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....
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 understand why people would want to flee. ...
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....
This summer when Grace stayed with me the first two weeks in July, I was looking for something for her to do at St. Philip’s, knowing that most children’s activities were in recess, a well deserved rest for the teachers and leaders. I was surprised, then, to see an announcement in the eSPIRE about a Tuesday evening program led by David Gilbert. Before his program, at 5:00 p.m., was an opportunity for a Bible study with Sarah Silcox, just for girls Grace’s age. This program was called “Against the Tide,” and it fit right into our schedules between zip-lining and the waterpark....
The annual parish retreat at Kanuga, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Hendersonville, NC, is a time of spiritual enrichment and nourishment for parishioners of all ages. There are daily opportunities for worship and fellowship, and there’s also time for you to explore the grounds and the Hendersonville area on your own if you’d like. This year’s speaker is the Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon, Canon Theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina, and the theme of the weekend is “Graciously Engaging the Consuming Fire: Biblical Reflections on Prayer.” ...
The Home Missions Committee would like to thank all who participated in donating backpacks and school supplies for Tricounty Family Ministries. We also appreciate the volunteers who helped organize and sort the backpacks and supplies last Monday, as well as those who handed out the filled backpacks to the children on Friday. The following supplies were collected, sorted, and divided among 87 backpacks according to the size/age appropriateness....
During the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, the Rev. Andrew O’Dell invited all students and teachers to come forward for a blessing before the start of the new school year....
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!...
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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On behalf of my co-chair, Amanda Steinhardt, and the entire Tea Room Committee, I would like to thank you so very much for all of the hard work and effort that each and every one of you put into last week! The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the crowds were steady and strong. I personally enjoyed meeting so many new people and getting to know fellow chur...
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Dear St. Philippians, On behalf of the clergy, staff, and Vestry of St. Philip’s, we wanted to provide a quick snapshot of our debt retirement campaign launched on April 1. To briefly review, our goal is to raise $113,000 in additional giving above and beyond normal giving before the end of May so that we may fully retire the approximately $197,000 in debt currently on ...
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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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This Saturday was my second time handing out the St. Philip’s Tea Room flyers. Like last year, I had a lot of fun. We started off by getting some doughnuts at Glazed, our youth minister David Gilbert’s special treat....
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In his Easter sermon, the Rev. Jeff Miller illustrated Jesus’ gift to us with a story he’d read by Harry Allen Ironside, former pastor of Moody Church in Chicago. In the story, a young man, the son of a friend of Czar Nicholas of Russia, had been given a post as paymaster in a border fortress. A gambling problem, though, soon led him to begin taking a few rubles here a...
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As early as Saturday, April 13, college students feeling the weight of upcoming final exams received some goodies in the mail to help them cope with stress and remind them that their St. Philip’s family is here at home rooting for them!...
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