Parish Potluck this Sunday, July 20th

The Top-Five reasons to worship at 10 a.m. this Sunday ...

#5. A waterslide will be just outside Sewanee Hall for after service fun!

#4. Christopher Harrell and Randall Curtis will be back from vacation.

#3 Maryann Tobin will be playing the handbells.

#2 Don Slesnick III will be grilling his world-famous hotdogs.

#1 It just would not be the same without you!

Please bring a side dish to share, if you are able - salad, chips, or dessert. Store bought or homemade are both welcome.

And while the grill and slide are outside, we will be eating in our nice air-conditioned parish hall!

Leadership Transitions

We are blessed at St. Philip's with a long history of dedicated and faithful leadership in both our Church and School. As we begin a new program year and school year, we are pleased to announce the following leadership changes effective August 1st.

Cory Eichhorn will step down as Sr. Warden and will serve as Chair of the School's Board of Trustees. Cory is a longtime member of our Church and both of his sons, Owen and Ryan, are alums of our school and attend Palmer Trinity School. Cory is married to Jen Christensen and is a partner at Holland & Knight

Ingrid Ponce has been appointed by the Rector as Sr. Warden. Ingrid and her husband Scott are longtime members of our Church. She is an attorney at Stearns Weaver Miller. Her daughter, Isa, is a recent graduate of the University of Florida and will begin law school there this fall. Her son, Elijah, is a rising Senior at Ransom Everglades School. Both of her children graduated from St. Philip's.

Andy Waibel just completed a five-year term as Board Chair of our school. He and his wife Jill have had four children graduate from St. Philip's and are members of our parish. Grace and Hannah have each graduated college, and VeVe and Andrew are at Ransom Everglades School. Andy remains on the Board for one year as an Ex-Officio, non-voting member.

We are grateful to Cory, Ingrid and Andy for their continued service to St. Philip's.

With Sympathy

We extend heartfelt sympathy to David Bannister & Jan Bartleson on the death of

his brother. Paul Bannister.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.

Theologians-in-Residence for 2025-26

The Reverend Wendy W. Billingslea is the Chaplain at Christ Church, Ponte Vedra Florida. This will be her third residence at St. Philip's and we are delighted for her and her husband Art to return to St. Philip's. Their daughter, Lauren Dowlen, is a parishioner along with husband Buddy and their sons Dale and Will.

Wendy will be in residence at St. Philip's for the month of October, 2025.

The Rt. Reverend Wayne P. Wright retired as the Bishop of Delaware in 2017 after serving churches in Virginia and New Orleans. Bishop Wright and his wife Holly recently relocated from Philadelphia to New Orleans.

Wayne will be in residence at St. Philip's from late November, 2025 through early January 2026 and we look froward to welcoming him, Holly and their yellow lab Sandy back for their third residence.

The Rt. Reverend Larry R. Benfield retired as the 13th Bishop of Arkansas in 2024. He served churches in Texas and Arkansas before being elected Bishop in 2006. He and had a career in commercial banking before attending seminary and is currently serving as the Assisting Bishop of the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Our own Randall Curtis served on Bishop Benfield's staff, so we know there will be fun stories to share. This will be Bishop Benfield's first residence at St. Philip's and we look forward to welcoming him to Coral Gables.

Larry will be in residence at St. Philips in February, 2026.

Our Summer of Sewanee Continues in July

Our summer worship continues in Sewanee for our 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services as we prepare the floors and our church for the organ installation in early 2026.

Be sure to grab a " Summer of Sewanee" bag tag this Sunday as we continue to enjoy our worship time in Sewanee Hall. See you in Sewanee!

1109 Demolition is Complete

We have said goodbye to the house at 1109 Andalusia and getting ready to say hello to something new! Click on the arrow above and enjoy our time lapse video of the demolition which took place last week.

Annual Eyeglass Collection

Do you have old eyeglasses you no longer need? Has your prescription recently changed? Please consider donating any eyeglasses you no longer need to our annual collection. A basket will be in the back of Sewanee Hall on Sundays or glasses may be dropped off at the office on weekdays. We will be sending them to the Lions Club who repurpose them for those in need.

All prescription, peepers, and sunglasses are gladly accepted.

Summer Adventures

Carlos and Alu Musso enjoyed camping in Hotchkiss, CO

Randall, Teddy and Reverend Sandra Curtis are enjoying some family time in Montana.

Don Slesnick II enjoyed time at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Jefferson Library & Debating Society. The Society is the oldest organization on the grounds and he has been a member since 1963.

SEND US YOUR SUMMER ADVENTURE PICTURES

We invite our parishioners, school families, faculty and staff to share pictures for our summer newsletter from any of your summer adventures. Whether on local trips or far away adventures, it is great to keep up with each other in these months.

Send any pictures you wish to share to Yisel at yhernandez@stphilips.org

Parishioner Spotlight

Lon and Dale Dowlen are pictured with their children and their families.

Meet the Dowlen Family

How long have you been going to St. Philip's and what brought you here?

Lon and I raised our family at St. Philip’s. We returned to St. Philip’s in 1975 when our daughter Christine was just a baby. She is now 50 years old and lives with her husband and three sons in Greenville, South Carolina. Buddy was born in 1976 and is active at St. Philip’s with his wife Lauren and two sons Dale and Will.  They attend Palmer-Trinity School. 

Lon’s family moved from St. Stephen’s to newly founded St. Philip’s during the war when gas rationing was a major concern. Lon’s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Smith, lived close by at 1232 Coral Way and probably started in 1944. Lon as a one-year-old, was taken to church by his mother in the same year. He is the third generation to be active at St. Philip’s since his grandfather was Junior Warden during construction of many of the buildings. His mother, Babe Dowlen, was active as a 25-year Sunday School teacher, alter guild, ECW, and Vestry member. Lon speaks fondly of Sunday school classes under the chickees in Salvadore Park. Lon and I married in 1970 and returned to St. Philip’s in 1975 after he completed his medical training and naval service. 

What have you loved about St. Philip's?

FELLOWSHIP AND TRADITION. St. Philip’s has provided us with many meaningful relationships and wonderful experiences over the years. The ECW and the women’s chapters were very active as well as the “chatty crafters”. 

The successful “spring fling” in 1992 was fun and brought parishioners together as did Foyer Groups.  Outreach projects have always been very important to our parish.   We have appreciated Maribeth’s service for almost 16 years! 

What are some things your household enjoys doing together in the Miami area?

Over the years we have played tennis, some golf, and traveled at every opportunity!  

Finally, tell us your favorite restaurants and why you like them.

We love Sergio’s, Café Italia, and for 70 years, Shorty’s. 

We are excited to begin this Parishioner Spotlight series to help new, newer and longtime parishioners connect with each other. If you would like to be profiled, please contact Randall Curtis by clicking here.

Outreach

The residents of Casa Valentina Home and Emmaus Place prepared sandwiches for Feed My Sheep this week. They are pictured above along with parishioners Laura Miller and Susan Tramont. A big thank you to all!

Sunday Ministers

8:00 a.m.

Reader: Charlie Irwin

Usher: Art Murphy



10:00 a.m.

1st Lesson and Psalm: Laura Miller

2nd Lesson: TBD

Prayers: Maddie Guillard

Chalice Ministers: Carole Cookson, Brian Levey

Bells: Ceci Slesnick

Livestream: No Livestream in Sewanee

Ushers: Randall Curtis

Coffee Hour: Slesnick Dogs and Parish Potluck

Cory Eichhorn, Sr. Warden

Laura Shearon Cruz, Jr. Warden

Buddy Dowlen, Treasurer

Chris Mugrage, Clerk

Tom Cookson, Chancellor

Laura Barker, Joan Chrissos, Lucia Darnell, Claudia Lopez Duckenfield

Owen Eichhorn, Vicky Hucks, Greg Martini, Alex Milton,

Ingrid Ponce, Don Slesnick III, Jim Tillett

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