~ the eSPIRE Newsletter ~
August 16, 2020
The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
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No printed inSPIRE this week
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In-Person Worship Begins August 23
UPDATED schedule from last announcement:
Morning Prayer Services at 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
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We are less than two weeks away from gathering together (while social distancing) once again! Detailed guidelines will be released soon, but here's what you need to know right now:
- Masks will be required.
- Due to social distancing guidelines that reduce maximum occupancy to about 25%, reservations will be required for both services. Reservation details are forthcoming.
- Beginning August 23, a recording of the 10:30 service will be available on our Vimeo and YouTube channels each Sunday evening.
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The August 16 service will stream Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. at the link below. An email with printable Sunday bulletins will be coming later in the week.
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Click below to subscribe to our Vimeo and/or YouTube channel, where you may also go to join us for worship online.
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Unity in Christ
by Penn Hagood
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There is much anger and shouting in the world around us. Certain words and concepts are repeated over and over. One particular word encompasses others and has taken root in the culture. That word is Diversity. The cry of the crowd is for “greater diversity,” that “diversity is our strength.” Diversity denotes the division of people into groups based on the differences between them. Current calls for diversity focus primarily on race, sexuality, gender, identity, age, class, and ethnicity.
Greater diversity is said to give strength, and there is a tremendous demand for it in every aspect of society today. To respond, most institutions from government to academia to business now employ Diversity officials. These administrators oversee departments and programs specifically designed to achieve “greater diversity.” Interestingly, an informal survey of such programs demonstrates that there is no apparent agreement on what constitutes a successful level of diversity. This suggests that the goal of sufficient diversity may be illusory. Yet, the calls grow more strident even at a time when society already seems discouragingly divided.
How should Christians respond to this cultural clamor for Diversity?
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Link to Last Friday's "Quaranconcert" with Tenor Johnathan White
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Many of our parishioners and friends tuned in last Friday for our special "Quaranconcert" featuring tenor Johnathan White, accompanied by St. Philip's Director of Music Pat Gould on organ and piano. What a marvelous evening of listening to music and catching up with friends on the chat!
If you were unable to join us, we're sorry we missed you! But you can still watch at the link below. Happy listening!
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Praise Team News: Marc Boutan "Passes the Baton" to Chris Walchesky
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The St. Philip's Praise Team offers contemporary worship music during Wednesdays Alive! services, parish retreats, and other occasions.
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Some of you may know that the Rev. Marc Boutan is getting ready to take a 12-week sabbatical (don't worry––we may still see him here and there in the coming weeks since he'll be back and forth between South Carolina and Maine). The praise team will surely miss him, but they've got a new member coming on: Chris Walchesky, who will be St. Philip's new assistant director of music beginning September 1! Chris and his wife, Jessica (pictured above, left), received a warm welcome to St. Philip's from the praise team and their spouses at a get-together at the home of Robert and Pam Dickson on Sunday.
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The Rev. Ryan Streett, Former Assistant for Young Adult and College Ministry at St. Philip's, Installed as Rector of Mississippi Church by Archbishop Foley Beach
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During a service on Thursday, August 6, the Most Rev. Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, presented the Rev. Ryan T. Streett, freshly installed Rector of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Madison, MS, along with wife Anna and children Cecily and Jonah, to his new congregation.
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Next-Generation Birthdays Galore
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Though Chester Smith and Sue Singleton did all their morning vocal exercises and showed up to yesterday's staff meeting ready to serve as backup singers to the Church Street Singers, we were not blessed with even a single harmonic "awoo," as we went yet another week without a serenade. Let's try again next Tuesday, pups! (And Chester, please stop staring at Sue.)
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Yes, it was yet another week without a staff birthday (we really went overboard in the spring, didn't we?). But even though we're not having any birthdays, they're plentiful within our families! Joy Avera's father had a grand 92nd-birthday celebration over the weekend, and Lee Moore's son Rogers, still recovering from his time in the PICU but so happy to be home, had more fun on his 16th birthday on Monday than he's every had on a birthday. And the Rev. Jeff Miller shared that it was his sons' birthday on Monday, too! Yep, that apostrophe is in the right place, as a matter of fact––Jackson Miller and Josiah Miller, born 11 years apart, share a birthday!
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Pictured above: Jackson and Josiah Miller on their first shared birthday 12 years ago. (Photo: Instagram, Kristin Miller)
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There was a lot of business to go over with youth group starting back up, organ parts coming in for the long-awaited repair, preschool starting next week, and in-person worship beginning August 23, and we clearly are all eager to get back to a church abuzz with activity! Well, it's not going to look the same for quite a while, it seems, but won't it just be wonderful to be together in person again?
There are sure to be a lot of questions surrounding our return to in-person worship, many of which will be answered when the detailed guidelines are released in the days ahead. But if you expect to remain in isolation or if you're not comfortable returning and you're unsure how to proceed, please reach out to us by filling out the questionnaire at the link below, or calling one of the priests directly. Your St. Philip's family is always right here for you, available and eager to help you in any way you need.
The Rev. Jeff Miller: (843) 812-0556
The Rev. Andrew O'Dell: (843) 639-9084
The Rev. Marc Boutan: (843) 737-1277
The Rev. Justin Hare (843) 478-3443
If you know of someone who might need or want a phone call, or someone who's having any trouble with accessing our services, devotions, or emails, please let us know by replying to this email or filling out the form below.
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Would You Like Someone to Pray With You?
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To pray WITH someone:
Call Juanita Orvin, who will connect you with a prayer minister who will pray for your concerns over the phone.
To ask for prayer FOR someone:
Call Suzanne McCord, head of the prayer chain, and she will pass your request on to members of the chain.
Both options are always confidential.
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Daily Devotions Remain on Tuesday/Thursday Schedule
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Yesterday, the Rev. Andrew O'Dell offered the first devotion of the week, a reflection on waiting for the Lord. If you haven't yet seen all of the offerings, or if you'd like to rewatch, click the top link below. And if you're not yet on the list to receive the video links by email, click the bottom link to sign up.
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We Want To Hear What's Going On With You!
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What's been on your mind lately? Why don't you put your thoughts down on paper (or better yet, in a Word document or body of an email) and share them with your fellow St. Philippians?
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Hurricane Season is Upon Us!
Your Disaster Relief Team Can Help You Get Prepared
St. Philip's Disaster Relief Team helps in times of hurricane, tornado, flooding, earthquake, fire, or any other disaster
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Hurricane season is now, and now is the time to prepare. While most of us in the lowcountry were spared damage from Tropical Storm Isaias, others suffered greatly. We never know how bad the effects of a natural disaster will be, so we must prepare ahead of time, even if that means preparing to get help afterwards. This is where the St. Philip's Disaster Relief Team comes in. The Team's mission is to provide help, assistance, and hope to our parishioners and neighbors in times of extreme crisis by offering comfort and minor emergency repairs.
We have a network of parishioners who are willing and able to respond when they are called via our phone tree. We have two points of the phone tree and geographic coordinators for most of the tri-county area already in place. We are always happy to welcome new volunteers!
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“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
––Matthew 25:40.
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Never miss a sermon!
Click below to subscribe to our Sermons podcast.
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Membership Directory
Are you looking for a fellow parishioner's contact information? Our directory is online! Click the "My St. Philip's" button on our homepage, stphilipschurchsc.org, to log in or sign up for an account. And for easy access on your phone, download the Church Life app!
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We pray for the sick: Harold Arnold, Jr., Kelsey Brockbank, Katie Burris, Hal Dyer, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, Robert Gould, Janet Hanger, Jonathan Hanger, Amy Kittrell, Reed Kurtz, Joe Livesay, Alan McNeel, Rogers Moore, Benjamin Schools, Mike Walsh, Lindsey Wing, and Vereen Woodward.
We grieve with and pray for Roberta O'Shea and family on the death of her mother, Jane Osborne, on August 9.
We pray for our expectant parents: Torrey and Ryan Knapp.
We pray for protection for Becca Baird, Chris and Julia Beasley, Graham Blunt, Henry Clayton, Ben Colyer, David Daughtridge, Hayes Fair, George Hoefer, Andrew Kane, Horry Kerrison, Charles Kirkman, Frazier Kulze, John Mason, Ned Montgomery, Edward Pritchard, and David Scott serving in our Armed Forces.
We pray for our home missions: Star Gospel Mission, Tricounty Family Ministries, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, St. John's Chapel, and the Open Door Committee.
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 10/40 Tribal Commission, for Water Mission, and for St. Jean Baptiste, our sister church, and the schools in Haiti.
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Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, who hast given thy only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin and also an example of godly life: Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavor ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings for Sunday:
- Isaiah 56:1-8
- Matthew 15:21-28
- Psalm 67
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH
142 Church Street | Charleston, SC 29401
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