This past Saturday, the St. Philip’s Choir hosted the lively and elegant art auction we’d been looking forward to for so long! For months, we had worked to collect magnificent art from extremely generous artists, solicit homemade goodies from our choir chefs and friends, research artists and their artwork, and organize bid sheets for the evening, which would benefit the choir mission to serve as resident choir at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London for a week this August.

Then on Saturday morning, dozens of people arrived early to help set up. Young people distributed flyers to hotels and tourists, and we began arranging art. A crew prepped the kitchen and got ready to receive yummy treats. Young people, led by David Gilbert, created even more art for us! Every available table was used to transform the Parish Hall into an art gallery.

What a magnificent evening! At 5:00 p.m., people started flooding into the Parish Hall. After receiving their bidder numbers, they meandered about, sipping on complimentary beer and wine, catching up with old friends, and writing their numbers down for silent auction treasures.

An excerpt: The elegant “All Saints” stained-glass window that glorifies the altar of St. Philip’s Church portrays the salvation story of Holy Scripture and invites all who gaze upon its details to know and follow the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“In times like ours, when history is being made on an unprecedented scale, at the cost of untold suffering, when the present and the future are so much in mind, one might ask whether it is worth while to disinter facts long forgotten and out of mind.” So wrote Clement Heaton in 1916.

Although posed more than a century ago, in the midst of a world war, Mr. Heaton’s question is remarkably relevant for our twenty-first century world. For St. Philippians, particularly, Mr. Heaton’s thoughts are worth considering, because he is the artist who created the “All Saints” stained glass window that glorifies the altar of the church.

Our St. Philip’s family has done it once again! We would like to thank all of you who helped deliver the poinsettias that were sent to our church family members who have lost a loved one this year, who are on our prayer list, or who are unable to get to church, and to our faithful and hardworking staff and clergy. This is an important and continually growing part of the Compassion Committee’s ministry, and we could not have done without your help. After the Lessons and Carols service and Wassail Bowl, you picked up 90 poinsettias and delivered them all over the Lowcountry! We are so grateful, and we give you our heartfelt thanks.

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” –Isaiah 56:7

“The effective fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16a

Each week in our services, we pray together as a congregation for the individual missionaries and world mission partners that St. Philip’s supports. These include The Dufatanye Organization in Rwanda, La Gonâve Partnership in Haiti, the LAMB Institute in Honduras, medical ministries in Honduras, and Water Mission. But besides asking God to “bless these ministries,” how might we effectively pray for them?

As we pray, let’s remember that each of these ministries is made up of individuals working together in ministry. Some are Americans or other foreign nationals serving in other countries, such as Suzy McCall in Honduras. Others are serving in their home countries, such as Godfrey Karema, who recently visited St. Philip’s with Martha Vetter. Godfrey serves in his home country of Rwanda with The Dufatanye Organization. Each ministry has staff serving as pastors, teachers, farmers, physicians––all faithfully responding to God’s call to serve Him.

Below are some specific prayers that you may want to consider praying for our world mission partners:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ––John 15:5

Relying on God for all aspects of ministry is essential. Pray that every member of each of our mission partners will spend time daily with Jesus and in God’s Word, equipping them for the ministry with which they are entrusted. Pray for them to be refreshed in the Lord, to continually draw closer to Him. Pray for their faith to be bolstered and their confidence in Christ to be unshaken. Pray that they might have a daily hunger to be in the Word and in prayer.

Parents with children of all ages, join us on Wednesdays starting at 4:00 p.m. in room 111 of the Parish House for fellowship and a weekly lesson from The Gospel-Centered Parent. This informal, “come as you are” study is meant to reach you where you need it most with encouragement and, hopefully, laughter as God’s spirit works with us. Each session is self-contained, so feel free to drop in as your schedule allows. We had an introduction session last week, and we start this Wednesday, January 18th, with the first topic as we talk about letting go of worry and turning towards Jesus. Childcare offered. And a bonus is you can join us afterwards for Wednesdays Alive! service and supper (tacos tonight!)––a night off from cooking is always a plus in our house!

Questions? Dorothy Lancaster: dlancaster@stphilipschurchsc.org or (854) 429-1940

Does your prayer life need a boost? Join Margaret

and Charlotte as we embark on a 6-week study of

the Priscilla Shirer book Fervent. We will take a

hard look at what the enemy wants us to believe

about ourselves, our families, our identities, our

relationships, our pasts, and our fears. By studying

what the Bible tells us about the power of prayer

and the Father to whom we pray for all things, we

will form a battle plan for serious prayer.

Bring your Bible and a notebook to our first meeting

on February 8 at 9:00 in the Parish Hall. We will

have your books for you.

Folks, the 2022 Tea Room IS ON! Many of you already know that the delicious lowcountry Tea Room lunches and desserts don't make and serve themselves––Tea Room requires many helping hands: servers, hostesses, kitchen helpers, bakers, etc.

But did you know that many folks are involved in the planning process, too? The planning is going on NOW, and Tea Room co-chairs Amanda Ayers and Ashley Warnock would love your help! Contact Amanda at (843) 696-1852 or amandabear79@yahoo.com to get involved!

Youth group is open to all 6th–12th-graders of St. Philip’s and the surrounding community. Plan to play hard and pray hard. Questions? Contact youth minister David Gilbert at dgilbert@stphilipschurchsc.org or (843) 708-3795.

The Rev. William K. Christian III will be preaching this Sunday at our services of Holy Communion at 8:15 and Morning Prayer at 10:30.

Last week was such a busy time around the church office! All of our activities (Rector's Bible Study, Wednesdays Alive!, children's choirs, etc.) resumed, and we had the men's lunch AND the art auction––so you know we had to call in reinforcements!

First in was Marshall, the roving smile ambassador who normally works off-campus (and often out-of-state!). But he always knows where the smiles are needed, and he arrived on Thursday just in time to give the staff a little boost ahead of a very busy weekend!

On Friday, Gus and Windsor, supervised by sexton-in-training Cecilia Walchesky––took it upon themselves to tidy up the landscaping in the Tea Garden. Windsor did propose a bold change with the potted-plant-arrangement centerpiece, suggesting it would "pop" more if one of the plants were set several feet behind the others, but Gus loudly disagreed...which may have been why Windsor vetoed one of Gus's changes, the relocation of a large root/twig. In the end, the changes they made were subtle and unlikely to elicit any negative reactions. Better safe than sorry!

Contact Frenchie Richards, who will connect you with a prayer minister for a private appointment: frichards7@aol.com or 843-345-8797.

Call Suzanne McCord, head of the prayer chain, and she will pass your request on to members of the chain:

suzanne1959@gmail.com or (843) 224-1630.

Feb. 1, 15 ~ Theology on Tap

Jan. 23 ~ Young Adult Oyster Roast

Feb. 2 ~ Men’s Lunch (12 noon in the Parish Hall)

Feb. 20 ~ Choral Evensong (5:00 p.m.)

Feb. 21 ~ Presidents’ Day (church office closed)

Mar. 2 ~ Ash Wednesday (services at noon and 6:00 p.m.)

May 2-6 ~ St. Philip’s Tea Room

We pray for the sick: Arthur Applegate, Baby Avera, Janie Banks, Maffett Dowd, Sally Fayard, Mark and Cindy Fields, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, Mary Anne Hanckel, Dara Heikes, Susan Hemminger, Kevin Kane, Claudia Kolster, Fritz Lloyd, Lindsay Long, Connor Lowndes, Molly Margaret O’Quinn, Beverly Melvin, John Murray, Ulrika O’Neil, Olivia Palmer, Isla Pearce, Owen Ravenel, Valerie Rouillard, Fred Riley Jr., Fran Sanders, Jay Schrimpf, Larry Scoville, Lynne Scoville, Pete Sperr, Lindsey Wing, Libby Wright, and Richard Wright.

We grieve with and pray for the family of of James Conlon Nimmich, who died on January 16.

We grieve with and pray for Mara Brockbank and family on the death of her mother, Katerina Protopapas, on January 18.

We pray for our expectant parents: Kimbrell and Bruce Blackwood, Katie and Ruben Perez-Phillips, Lauren and Ashton Phillips.

We pray for protection for Becca Baird, Chris and Julia Beasley, Graham Blunt, Henry Clayton, Ben Colyer, David Daughtridge, Tripp Hathaway, Morgan and Mason Herring, Horry Kerrison, Frazier Kulze, John Mason, Zach McFadden, Philip Middleton III, Jackson Miller, Edward Pritchard, Nathaniel Rollings, and David Scott serving in our Armed Forces.

We pray for our home missions: Star Gospel Mission, Neighbors Together, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, and St. John's Chapel.

We pray for our world missions: For Suzy McCall and LAMB, for the medical missions to Honduras, for ministry to victims of genocide and AIDS in Rwanda, for Water Mission and the Global Water Center, for The Persecuted Church, and for St. Jean Baptiste, our sister church, and the schools in Haiti.