The Saturday before Thanksgiving, several St. Philippian youths met up with youth minister David Gilbert and youth leader Sarah Silcox to go door-to-door downtown to collect canned goods for Tricounty Family Ministries ahead of one of its busiest weeks of the year. The kids divided themselves into small groups and headed off in all directions to begin their mission to top last year’s 600-pound total. Although this year’s total––upwards of 200 pounds––seemed like a big drop from last year (many folks were already out of town for Thanksgiving), David Gilbert discovered when he made the drop-off that afternoon that the food had come at just the right time, and Tricounty Director Sue Hanshaw was incredibly grateful....
Remember when churches were open all the time? Remember how nice it was to go in and sit quietly in prayer? Remember the peace you felt? Well, the world is different now and our churches are closed and locked much of the time. I was at Bible study when Elizabeth Bowles spoke to us about the Open Door Ministry. She explained the desperate need for volunteers that were needed for just two hours a week. I was new to Charleston and new to the Anglican Church, but I knew then that God was telling me to step out of my comfort zone and join the Open Door Ministry....
Click the link below to read the St. Philip's eSPIRE, the email version of our weekly inSPIRE newsletter, which is packed with information about all that's going on in the life of our parish....
The St. Philip’s Home Missions Committee is once again partnering with Tricounty Family Ministries to help brighten Christmas for Charleston families by collecting $25 gift cards to Walmart, Family Dollar, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree so that parents in need can have the dignity of purchasing a gift for their child. The Committee is also working with St. John’s Chapel, a mission church of our diocese, to collect $25 gift cards to Walmart or Target for the teachers of Sanders-Clyde Elementary School, who have poured their hearts into the students of Charleston's Charleston's Eastside neighborhood. With Thanksgiving coming late this year, the trees, which will be decorated with the ornaments that are Home Missions Committee's gift to you to serve as a thank you or reminder, will be in the narthex for only two Sundays! ...
The church office closes at noon Wednesday, 11/27, and reopens Monday, 12/2 at 8:30 a.m. No printed inSPIRE Thanksgiving week. No Wednesdays Alive! service, supper, or classes on 11/27. No Rector’s Bible Study Thanksgiving Day. Youth Group and children’s choirs will not meet Thanksgiving week....
If you were at the last ECW meeting in October, you may have heard me mention off the cuff that if we were to lose Gene Lesesne, the Tea Room could not go on. Gene is 82 years old, rides his bike almost daily 20 miles, was a Naval aviator, and flew for Pan Am Airlines as a commercial pilot until he went to teach at the Citadel in the PE department. He was married to Ann, who was a nurse instructor at Trident Tech until she was disabled by rheumatoid arthritis. He was her caregiver until her death just about five years ago. He has two daughters: Angela, who runs the preschool with Lee Moore here at St. Philip’s, and Jessica Martin, who attends and volunteered here as a Sunday school teacher for years. His first great-grand was recently baptized here. I do not know how long the Lesesne family has been attending St. Philip’s, but I know they have a legacy of serving quietly....
On a recent November mid-week, a small group of St. Philippians traveled up to the glorious mountains of North Carolina to attend a much-touted (by our beloved priest and C.S. Lewis aficionado, Brian McGreevy ) C.S. Lewis symposium. The conference was a packed time filled with insights and sharing to encourage us and engage us on our Christian journey. People from 28 states, England, and Malta were drawn to the beautiful village of Montreat for this experience, officially titled “C.S. Lewis: Influence and Relevance Today.”...
Last weekend, high school students from across the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina came together for “ReGenerate,” a weekend retreat at Camp St. Christopher on Seabrook Island. The main verse for the weekend was Philippians 2:8-11, and our speaker, Nate Morgan Locke, a youth evangelist with Christianity Explored Ministries, talked about how sometimes we put on different hats (like different identities) when we are in different social scenes. He told us that as Christians, we should have the same integrity, rooted in Christ, in all of our social realms. Another strong point that he reminded us of is that we are never done growing in our relationship with Christ. There is always something that we can change and there are ways that we can continue to get closer and closer to Jesus!...
Once upon a time, there was a master violin maker whose greatest joy was to make the most beautiful violins in the world. With each new instrument that he created, he went to great effort and expense. When each was complete, he would spend many hours testing its limits by playing it as only he could. For he dearly loved each one. ...
When my son was in a terrible car accident in 2011, his life was in the balance, and with one phone call, the St. Philip’s prayer chain was alerted and I was able to get many people praying fast. I believe that through these prayers and many more throughout his recovery, he was saved and is now healed. St. Philip’s has had a prayer chain for about the last twenty years, and many of us have taken great comfort in knowing that our situation is getting prayed over “right now.” But now we have a new and improved prayer chain....
On November 2, St. John’s Chapel, a mission church of our diocese and one of St. Philip’s home mission partners, had its first community fundraising event. It was well attended and a huge success!unity...
If you didn’t make it to this year’s parish retreat in the mountains of North Carolina, then you didn’t get to witness the joys of that weekend, among them the laughter at Friday’s social and sing-along, the hum of conversation as the bonds of our church family strengthened over each meal, and whatever happened at the hoedown that made the Millers and O’Dells react the way they did in the picture above. There’s good news, though: one joy that you missed, the Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon’s program about prayer, is available on our “Other Classes and Offerings” podcast! You may also listen online at stphilipschurchsc.org/other-classes-and-offerings. ...
The 10th annual LAMB Dinner Party With a Purpose on October 24th was a very blessed night in the Lord. Thank you to all who prayed and helped make that night a true gospel success. There were many St. Philippians who came out even though they had to pack for Kanuga! Thank you. The theme for the event was God’s charge to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous ...” ...
Have you ever looked at a hymn, wondering about the lines, dots, and squiggly things on the page? Or wanted to know why the choir paused, increased volume, or changed pace? Well, I did. While I enjoyed making a joyful noise, aka singing, I found it difficult to sing an unfamiliar hymn. I wanted to participate more fully in worship by learning how to read music....
During Saturday’s program at Kanuga, the Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon gave the St. Philippians in attendance a homework assignment: write a psalm of thanksgiving for a person, a place, or an event. Below are some of the psalms we wrote. ...
September 15 was a joyous day at St. Philip’s: the anthems were glorious, the sermon was rousing, the bouncy house was hopping, and the BBQ was delicious and plentiful. Rally Sunday is a day that St. Philippians look forward to every year because it marks the return of Sunday School and the Rector’s Forum after what always seems like an endless summer. But Rally Sunday was a little different this year, because it was also the launch date of St. Philip’s new Hospitality Ministry....
When we moved to Charleston in 2010, we found a house on Church Street, a few short blocks from the church. Victoria turned three shortly afterward, and it was time to find a preschool. We found a spot for her at the little school at St. Philip’s, and we met Jo Hethcox, who invited Victoria to participate in the Cherub Choir. ...
Earlier this year, under the leadership of Deacon Gerry McCord, Kent Keller, and Tim Strickland, a St. Philip’s Disaster Relief Team (DRT) was created. There are about 20 parishioners on the founding committee. Our mission is to provide help, assistance, and hope to our parishioners and neighbors in times of extreme crisis. It is our plan to provide comfort and minor emergency repairs. Naturally, all volunteers are welcome!...
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is the class that helps you pay off debt, budget, save money, and give generously. Sit down with Tripp Hathaway and the Rev. Ryan Streett in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and learn about debt snowballs, emergency funds, wealth-building, and more....
The Resurrection Choir is accepting new members! The presence of this choir makes a huge difference at funerals. No rehearsals, no anthems, no audition! Just lead the congregation in singing familiar hymns at parish funerals. Please contact Pat Gould at pgould@stphilipschurchsc.org or 843-364-9552....
If you know of a parishioner who is sick, hospitalized, homebound, or otherwise in need of pastoral care or prayer, please call the church office at (843) 722-7734. ...
The 10th annual LAMB Dinner Party With a Purpose on October 24th was a very blessed night in the Lord. Thank you to all who prayed and helped make that night a true gospel success. There were many St. Philippians who came out even though they had to pack for Kanuga! Thank you. The theme for the event was God’s charge to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous ...” ...
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We’ve been hearing a great deal about Honduras in the news these days. Over 200,000 Hondurans have fled to the US just in the last nine months. With 67% of the Honduran people living in poverty, major gang activity affecting the everyday life of most people, crimes committed with few prosecutions, and corruption in the government even to the highest levels, you can under...
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Summer is TEAM season at LAMB! Every year, LAMB hosts teams of volunteers who come to Honduras to serve God and the ministry. They do so in a variety of ways. Some teams are specially trained and come to provide a particular service, like our medical and dental teams. They provide health care or dental care not only to our kids at LAMB, but also to poor communities in Hond...
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This past June, a group from St. Philip’s visited our sister church, St. Jean Baptiste, in the mountain community of Plaine Mapou on La Gonâve Island in Haiti for the feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24), as we have done almost every year for 25 years. However, St. Philip’s and St. Jean Baptiste are not the only sister churches on the island of La Gonâve. St. Jean...
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Wow! What an amazing experience seeing God’s hand at work and to be able to experience it with fellow St. Philippians ... well, let’s just say it is something that both my son, Clay Hershey, and I will never forget! From the fellowship amongst all of us seven St. Philippians who went on the trip to seeing the fruit of the many years of relationship-building that Gerry ...
Keep Reading Sam and Carol Robinson, Miles Barkley, Emmie Hershey and her son Clay, and Gerry and Suzanne McCord were in La Gonâve, Haiti, June 19-24 for St. Philip’s annual Jean Baptiste Feast Day Mission. Read about their experience in the next inSPIRE! ...
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After Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1998, George and Molly Greene’s environmental consulting and engineering company, the GEL Group, built six water treatment systems at the request of the Episcopal Bishop of Honduras––and Water Mission was born. Since then, this water engineering ministry has expanded into Mexico, Indonesia, Tanzania, Uganda, Haiti, Kenya, Peru, a...
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At the end of 2018, Water Mission’s staff in Mexico connected with ASELSI (Associa- tion Equipping the Saints International), a nonprofit organization based in Guatemala. In partnership with Water Mission, ASELSI provides basic theology training to new believers in communities we are serving with safe water projects....
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As many of you know, Suzy McCall’s beautiful 16-year-old, Sallie, died suddenly on Sunday, May 12. Experiencing a heartbreak beyond words, Suzy, the founder and spiritual director of LAMB, has been shatterred, as any mother would be. She had raised sweet Sallie since she was six months. Sallie was one of our very first “God’s Littlest Lambs” that the Lord used to l...
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I am grateful to several St. Philippians who have prayed for my little sparrow in Rwanda. Fraterine is a ten-year-old boy who, until the last year, has led a solitary life, away from school and simply drifting during the days because so many children made fun of his discomfiting, facial skin condition. Since discovering God’s little sparrow last summer, we from the Dufat...
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What a privilege and blessing it is to live in a country where we have the freedom to participate in a National Day of Prayer. Created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed by President Harry S. Truman, the National Day of Prayer is significant because it prompts us to remember how our founding fathers sought the wisdom of God when making d...
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This past February, I returned to Rwanda for three weeks. For almost six years, I lived in Rwanda’s Northern Province, an area nestled in a chain of eight imposing volcanoes. Their towering spires appear to direct the earth’s timid gaze to heaven’s sublime and regal dominion. When they quake, fire and brimstone slide from their lips, demonstrating God’s almighty, o...
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Let's take another walk down memory lane. This goes back to the early years of the medical ministry from St. Philip's Church to Honduras. Look at the face of this little boy. He looks as if he could be apprehensive or worried. ButI was there, and I know that actually he was entranced, very intent, and totally focused on something he was watching. I'd like to backtrack n...
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Since 2005, through the generosity of Christian individuals, churches, and corporations, Water Mission has made possible the "free gift" of clean drinking water to disadvantaged people around the world. You and I know that this gift is not free, for it requires a commitment of generous people who have a heart to bring Jesus Christ's message, the "free gift of living wate...
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In the past few months, God has been blessing LAMB with the most precious of gifts: more children at our children's home! Already home to over 50 children, God's Littlest Lambs Children's Home in Honduras has seen a sudden increase in the number of children we have been asked to provide care for. Most of these new little ones are babies! Since December, God has brought sev...
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