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....
Our family has purchased freshly cut Frasier fir Christmas trees from Wishon Tree Farm for several years. This year was no different. Our friends Faron and Ethan Atwood, a father and son from Sparta, NC, oversee this tree lot by the American Legion at 968 Folly Road every year....
With a heart for mission, the generous friends and family of St. Philip’s Church donated 315 gift cards this year! Teachers and families in need in our community were given these $25 gift cards that allowed them to decide how to spend their money. I am grateful and fueled by God’s guidance and devotion. ...
For many St. Philippians––as well as neighbors and visitors who worship with us annually––Christmas Eve is the most special day of the year because of the traditions we look forward to as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Christmas Pageant, the first of our three Christmas Eve services, is a time for the youngest members of our congregation to absorb the message of the Nativity as they themselves help deliver it....
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...
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....
Keep Reading Our family has purchased freshly cut Frasier fir Christmas trees from Wishon Tree Farm for several years. This year was no different. Our friends Faron and Ethan Atwood, a father and son from Sparta, NC, oversee this tree lot by the American Legion at 968 Folly Road every year....
Keep Reading With a heart for mission, the generous friends and family of St. Philip’s Church donated 315 gift cards this year! Teachers and families in need in our community were given these $25 gift cards that allowed them to decide how to spend their money. I am grateful and fueled by God’s guidance and devotion. ...
Keep Reading For many St. Philippians––as well as neighbors and visitors who worship with us annually––Christmas Eve is the most special day of the year because of the traditions we look forward to as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Christmas Pageant, the first of our three Christmas Eve services, is a time for the youngest members of our congreg...
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Last month, St. John’s Chapel, a mission church of our diocese, hosted “Unity in the Community,” an afternoon of BBQ, music, and fellowship that aimed to foster peace while raising funds for security in a neighborhood plagued by crime. St. Philip’s made a donation to the cause and helped promote the event, and the leadership of St. John’s was very grateful:...
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Preparations for this year’s Lessons and Carols service, which falls annually on the Third Sunday in Advent, began months ago when Pat Gould, the St. Philip’s Choir director; Jo Hethcox, director of the Cherub, St. Nicholas, Canterbury, and St. David Choirs; and Andrea White, the St. Cecilia Choir director, began choosing the anthems their choristers would be singing t...
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The Christmas Eve service is so beautiful and special to my heart for so many reasons. I was raised in a non-Christian home and didn’t come to the Lord until I was 22. I was visiting Charleston for Christmas (this was before Jordan Warlick and I were wed) and it was my first time meeting her parents, Bill and Carolyn Warlick. They discovered I wasn’t a Christian and st...
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Just before noon on Friday, December 6, the Parish Hall was abuzz with women of St. Philip’s, their guests, and other ladies from across our diocese, all of whom had come to enjoy an elegant luncheon while listening to renowned speaker Susan Alexander Yates deliver her Advent message: “Finding Peace in a Season of Uncertainty.”...
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On Saturday, December 7, Church St. was a parade of festively dressed folks as St. Philippians made their way to the rectory for this year’s Advent drop-in. All the elements that we have come to expect from the past couple of years were in place: plenty of egg nog; live garland on the mantles and banisters; baked brie, meatballs, pimento cheese, and lots of other goodies...
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During this Advent season, as we anticipate the beauty of Christmas, I am forever grateful to those who have walked alongside of me in this ministry to our friends at the Dufatanye Organization (DO) in Rwanda. As we have shared during the prayers on Sundays at St. Philip’s, the DO is a nonprofit organization that ministers to victims of genocide and AIDS. This ministry a...
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