Sunday Mornings on Avenida de la Estrella
San Clemente Presbyterian Church meets in the heart of the city's historic downtown at 119 Avenida De La Estrella, two blocks from the Avenida Del Mar shopping district. Each Sunday the congregation gathers twice: at 9:00 AM for a traditional service and at 10:30 AM for a modern service, both held in the Sanctuary. The two services share one church family but offer different musical settings, giving newcomers a chance to choose the worship style that feels most like home.
Families arriving at 9:00 AM can drop children ages six months through fifth grade at The Breakfast Club, a childcare program in the nursery and playground that combines leadership development, storytelling, play, and breakfast snacks. At the 10:30 AM service, refreshed classrooms offer age-specific faith development for nursery through fifth grade, with parents free to worship while trained volunteers nurture a positive environment kids want to return to.
Both services are livestreamed online, and a complete archive of recent messages is available on the church's sermon page. First-time guests are encouraged to use the Plan a Visit link to help the staff prepare for their arrival. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and on Fridays by appointment only.
Kids, Middle School, and High School
San Clemente Presbyterian treats the next generation as a primary ministry rather than an add-on. Diana Castruita directs Kids and Family Life, and the church's vision is the same in every age band: to inspire students to become wholehearted and lifelong followers of Christ.
Children and The Loop
Sunday programming for nursery through fifth grade runs during both services. The Loop is a special midweek gathering for third through fifth graders that includes games, dinner, lively songs, a Bible lesson, and dessert. Once a year the church celebrates Bible Sunday, a beloved tradition at SCPC, when children in third grade (along with three-year-olds and sixth graders) receive their very own age-appropriate Bible as a gift from the congregation.
Middle School Ministry
Middle schoolers meet on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Student Center for big games, fun lessons, and small groups, and on Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM for donuts, leaders, and teaching. A downloadable fall calendar keeps parents and students on the same page about retreats, service projects, and seasonal events.
High School Ministry
High school students gather on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Student Center on the ground floor for real-life stories, deeper lessons, sometimes live worship, and plenty of games. Sunday morning formation happens by attending the 10:30 AM modern service in the Sanctuary alongside the rest of the church family. Dorian Johnson leads the student ministries team.
It's Complicated
Recent high school graduates, college students, and other young adults find a home at It's Complicated (IC), a gathering held on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday evenings of each month in the Student Center. The group is built around honest conversation, friendship, and growing in faith during a season that often feels, as its name suggests, complicated.
A Care Team of 175 and a Wall of Quilts
San Clemente Presbyterian takes seriously the call to care for one another. The church's Care and Support ministry is sustained by a team of 175 volunteer prayer partners who faithfully pray for every request that comes in, large or small. Beyond prayer, the church offers a wide net of practical support coordinated through its Board of Deacons and pastoral staff.
A prayer quilt ministry prepares hand-made quilts that are prayed over and delivered to anyone walking through a difficult season. The Emergency Assistance program helps individuals and families facing acute financial need. The Visitation ministry sends pastors or deacon advocates to the hospital or homebound, and can include administering the Lord's Supper to those who have been absent from in-person worship.
A Meal Ministry provides food for new parents, those recovering from surgery, or anyone walking through hardship. An Alongside ministry pairs people facing a death, job loss, divorce, or sudden life change with a caring Christian man or woman to walk with them. A team of volunteers regularly sends handwritten cards of encouragement to homebound members. Funeral and memorial services are available both within the SCPC community and beyond, with pastoral care offered during times of loss.
Every member of the church can be paired with a deacon advocate through the parish ministry. Deacons are ordained once and then elected to renewable three-year terms of service.
Connection Beyond Sunday: Groups, Bible Studies, and Table Groups
The church organizes its small-group life around five New Testament practices drawn from Acts 2: prayer, fellowship, study, giving, and worship. The aim is to help members Be, Know, and Do more in the Kingdom of God.
Bible Studies meet monthly around a shared meal and a book study or Sunday sermon study, with a year-long commitment. Table Groups gather monthly around a meal and four questions in women-only, men-only, or co-ed formats, also for a one-year commitment. IF: Table Groups are women's groups born out of the national IF organization, gathering monthly around a meal and four faith-based questions.
An English Learning Center hosted at the church provides ESL classes for adults in the broader community. Membership and Baptism classes are offered regularly, and newcomers can request prayer, assistance, or a pastoral visit through the church's Care and Support page.
Mission Partners Near and Far
San Clemente Presbyterian supports a wide network of mission partners locally and around the world. Locally, the church partners with Family Assistance Ministries, a faith-based Orange County nonprofit providing food, shelter, and personalized supportive counsel; SCPC is one of FAM's founding partner churches. Through the Marine Ministries, members serve the Marines and Sailors of the 1st CEB and their families, hosting the battalion's annual Christmas dinner, baby showers, Welcome Home bags after deployment, furniture distribution, the USMC Birthday Ball, and the summer barbecue.
The church supports the Pro Deo Foundation, a Southern California nonprofit that creates pathways for youth to flourish, and runs the Pathways after-school program alongside Pro Deo to teach local students business and entrepreneurship skills through creating products sold under the Coastland retail brand. I-5 Freedom Network works to disrupt human trafficking through survivor support and equipping hotels to identify and report suspicious activity. Campo de Esperanza at Village of Hope serves indigenous migrant farm workers in Ensenada, Mexico, with SCPC taking an annual mission trip there each Christmas.
Internationally, the church supports Y-Malawi?, a sustainable-development effort in Malawi that puts the village church at the center of change; Rancho Sordo Mundo, which builds and mentors deaf ministries in Mexico and beyond; God's Hidden Treasures, serving the poor and orphaned of Ukraine; Interserve USA, sending a family to a remote people group in Central Asia; Wycliffe Bible Translators, supporting two SCPC-grown missionaries leading 40 active Bible translation projects in West Asia; Habitat for Humanity Orange County; YWAM; Chrysalis Ministries, equipping Christian leaders worldwide; and Tyrannus Halls Europe, establishing small residential discipleship communities for university students in Central Europe and South Asia.
A Faith in the Reformed Tradition
San Clemente Presbyterian belongs to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and has served San Clemente for nearly 90 years in continuity with the broader Reformed tradition that traces itself back nearly three centuries in the United States and to the dawn of the Reformation before that. The church holds to two sacraments only, Communion and Baptism, and teaches that the Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, is the authoritative, inerrant, infallible Word of God and the highest rule of faith and practice.
The Brief Statement of Faith affirms belief in God as Creator and Sustainer, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; in humanity's brokenness and separation from God through sin; in Jesus Christ's death and physical resurrection as God's only provision for reconciliation; in salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; and in the universal church as the provisional witness to the Kingdom of God, which will be finally consummated when Christ returns in bodily form.
The church's stated mission is to inspire people to become wholehearted followers of His, and its stated vision is to be a Christ-centered community of faith who lives in grace, practices gratitude, and extends generosity. Five values shape life together: authenticity, hospitality, outreach, celebration, and innovation.
Leadership and Governance
The pastoral team is led by Rev. Jesse Lund, Lead Pastor, supported by Care Pastor Rev. Lucy Stafford-Lewis and Parish Associate Pastors Rev. Dale Rosenberger and Rev. Dee Hazen. Kasey Myers serves as Executive Director, with Jill Dupree as Administrative Director. Brieann Knutson directs worship and formation and is the staff lead on prayer, the Lord's Supper, and congregational care requests. John Zechiel serves as pianist and organist. The church remembers and honors Rev. Dave Ricketts, Co-Pastor, who has passed into glory.
As a PCUSA congregation, SCPC is governed by a Session of Elders, with Elder Carly Scheuer serving as Clerk of Session. The Board of Deacons cares for the congregation's pastoral needs; Hilary Peter serves as Moderator of the Board of Deacons. Elder and deacon classes serve staggered three-year terms, and contact information for the Clerk and any individual elder is available through the church office.
Las Olas Preschool and the Pathways After-School Program
SCPC operates Las Olas Preschool, directed by Becky Abell, on the church campus. The preschool is a ministry of the church and shares its commitment to nurturing children in faith and community.
For older students, the church partners with the Pro Deo Foundation to run Pathways, an after-school program that teaches local middle school and high school students real-world skills in business and entrepreneurship: how to work hard, communicate, calculate the cost of goods, and manage profit margins, while mentoring them to create products sold through the Coastland retail brand. Pro Deo's broader work focuses on at-risk youth, and SCPC provides outreach and program support to local students at no cost to the church.
Giving, Membership, and Getting Involved
San Clemente Presbyterian teaches that giving includes time, talent, and treasure. Online giving is available through the church's giving portal, checks may be mailed to the church office, and stock transfer instructions are published for members who wish to give appreciated securities. A capital campaign called A Firm Foundation invites the congregation into a season of expanded generosity, with a downloadable brochure, ways-to-give PDF, and vision sermon available on the campaign page.
Those exploring membership can sign up for a membership class online. Baptism classes are also offered regularly. Volunteer sign-ups for Kids Ministry, Trunks and Treats, and a range of other service opportunities are available through the church's online forms. Annual and quarterly financial updates, town hall meeting summaries, and the most recent annual report are posted on the church's Finance page for transparency with the congregation.