While many of us will see each other in person on Sunday, many parishioners may choose to continue to worship from home. Please note that for the time being, the weekly service video will be available beginning Sunday evenings instead of Sunday mornings. We understand this may be an inconvenience, and we are working toward equipping our historic church sanctuary with internet access so that we are able to show the service in real time. In the interim, the service will continue to be recorded and then edited and uploaded to our YouTube and Vimeo channels.

While the 10:30 service is full, there was still space available at the 8:15 service of said Morning Prayer (no music) as of yesterday afternoon. If you have not yet made a reservation and you wish to worship in the sanctuary on Sunday, please reserve your space now through the link below or by calling (843) 471-0544. Remember that the church office remains closed; please do not call the office to make a reservation.

Ushers will begin seating those with reservations beginning about 45 minutes before each service. Reservations will be held until five minutes before each service begins, at which point available pews will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis until we reach our current maximum capacity.

Those memories of singing "Happy Birthday" (so beautifully ... right?) almost every week––those memories that were so far, far away that it could've all been a dream––came flooding back yesterday when the Church Street Singers serenaded St. Philip's Preschool Co-Director Lee Moore and St. Philip's Director of Music Pat Gould with a most fabulous rendition of "Happy Birthday." It didn't matter that we were missing the Rev. Brian McGreevy and the Rev. Marc Boutan, two of our most musically inclined members, or that Pat Gould was a serenadee instead of a serenader––we gave quite a performance ... and the Rev. Justin Hare made his official debut as a Church Street Singer! Click here to listen!

Before all the singing, though, we had a lot to go over. There was much, much talk of all things sanitization––disinfectant sprays, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, gloves, masks––and how they apply to worship, preschool, youth group, nursery and children's church (which aren't scheduled yet), and the church office. There was even talk of acrylic partitions. "That's something I never expected to hear at a St. Philip's staff meeting," said the Rev. Andrew O'Dell. "'Acrylic partitions.'" Such strange times.

So many of us are ready and eager to get back to something that looks vaguely like normal, and the goal is, of course, to keep everyone who comes onto church campus as safe as possible. Many of our parishioners are not yet ready to return, though. Are you one of those parishioners? If you are, and if you have any questions about how our return to in-person worship is going to affect you, or if you'd simply like someone to talk to, please let us know by replying to this email, filling out the questionnaire at the link below, or calling one of the priests directly. And if you are someone who's looking for a way to help a fellow parishioner adjust to this ever-changing way of life, please reply to this email so that we may connect you with someone who needs your help.

The Rev. Jeff Miller: (843) 812-0556

The Rev. Andrew O'Dell: (843) 639-9084

The Rev. Justin Hare (843) 478-3443

Call Juanita Orvin, who will connect you with a prayer minister who will pray for your concerns over the phone.

juanitaorvin@gmail.com or (843) 884-4018

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

Early in the days of the pandemic, the Dufatanye Organization joined forces with partner organization ZMission to provide emergency relief to desperate people in Rwanda. At that point, I was skeptical that we’d be able to raise the funds to make even a small dent in such an overwhelming need, and I told one of my friends that I would be surprised if we could donate provisions for six weeks. But between March 26 and July 20, we gave away 198,836 pounds of maize flour, 97,911 pounds of beans, and 9,901 twelve-inch bars of soap to 50,565 people in 941 families! Let us rejoice in what great things God has done!

Though our food distribution project is now dwindling, ministry opportunities that emerged from it are just beginning. Meet Speciose, age 68, who bore eight children. Only one of her children is still alive today, a daughter named Olive, age 30. Olive has two sons, ages four and two years. Olive has a heartbreaking story to tell.

In yesterday's devotion, his last before leaving for a three-month sabbatical, the Rev. Marc Boutan reflected on the comforting words of John 14:2: "In my Father's house are many rooms ... I am going to prepare a place for you." But the promise of the Father's house is more than a promise of Heaven, because that place of welcome and promise is a place that God wants for us right now.

The devotions are currently on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule and are posted on the news section of our website at 7:00 a.m. Click the top link below if you've missed any and need to catch up; click the bottom link if you'd like the devotions delivered to your email inbox.

Hurricane season is now, and now is the time to prepare. 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!

Today is the first day of school for St. Philip's Preschool Monday/Wednesday students! Tuesday/Thursday students start tomorrow. Blessings on your first days, students!

Many families have had plans change over the course of the past several months. If you missed registration for the 2020-2021 preschool year and now find that you'd like for your child to attend, please contact Angela Clark or Lee Moore at 843-722-7610 or lmoore@stphilipschurchsc.org; a few spaces remain.

St. Philip’s Preschool program is offered to the members of St. Philip’s Church and its surrounding community. This is one of the many ministries of the church provided to reach out to children with Christ’s love. The program introduces children to the church community and a Christian worldview. Parental participation is not only encouraged, but it is also crucial for the livelihood of this program.

Ladies, flip your calendar to October and mark the 23-25 for a weekend of fellowship, teaching, rest, and restoration at the Anglican Women’s Retreat at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center. This year Susan Yates will be our speaker. Chelsea Hamshaw will be our worship leader.

The retreat begins at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 23, with supper served at 6:30 p.m., and it ends Sunday morning, October 25, following a service of Holy Eucharist.

Young moms: if you can’t get away for the whole weekend, plan to join us for the day on Saturday as a commuter.

Donations to the Anglican Women’s Scholarship Fund will be graciously accepted. Your donations will bless those who are unable to attend due to financial constraints. The online registration form will allow you to donate to the fund at the time of your registration. Please contact Mary Kauser at (843) 814-4035 or by email at marykauser@gmail.com if you have any questions.

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?

Send your story to inSPIRE editor Lea Andrews at landrews@stphilipschurchsc.org.

We pray for the sick: Harold Arnold, Jr., Kelsey Brockbank, Katie Burris, Julia Drayton, Hal Dyer, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, Robert Gould, Janet Hanger, Jonathan Hanger, Amy Kittrell, Dan Kohn, Reed Kurtz, Joe Livesay, Alan McNeel, Rogers Moore, Benjamin Schools, Mike Walsh, Lindsey Wing, and Vereen Woodward.

We grieve with and pray for Jane McGreevy and family on the death of her brother, William Whitney, on August 14.

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 Ministry.

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.