Worship Every Sunday at 10:00 am
4882 Lavista Road | Tucker, Georgia 30084-4460
office@sapctucker.org | 770-938-2833
Directions to St. Andrews

Reverend Doctor Camille LeBron Powell,  Pastor

Camille was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and grew up in 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 Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. Camille was ordained in July 2003 as 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 (20’s and 30’s) and creating a new worship service that is 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.  Throughout her ministry she has found passion and purpose in making connections: with people through relationship building and in helping others connect to God, the church, each other, and the world. 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.

Camille, her husband, Jonathan, their children Lily and Jackson, live in north Decatur with their 3 cats, 15 backyard chickens, and 4 hives full of honeybees. Camille enjoys spending time with her family, movies, reading,cheering for her two favorite soccer teams (her son’s and Atlanta United), and crafting of all sorts (scrapbooking, crochet, sewing, painting, etc).

Camille can be contacted at camille@SAPCtucker.org

LaVerne Byas-Smith, Coordinator of Congregational Vitality

Through the Spirit-given gifts of teaching and faith, LaVerne served the past 27 years in the local Atlanta area and Ashburn, Virginia churches. Most recently, she directed Family Ministries (BPCKids) at Brambleton Church (PCUSA). Last August LaVerne moved to Decatur to complete the Master of Arts in Theological Studies program at Columbia Theological Seminary, graduating in May. A perpetual student of the Scriptures, LaVerne has been a Sunday school (ages preschool to adult) and VBS teacher, a Sunday School superintendent, a woman’s bible study leader, as well as a short-term missions team member, and always a choir member. Outside the local church, LaVerne served for over 20 years in the international discipleship ministry, Community Bible Study (CBS), as Core Facilitator, Prayer Chair, Teaching Director, and finally, as CBS Area Director for the DC Metro Area until entering seminary.  LaVerne and her husband Michael, otherwise known as “Gram & Papi,” enjoy their Decatur home, a short 10 minutes from their 2-year-old grandson, Tatum, the secret to their youthful joy.

LaVerne can be contacted at  laverne@SAPCtucker.org

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-headshot

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

Originally from Vietnam, Helen graduated Magna Cum Laude and is a member of The Georgia Society of CPAs. Previously she worked as an Audit Associate for the accounting firm KPMG. While she excelled in that job, Helen was looking for something with more interaction with people, less corporate, and without the demanding schedule of a Big Four accounting organization. St. Andrews seems like the perfect fit.

Helen can be contacted at finance@SAPCtucker.org.

Lonnette Bruce, School Director

Lonnette Bruce is a consultant, mentor, community activist, early childhood educator, and creator of The Learning Lens Supplemental Curriculum. With over 20 years of experience in the field of early childhood education (ECE), she has worked diligently to challenge the perception of educators and to extend the focus of ECE programs to include community activism and partnerships. She began her career as an in-home provider and served her community for several years before moving to Georgia and taking a position as a teacher and becoming a consultant for families and children with special needs. Lonnette received her Bachelor of Science Degree, with a Major in Psychology and a minor in Business, from Upper Iowa University.

In 2002, she moved to Georgia and accepted a teaching position with The Clifton school.  After two years of teaching she moved into the Assistant Director’s Position and a year later became the Curriculum Director. Lonnette’s goal is to develop ECE programs with a strong focus on child engagement and building communities of cohesiveness.

Lonnette can be contacted at  sasdirector@SAPCtucker.org.