Parish Profile

3412 Haring Road Metairie, Louisiana Table of Contents Overview Welcome . 3 Mission Statement . 4 The Collect . 5 Our New Rector . 6 Our History Church History . 8 Staff & Vestry . 9 Our Ministries Worship . .12 Spanish Ministries . .14 Christian Formation . .15 Social Ministries . .18 Pre-School . .20 Partners in Mission . .21 Our Environment Campus & Grounds . .22 Finances . .24 Location . .26 How To Apply . .30 All photos are copyright of St. Augustine’s Metairie and depict the church and its grounds Welcome Welcome to St. Augustine’s Metairie. St. Augustine’s is located in the heart of Metairie just off Interstate 10 in the Green Acres Subdivision which is in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area of Louisiana. We are a member church of the Episcopal Faith in the Diocese of Louisiana. St. Augustine’s is a faith-led community working for the greater community and growing in the image of Jesus Christ. Our community represents every walk of life and all are welcome. The congregation of St. Augustine’s is a true representation of a diverse and inclusive environment and our diversity is represented throughout the Church. We are a community that appreciates a good sermon based on theology that also relates to current life and situations. We appreciate strong Christian formation opportunities that provide better understanding of our faith and each other. St. Augustine’s is also a community with strong fellowship opportunities usually revolving around food or enjoying each other’s company. Included in this profile is a glimpse into who we are as a parish of faith. By God’s grace we are confident that we will find someone who will grow in our midst and build on our strong faith community. May God bless and keep you wherever your call leads you. ~St. Augustine’s Search Committee 3 Mission Statement St. Augustine’s is a community of friendly people who share a commitment to progressive spiritual growth within a family environment. We welcome those who seek a closer relationship with God made known in Jesus Christ, and celebrate our call to love and serve others as Christ came to love and serve all. 4 The Collect Lord God, the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the hearts that serve you: send forth your Holy Spirit to guide the Search Committee, Vestry, and parish family of St. Augustine's to be of one heart and mind in our search for a rector who will worship in our midst, become part of our parish family, and guide us in spiritual growth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 5 Our Next Rector St. Augustine’s has been blessed with five excellent rectors since 1954, and has grown and flourished under their godly leadership. The search committee has talked with the community through small groups and a parish survey to determine where we are currently and what is needed to move us forward as a faith community. Overwhelmingly the parish is looking for a strong preacher and effective teacher. We are a community that likes to be intellectually challenged through Christian formation. The next rector should be a good administrator as we are still a medium parish with a limited staff and be a diligent mediator to bring many different walks of life together. We are looking for someone who is young at heart and able to keep up with our many activities. Being a diverse community with different views of politics and culture it is important that our next rector be open to all walks of life and be able to support everyone where they are in their own spiritual journey. We asked the congregation for one word to describe the new rector and these are the results: 6 As part of the process of calling a new rector the congregation of St. Augustine’s took a look at where we are and where we see ourselves going. Below are the highlights: What Works Well Diverse group of individuals who come together to achieve goals Many different ministries that support all (something for everyone) We utilize the gifts of time, talent, and treasure effectively We are a community resource for others Congregants are very friendly and welcoming to anyone who walks through our doors Opportunities Increased integration with the Pre-School to become part of parish life Challenge those who have become comfortable Encourage members to participate in different groups Ways to increase our numbers Ability to attract young families Goals To grow our church family and increase our revenue to support current programs and expand the outreach of our community To build a deeper relationship with each other and Christ To provide us new opportunities to show Christ’s love in the world 7 Church History St. Augustine's Church began as a missionary outreach of St. Martin's Episcopal Church in 1954. The land on which our church is located is part of the original property donated from St. Martin's School. Our twenty-five charter members, under the leadership of The Rev. John Stone Jenkins and The Rt. Rev. William Farwell, held their first services in the school's gymnasium. As the church grew, school buses were used as Sunday school classrooms. Throughout our history, we have had the great fortune to have excellent leadership from our five rectors: The Rev. Thomas C. Aycock, The Rev. Albertus L. DeLoach, The Rev. John A. Lawrence, The Rev. Ralph M. Byrd, and The Rev. A. J. Heine. Today, St. Augustine's is a parish of over 300 people, and we are actively searching for our sixth rector. Rev. John Jenkins Our Rectors 8 Staff & Vestry Our leadership at St. Augustine’s has historically been strongly led by clergy, staff, and laity alike. We are a social parish that has enjoyed being involved on our Metairie campus, both Diocesan and state-wide. We have recently had one full-time clergy with a limited part-time assistant. Our music is led by a talented pianist, organist, and singer who would love to grow our music ministry. He has always been very willing to add music to any number of events both inside the church and outside for occasional “Concerts in the Courtyard” and more. Lay leadership consists of a nine-member vestry who is commissioned to lead St. Augustine's in its business and vision. We are also blessed with an active and devoted group of parishioners who lead in many other ways. When COVID kept us out of our building, a volunteer stepped up to stream our services online, which he continues every Sunday. Our communications director is a volunteer who manages our website, social media, weekly emails, and more. Our Sunday School director is a professional teacher who has volunteered her time leading our children's program for many years. Other parishioners regularly lead groups and events, including our ECW, Men's Group (MOSA), Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Palooza, Movies on the Lawn, Concerts in the Courtyard, Helping Hands, our annual parish picnic, and a number of outreach ministries. We also have a small paid staff who work during the week to keep things running smoothly. Our very dedicated financial secretary manages our bookkeeping and many of the secretarial duties of our day-to-day parish life. Our sexton is thorough and extremely committed to us and our grounds. Our Pre-School is on site, and is led by Director Joline LaCoste with a staff of wonderful, caring teachers. Prior to COVID-19, they and their students enjoyed a weekly chapel time. We hope our new rector can lead us administratively, participate thoughtfully in our communications and online presence growth, resume Pre-School chapel time, and participate when able in our very active social life. The strong commitment of our clergy, staff, lay leadership, and Pre-School employees helps keep us moving forward, enables us to participate in community engagement, growing, and enjoying our time together. We are appreciative of all who lead us in our mission and day-to-day work. 9 St. Augustine Staff Jamee Meisner Financial Secretary Chase Ludeau Associate for Music Ministry Joline Lacoste Pre-School Director Darlene Fischer Sexton 10 Vestry Dotty Suthon, Senior Warden Dan Daly, Junior Warden Donovan Ohrt-Champagne, Secretary Kathy Chiles Susan Scotton Susan Tramontana Paula Belanger Kaitlin Smith, Communications Director Ronald James Coats Marina Gregorio, Treasurer Search Committee Raul Esquivel, Chair Susan Hackett Walpole, Vice-Chair Donovan Ohrt-Champagne Kaitlin Smith Myra Noustens Stephen Braud Tony Gregorio Patrick Goodman 11 Worship We currently offer Rite I and Rite II Sunday Services, and a Spanish liturgy presided by a Spanish-speaking celebrant in Rite II. Spanish services became Noonday Prayer during the pandemic from December 2020 to June 2021. A Spanish-speaking diocesan priest, The Reverend Benjamin Sanchez is currently stationed at St. Augustine’s to build the Spanish language ministry throughout the Diocese and celebrate our Spanish Liturgy. In order to reach all of our members during the pandemic we started streaming our Sunday services. We stream Morning Prayer and Compline performed by laity every day online. There is no Morning Prayer on Sunday. Evening Prayer is celebrated on Wednesdays. We enjoy the rigors of a structured service, but we are able to attend as we are. Colloquially, one might say that we have “smells and bells with blue jeans.” As with all churches, our services are rebuilding post- pandemic, but are not yet back to pre-pandemic numbers. The Rev. Benjamin Sanchez with The Right Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr. Bishop of Louisiana 12 Sundays 8:00 AM RITE I 10:30 AM RITE II (with Music) 12:30 PM RITE II Spanish Language Service Wednesdays 6:00 PM Evening Prayer (Virtual) Daily 9:00 AM Morning Prayer (Virtual) Not Performed on Sunday 9:30 PM Compline (Virtual) 13 Spanish Ministry Over the past few years, St.

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