St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church is located in Uptown New Orleans, at the corner of St. Charles Avenue and State Street (Streetcar Stop #32). It is four blocks from Audubon Park and the Tulane and Loyola University campuses.
From the east on Interstate 10:
Continue from Slidell, LA across the twin spans into New Orleans East. Remain on Interstate 10 past the Interstate 610 split.
Exit left at the Claiborne Avenue exit. Travel straight on Claiborne Avenue to State Street.
Turn left on State Street. Travel straight on State Street at the intersection of State and St. Charles Ave. The church and Land Building are immediately on your left.
From the north across the Causeway Bridge:
Continue on Causeway Blvd to Interstate 10 interchange. Exit onto Interstate 10 East.
Remain right on Interstate 10 at the I10/610 split. Exit at Carrollton Ave.
Travel on Carrollton Ave. (past Claiborne Ave.) to St. Charles Avenue (the roads converge at a bend in the streetcar line - go left at the bend)
Travel on St. Charles Avenue past Audubon Park on your right. Within a few blocks turn right onto State Street. The church is immediately on your left.
From the west on Interstate 10:
Remain right on Interstate 10 at the I10/610 split. Exit at Carrollton Ave.
Travel on Carrollton Ave. (past Claiborne Ave.) to St. Charles Avenue (the roads converge at a bend in the streetcar line - go left at the bend)
Travel on St. Charles Avenue past Audubon Park on your right.
Within a few blocks turn right onto State Street. The church is immediately on your left.
The church is located at 1545 State Street (the corner of State Street and St. Charles Avenue).
“How is a church born? By the grace and guidance of God, churches come into being and grow to usefulness by the vision, faith, and generosity of those who really love Christ and invest their talents, time and treasure His ongoing Kingdom.”
-Preached by Dr. John S. Land in his sermon on Sunday, May 29, 1956.
St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church is a distant offspring of First Presbyterian Church, which was located at the corner of Canal and Bourbon Streets. It is at this location where Reverend Sylvester Larned became the First Presbyterian Church’s first pastor. Though the denomination of the church at this time was Episcopalian, Reverend Larned preached there on Sunday afternoons until a new church was built for the Presbyterians at Lafayette Square.
In 1856, Dr. B.M. Palmer was installed as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Lafayette Square—a position which he occupied for almost 46 years. Years later, through the leadership of Miss Rowena McMillan, a Sunday School known as the “Afternoon Sunday School of the First Presbyterian Church” was organized. Its first meeting was held at 4 P.M. on Sunday, January 8, 1905 in the residence of a Mrs. VanHorn, at 1653 Octavia Street, with thirty-four “teachers and scholars” in attendance.
The following year, the First Church purchased the old Governor McEnery residence, which was a lot bounded by St. Charles Avenue, State, and Benjamin Streets. There was a strong faction of First Church members who believed that the effort and funds should go into the restoration of their church on Lafayette Square which had been severely damaged in a hurricane. However, on May 17, 1911, the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church voted to erect a new building on the lot occupied by the old McEnery dwelling on St. Charles Avenue.
In 1912, the first building was completed on this site. When placed in use it became known by many as “The Little Church.” Beginning on October 4, 1914 regular morning and evening services were conducted in the building, which was then designated as the St. Charles Avenue Branch of the First Presbyterian Church.
By 1920, the work of the Branch Church had progressed so significantly that its organization into a separate church seemed advisable. Thus, through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Bloomifield St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church was born. The finished building was ready for dedication on February 2, 1930. See Our Sanctuary link....[coming soon].
In January of 1928, Alice Affleck Bloomfield donated $160,000 to St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church for the construction of a new Sanctuary. The donation was made in memory of her husband, William B. Bloomfield, who had died earlier that year, in accordance with both of their wishes at the time of his death.
The new sanctuary was dedicated on February 2, 1930. W.W. Van Meter was the architect and general contractor. It is French Gothic in style, constructed of Indiana limestone, with dark English oak finishes throughout.
The stained glass windows were made by Oidtmann Studios in Linnich, Germany The studio signature can be seen in the stained glass panel over the center door on St. Charles Avenue. The first drawings for the Sanctuary by Mr. Van Meter show stained glass windows illustrating Biblical stories. Dr. Land requested that the windows be more abstract in design instead, as they are now, incorporating the leaves, quatrefoils, diamonds, crosses and other symbols that recur throughout the sanctuary.
It is also supposed that it was Dr. Land’s decision that the pulpit be on one side of the communion table and the lectern on the other, rather than having one pulpit/lectern in the center.
The interior decorations of the Sanctuary including the original ceiling stencils were designed by John Geiser, Sr. and installed by his company, John Geiser Inc., Fresco Artists and Interior Decorators.
Mr. Van Meter instructed that he wanted a wall surface that would not crack if he hit it with a baseball bat. To that end, a stone mason troweled the walls using a paste of paint and varnish. The travertine texture was made with a sponge and the joints were scored with the point of a metal file in an ashlar random pattern drawn out by Mr. van Meter. The scoring was all done by one man so that it would be uniform.
The original air conditioning system consisted of blocks of ice with fans behind them blowing through vents on either side of the Chancel area—a novel mechanism in 1930!
In July 2006, work crews began extensive repair and renovation work to our Sanctuary. We appreciate the patience of the congregation during this time of dislocation. We all eagerly anticipate the day when we can worship again in our Sanctuary, restored to its original beauty! See Sanctuary Update.
“As in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.”
- Romans 12:2
The Session is the governing body of the church, consisting of the pastors, program staff, and three classes of elders. These elders are called to lead through the work of the committees, according to their talents.
CLASS OF 2007
Barbara Bush
Philip Clinton
Tripp Edwards
Dave Grissett
Sandy Hartman
Sorrell Lanier
Margaret Ann Lindsey
Jack Little
Emily Morrison
Michele Murphy
Bobby Segal
Rocky Vance
Bruce Worley
CLASS OF 2008
Lisa Alpaugh
Anderson Baker
Cathy Drennan
Richard Freeman
Leon Hinson
Shannon Holtzman
Hans Jonassen
Mary Alice May
John Morton Jr.
Betsy Nalty
Tim Pettitt
Richard Root
Jennifer Steck
Germaine Vorhoff
CLASS OF 2009 Carolyn Baker
Burt Carnahan
Donna Davis
Brent Dorsey
Carro Gardner
Calvin Grier
Ruth Hamilton
Lou Hoffman
Gail Kaliszeski
John Kelly
Charles King
Linda Kolb
John Martin
Jodi McWilliams
Jill Nalty
Phyllis Peterson
Beth Poe
Kathryn Smith
Woodie Van Horn
There is no better way to get directly involved in the life of the church than to join a sessional committee! The following is an overview of the responsibilities of each committee and their corresponding 2006 chairs. If you would like to learn more about a committee or join up, contact the church office or the chairs directly. They will see to it that you are invited to the next committee meeting and that your talent is quickly put to use!
Christian Education - Oversees church school for all ages, Covenant Krewe, youth ministry, church library; Kate Elkins, Chair
Community Ministry - Provides financial and volunteer support to: STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading, Lafayette Academy, Lusher Charter School, CPUMI (Covenant Presbyterian Urban Ministry Institute) Distribution Center, Uptown Shepherd’s Center, New Orleans Mission, Habitat for Humanity, Raintree Children & Family Services, Sophie B. Wright School, GED; Allen Gibbs, Chair
Congregational Care - Extends ministry to homebound and nursing home members; coordinates pantry ministry, Blood Drive, and Adults+ activities; reaches out to inactive members; Mary Langlois, Chair
Congregational Life - Coordinates Wednesday Night Out programs, Match Made in Heaven tournament, and other churchwide fellowship events throughout the year; Bobby Segal, Chair
Leadership Development - Elder training and retreats, leadership manual, assimilating time/talents/interests of members; Ames Yeates, Chair
Membership - Contacts visitors and new residents, Discovery classes, new member luncheons; Margaret Ann Lindsey, Chair
Personnel - Develops and reviews church staff descriptions, recommends employee policies, recognizes staff members for significant contributions; Michael O’Keefe, Chair
Property - Oversees maintenance and repairs, "Hard Hats” volunteer workers, insurance coverage; Bruce Worley, Chair
