If there was ever a time to pray, it's NOW. There are so many things that need prayer coverage that it's hard to know where to start. First of all, it's vital that you start by enriching your own prayer life. During this time when we are quarantined at home, perhaps you can increase your dedicated time with Him in prayer....
In the midst of this time of uncertainty, I hope you are well. May you find safe shelter not only in “social distancing,” but especially in drawing close to Him who is our true Dwelling Place...
St. Philippians and Friends, Even though we "broke the Internet" last Sunday when we, along with members of other churches across the country, went online in droves to worship, we are going to give the same streaming platform another shot this Sunday, the Fifth Sunday in Lent! Here is a link to the stream, which will begin a few minutes before 10:30 a.m. with the prelude....
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....
Dear Saint Philippians, Many of you have written and emailed to thank us for last Sunday’s online service; we are delighted that it was a blessing. As we move forward, still uncertain as to how long we will be prevented from worshipping together in the church, I want to provide you with some sense of what you may expect in the weeks to come. Because the situation is fluid, these plans are subject to change, but for now they represent the thinking of the clergy and lay leadership. ...
St. Philip’s is assembling a response team for our church members while we are all experiencing the challenges of COVID-19. This is a united effort of the Compassion Committee, the Home Missions Team, the Disaster Relief Committee, and our clergy. We are here to help each other!...
Dear St. Philip’s family, This past week of social distancing has been a surreal and difficult experience for the majority of Americans. Many are beginning to think that if the coronavirus doesn’t get them, “Cabin Fever” will. Not since World War II or the polio epidemic of the 1940s and 50s have the American people been so inconvenienced or threatened with long-term confinement and financial ruin. It reminds me of the following story shared by the Very Reverend Laurie Thompson, Dean of Trinity Seminary. ...
We celebrated Mission Sunday last week and had the opportunity to highlight the many ways that we as a congregation at St. Philip's are “doing mission,” or reaching out to others with the love of God in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mission is an integral part of what God calls us to do as Christ-followers. While the Great Commission is commonly thought to be the Bible’s one mandate to mission, if we read scripture carefully, we will hear God’s heart for the world woven powerfully throughout all of the Bible. Jesus’ command that we take the Gospel to those who have not yet heard it was not simply an afterthought at the end of his earthly ministry. It was a continuation of the message we find consistently throughout Scripture: God loves us. Despite our rebellion, He went to unfathomable lengths to make it possible for us to know Him and His great love for us and for us to be with Him for all eternity. ...
We dotted all our I's and crossed all our T's; we had every hair in place and all our ducks in a row, but we weren't prepared ... for breaking the Internet! Thanks to everyone who joined us for worship on Sunday! Even though the service didn't come to your living room in quite the mode we were expecting, you were unfazed, and most of us were able to worship together just as we'd planned. Praise God!! Here's a note we received from our streaming platform on Sunday afternoon: Church Online Platform When the Church broke the Internet. This is an unprecedented time for the global Church and for online ministry. For most churches running the Church Online Platform, services went smoothly, and we praise Jesus for the lives that were forever changed! For some churches, though, services went out around 9:15 a.m. CDT/10:15 EDT. In anticipation of the highest-traffic weekend in history, the team had done in-depth load testing and purchased additional server and database capacity to meet the projected demand. But, with today’s traffic, an unanticipated variable arose that caused some issues with chat and with pages loading....
St. Philippians, we are pleased to announce that we are all set for online worship on Sunday, March 22, at 10:30 a.m.! Here are a few things to note: 1. The service will remain available online after the stream is over. This means that should you miss the service for any reason, you will still be able to watch later. 2. A service bulletin is available for you to view or print now. We have reformatted our traditional bulletin so that you may print it at home. There is a complete version which looks just like what you're used to, and there's an abbreviated version that you may print using a single sheet of paper (front and back). ...
I had an amazing time at the March for Life even though I was a little nervous going into because I didn’t know everyone going with St. Philip’s (or the other 800,000 people who were there). Just as I arrived at the airport, I received a text saying that our flight was delayed but that we should still head on over, which was an interesting start to my experience. At t...
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Evangelism. Up until one week ago, I was scared of that word. It carries so much meaning, so much responsibility. On Sunday, January 20, Canon J.John came and spoke at the Rector’s Forum and preached that morning. While I was unable to hear his talk at the Rector’s Forum (I’m definitely listening to it this week!), I heard his sermon. It was so spirit-filling and en...
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I love to cook. Browsing through recipes and then preparing them for my family and friends is one of my favorite things to do. To me, I am showing my love for them by taking the time to follow each step and make the preparations for a wonderful meal as my gift to them––and, of course, when my children were younger, to ensure their proper physical growth and health. ...
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If you prayed, volunteered your time, gave a gift, or supported Water Mission in other ways throughout the past year, then you helped us serve more than 600,000 people with safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions in 2019. Together, we were the hands and feet of Christ. We… • completed safe water projects in 182 communities and 20 countries, • provided des...
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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....
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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. ...
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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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