Blessings for the 2019-2020 School Year
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....
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The St. Philip's inSPIRE
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....
Recipe for a Christian Life: Reflections on Canon J.John's Sermon
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. Is preparing nourishment in the form of food for our bodies any different from being nourished spiritually? We are not just a physical body; we have a spiritual body that must be fed as well. Without food and water, we would die. Without feeding our spiritual bodies or souls, we would become empty and begin searching for, in many instances, the wrong things to feed our hunger, which could never be satisfied with just earthly things. God wants to nourish our souls so that we may have the proper spiritual growth and health....
Water Mission’s 2019 At A Glance: 600,000 People Received Safe Water, 4,700 Walked for Water, and Mo
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 desperately needed safe water to survivors of natural disasters, • traveled to rural areas around the world to install sustainable safe water and sanitation systems, • and helped refugees fleeing violence and persecution. ...
The Gift of Love at Christmas
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....
St. Philippians Help Provide Christmas Blessings
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. ...
It’s a Tradition!
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....
Gratitude for Gene Lesesne, God’s Humble Servant
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....
C.S. Lewis Symposium: A Capsule Look
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.”...
St. Philip's Youth "ReGenerate" at Camp St. Christopher
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!...
The Violin: A Parable
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. ...
Teamwork at LAMB!
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...
Keep Reading25 Years of Partnership: St. Philip’s and St. Jean Baptiste
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...
Keep ReadingLet Me Hear Your Song
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. ...
Keep ReadingYou Are Not Alone: We Are Here to Help You
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 eme...
Keep ReadingSt. Philippian Greek Odyssey: Learning the Extraordinary Persistence of Paul
Traveling to Greece often evokes thoughts of an odyssey. Homer’s adventures of Odysseus’ decade spent “sailing the wine dark sea” longing to journey home to Ithaca remains a riveting tale. Odysseus endured storms and shipwrecks, encountered mythical gods and goddesses, monsters, witches, kings, and princesses. ...
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Financial Peace University is Coming to St. Philip's!
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....
Keep ReadingCountdown to Canterbury!
The Canterbury Choir departs for the International Children's Choir Festival in Canterbury and London on Saturday, July 20! Please pray that their travels there are trouble-free and that the words of the anthems they sing might reach the hearts of those listening and spread the Gospel of our Lord. ...
Keep ReadingSpiritual Journey: St. Jean Baptiste Feast Day Mission
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 ...
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