older Adult and Caregiver Ministries

Pat’s career in the field of health and human services, particularly aging services, began in 1973. Most recently, from July 2008 to July 2018, she was the Director of Health and Human Services in the Community Services Department of Gwinnett County Government. She is now retired but continues to serve the older population in several different capacities. Pat and her husband Arch moved back to the Atlanta Metro Area in 2002, where she had grown up, after living in Texas and Oklahoma for almost 30 years. Pat has been a consultant for AARP, The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, and the Alzheimer’s Association, to name a few. Pat is also one of the founding members and current Vice-President of the national Presbyterian Older Adult Ministry Network (POAMN) that was established in the early 80’s and is still going strong. She serves on the Executive Board of that group as the OAM Certification Coordinator in conjunction with Columbia Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Pat is currently working on her Certification in Older Adult Ministry at CPTS.

Pat can be contacted at pat@SAPCtucker.org.

Gretchen Perkins, Office Manager

Gretchen Perkins, comes to SAPC with a wide variety of work and life experiences. She has taught private music lessons for over 20 years, worked as an office manager, and was a stay-at-home parent. Gretchen has a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and continues to teach private lessons, when she is not at SAPC. She and her husband, Steve, have lived all over the US, most recently in Virginia. They returned to Georgia in 2010 to raise their two children closer to their families. They are members of Oakhurst Presbyterian Church.

Gretchen can be contacted at office@SAPCtucker.org.

Helen  Hoang, Financial Administrator

Lonnette Bruce, School Director