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....
As many of you know, the Canterbury and St. David Choirs will be traveling on their European tour July 20 to August 6, 2019. The Canterbury Choir will be singing in Canterbury and London, England, for the International Children’s Choir Festival, and then they will join the St. David Men’s Choir in Paris on July 27. What you may not know is that these choirs were schedu...
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The St. Philip’s clergy, Vestry, and staff are delighted to report that we have successfully completed our 60-day “$198 to be Great” debt retirement campaign, and we would like to thank everyone who has so generously provided! While we’ve reached our goal, the church prayerfully requests that the 43% of our regular givers who have yet to make a contribution please ...
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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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From June 10-July 26 (8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.), St. John's Chapel, one of St. Philip's Home Missions partners, is hosting a summer camp that will help children ages 6-15 and their young adult counselors develop academic and social skills outside of a traditional classroom setting....
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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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This morning as I went out the front door briefly on an errand and came back in, my eyes were drawn to our piano. So, I sat down on the bench. There was music there, but just to my left, on the candle stand, there was a service leaflet ... not sure how it got there. I picked it up and saw the familiar words of Psalm 134....
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This past Wednesday, the young adults of College Fellowship came together to celebrate Ryan’s birthday. As I was looking across the table at everyone in attendance, I came to realize that we were celebrating so much more than Ryan’s birthday. ...
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I am proud to be a member of the St Philip’s family of volunteers that took part in preparing and serving lunch at Tricounty Family Ministries last Wednesday. Marc Boutan, Ben Hagood, and Andrew O’Dell provided beautiful praise music along with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Ryan Streett. The diners enjoyed the music as well as a fabulous barbecue meal donated ...
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Sunday, May 19, was a gorgeous day and our last high school youth group of the season. What was different about this when compared to other senior high send-offs? The McAdams family hosted our youth group at their home on Shem Creek. Allison (Mrs. McAdams) had been asking me for a while to please take her up on her offer to host us during a high tide. She twisted my arm so...
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O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen....
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