Tucked into the redwoods that climb the hills above Soquel Drive in Aptos, St Andrew Presbyterian Church has been a steady presence since the spring of 1965, when ninety-six charter members gathered at Cabrillo College to sign the papers that brought the congregation into being. Six decades later, the same campus at 9850 Monroe Avenue still anchors the congregation's life, and the redwoods still frame the courtyard where, on Christmas Eve, worshipers gather by candlelight to sing Silent Night after a service of lessons and carols. The church is known for traditional Presbyterian worship with strong preaching and a weekly rhythm of music, education, fellowship and hands-on outreach that has earned the congregation a reputation across Santa Cruz County for showing up when someone is hungry, cold or without a place to wash.
Sunday Morning at 10:30
Worship is the heart of St Andrew. The congregation gathers at 10:30 AM on Sunday mornings in a service that draws on a long Presbyterian tradition of hymns, liturgy and preaching. Lay readers and ushers, including young people who want to practice reading scripture and greeting visitors, share in the leadership of each service. The Chancel Choir sings almost every Sunday of the year, taking the summer off, and presents anthems chosen to match the message and the season. The church celebrates the Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of every month, with four services a year featuring communion by intinction; children in fourth grade and older are invited to remain and share in the bread and cup, while younger children may leave for their classrooms.
The order of worship keeps Advent, Christmas Eve, Easter, and St Andrew Day as the high points of the year. The four Sundays of Advent prepare for Christmas; on Christmas Eve at 5:30 PM the church holds a candlelight Lessons and Carols service that traditionally ends in the courtyard with the singing of Silent Night. Easter Sunday centers on the story of the resurrection, and the third Sunday of November marks St Andrew Day, when the church celebrates the Apostle Andrew, gives thanks for the patron who brought the gospel to Greece and Scotland, and joins the Kirking of the Clans.
A Story That Starts at Valencia Hall
St Andrew was born out of a desire shared by Presbyterians living in mid-Santa Cruz County for a church of their own in the area. Organizing pastor the Reverend Dr. Robert Thomas led the effort, and the congregation was chartered by the Presbytery of San Jose on May 16, 1965 at Cabrillo College, with ninety-seven charter members enrolled. The first worship service had been held the previous Advent season at the old Valencia Hall on Soquel Drive. In June 1965 the new congregation leased a temporary space at 6790 Soquel Drive, across from the college, and held services and church school there for nearly three years before moving to its permanent home at 9850 Monroe Avenue Extension in May of 1968. The buildings and grounds have been cared for and improved ever since, including the stained decks and fresh exterior paint that long-time Music Director Don Adkins often tackled himself between choir rehearsals.
From its first Sunday the congregation has described itself as a warm and supportive Christian fellowship that cares about the individuals and families of its members and the wider community. Members share an active prayer chain, offer deacon and pastoral visits for those who are ill or in need, and gather in small supper clusters of eight to ten that meet monthly in homes or restaurants, regrouping each year to widen the circle.
The Shower Ministry and Other Hands and Feet
If worship is the heart of St Andrew, outreach is its working hands. The church founded the Mid-County Homeless Coalition, a partnership of local congregations that brings showers to people experiencing homelessness. Members help staff the program, hand out towels and clean the facilities, working alongside the Congregational Church of Soquel, the Episcopal Church of St John, La Selva Beach Community Church, Resurrection Catholic Community, Shorelife Community Church, Trinity Presbyterian Church and Twin Lakes Church. Through the winter months the church also helps staff and prepare hot meals at the local winter shelter.
Each Sunday morning, members sell eggs donated by the Glaum Ranch, with all proceeds going to Second Harvest Food Bank, which distributes nearly eight million pounds of food a year to 56,000 Santa Cruz County residents. Volunteers also pack food at the food bank's warehouse. Working with CASA, the Court Appointed Special Advocates program, members cut, sew, stuff and embroider a personalized Christmas stocking for every foster child on the program's list, then fill each stocking with goodies so that on Christmas morning every child feels remembered. The congregation has joined the Santa Cruz al Salvador partnership, a long-running ecumenical ministry that supports education and medical service in El Salvador through prayer partners, scholarship fundraisers, wine tastings, See's candy sales and dinners at Shadowbrook. Other outreach connections include the Social Justice Task Force of the Presbytery, Rising International, which supports survivors of human trafficking and domestic abuse, and Encompass, which helps young people aging out of foster care build life skills and find housing.
Music as the Glue
The Chancel Choir has long been a defining part of the St Andrew worship experience. A group of dedicated volunteers rehearses every Thursday evening and sings at almost every Sunday service, presenting music in many styles and choosing anthems to match the sermon and the season. Dr. Don Adkins led the music program as organist, choir director and music director from 1988 until his retirement, when Session named him Music Director Emeritus. In addition to his work at the church, Adkins teaches music at Cabrillo and Gavilan Colleges, conducts the Cabrillo College Orchestra and music directs musicals for the Cabrillo College Theater Department, and accompanies soloists in the Santa Cruz area. Choir members and visitors are welcome to join; the choir has also hosted an annual Music Camp for children in the community with instruction, handbells, Boom Whackers, double Dutch and a closing worship service led by the young musicians.
Education for Every Age
Children are an active part of worship. During the service younger children may remain with their families, and the children's sermon gives the youngest worshipers a turn to take part in the message. When children are excused, they break into groups by age: a nursery for children under five, a class for kindergarten through fifth grade and a class for sixth through eighth grade. High school students may either join the middle-school class or stay in the sanctuary. Once a month the older children gather for a pancake breakfast, which is a favorite Sunday for newcomers. Teachers use a hands-on approach, with small plays, art projects and science experiments designed to make Bible stories stick.
Adults have three main ways to dig deeper. Sunday morning adult education meets at 9:00 AM in Hubler Hall during the school year, with a group of fifteen to twenty adults tackling Bible study, current events, heresies and interfaith conversations, and occasional book studies. Pastor Anne teaches a monthly Bible study on the fourth Monday of the month at 1:00 PM in Thomas Lounge, where the group spends a year working through a single book of Scripture; the current rotation includes Paul's letters to the Corinthians. During Advent and Lent the church adds seasonal studies with extra space for reflection and prayer.
Fellowship, Old and New
St Andrew's social life flows through clusters and circles. Supper Clusters meet monthly in homes or at restaurants, with new groupings each year so that members can widen their circle; a Lunch Bunch meets at a restaurant after church for those who would rather skip the cleanup; and a Family Circle is designed for families with children who want to build connections with other families. The annual Spring Tea, featuring the choral group Il Dolce Suono from Cabrillo College, draws women and men together for tea sandwiches, clotted cream scones and intergenerational conversation. Other gatherings include the men's breakfast in June, the church family picnic, the Advent Festival and the Kirking of the Clans on St Andrew Day. Underpinning all of it is a prayer ministry that meets weekly to hold the joys and concerns of the congregation in prayer.
Pastoral Leadership
The Reverend Anne McAnelly has served as pastor since July of 2011. A lifelong Presbyterian, she was ordained as an elder at seventeen and answered the call to ministry after graduating from UC Davis with degrees in psychology and economics. She earned her Master of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Social Work from Rutgers, and her call to counseling has shaped a ministry that welcomes newcomers with the warmth of a family. Before St Andrew she served as Associate Pastor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at First Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee, as Parish Associate for Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church of Port Jefferson, New York, and as pastor of Remsenburg Community Church and First Presbyterian Church of East Moriches on Long Island. She is the parent of two sons, Cooper and Parker.
The Session, made up of elders elected by the congregation to three-year terms, governs the church alongside the pastor and decides the shape of worship, mission and purpose. St Andrew has no hierarchy among its ordained leaders; elders serve on equal footing with the pastor. Deacons, also elected to three-year terms, care for members through hospitality and prayer, make pastoral visits throughout the year and especially around memorial services, and prepare and serve communion on the first Sunday of the month.
A Presbyterian Identity
St Andrew belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA), one of the Reformed Protestant traditions that traces its roots to the Scottish and English Reformation. Presbyterian theology emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Local congregations are governed by sessions of elders, with higher courts of presbytery, synod and General Assembly sharing responsibility for the wider church. St Andrew is part of the Presbytery of San Jose, the regional body that originally chartered the congregation in 1965. The church's patron, the Apostle Andrew, was known for his evangelical zeal and for sharing the gospel with the larger world, particularly Greece and Scotland, a heritage members mark each year on the third Sunday of November.
The Campus and Its Guests
The Monroe Avenue campus is a serene setting ringed by California redwoods, with gardens tended by a volunteer group that meets on Wednesday mornings. Hubler Hall, with a full kitchen, seats up to a hundred for a meal and rents from $150 to $350 for an event depending on the group's needs. Thomas Lounge hosts smaller groups of ten to twenty-five, with rentals ranging from $30 to $120. Both require a $250 security deposit and proof of insurance. The grounds and buildings also host weddings and special events. Beyond the church itself, the campus is home to several community groups: Little Learners of Aptos, a licensed child care center serving children ages two through six; Iglesia De Dios of Santa Cruz, a Church of God congregation with a mission to communicate the full gospel of Jesus Christ; AA; PEO; and a Celtic Music Night.
Giving and the Endowment
Members support the work of St Andrew through pledges each year, with three ways to give: an offering in the Sunday morning service, a monthly automatic payment through a bank's online bill pay system, or a debit or credit card donation arranged through PayPal. Gifts of cash, check, stock, securities, life insurance and retirement assets, annuities, trusts, artwork or real estate can also be directed to the church's funds. The St Andrew Endowment Fund was created in 2013 through the gift of Elsie Williams, whose life savings became a permanent fund for mission and facilities; four percent of its value, averaged over three years, is distributed each year between the Facilities Reserve Fund for major renovations and the Mission Fund for new ministries. The endowment helped start the congregation's youth group, and it continues to underwrite the next generation of work.
Joining In
Visitors can drop in to worship at 10:30 AM on Sundays, join the live stream on YouTube, attend a Sunday morning adult class at 9:00 AM, sit in on the monthly Bible study, or simply walk the gardens. Those who want to get involved can serve on one of the standing committees: Enrichment, which plans worship, education and seasonal celebrations; Nurture, which creates fellowship opportunities; Operations, which cares for the physical campus and finances; or Stewardship. There is room in the choir, the gardening group, the Floral Team and the outreach ministries. The church welcomes all who want to share the journey of faith, whether for an hour, a day or a lifetime.