When our Rector, the Reverend Jeff Miller, compared reopening the church for in-person worship to getting into a pool (entrance gained by either “jumping in” or “wading in”), he could not have anticipated torrential rains occurring on Day 1! Many literally “waded” through the streets this past Sunday to worship in person at St. Philip’s, and those able to attend were greeted with many familiar items: beautiful music, inspired preaching, familiar hymns, and a gorgeous building with beautiful flowers. Yes, it was nice to be back in the “pool.”

We “swimmers” also encountered uncharted waters: a “check-in” process, hand sanitizer at every door, masks on every face, and limited seating. Those were minor inconveniences to be back together––albeit six feet apart––and we handled them well.

Let’s keep it up! To avoid having the “pool” closed or the “lifeguard” blow his whistle, please remember these simple rules: wear your mask, make a reservation, wait to be ushered to and from your pew, and––as difficult as this may seem––please do not congregate after the service. Let’s keep the pool open so that we can go from “wading” to “cannonballing”!

If you are not yet comfortable returning, please continue to worship with us from home. Until we are able to equip the historic sanctuary with internet access and broadcast the service in real time, the service video (from the 10:30 a.m. service only) will be available for viewing each Sunday evening at about 7:00 on our Vimeo and YouTube channels.

Because many of our parishioners are returning to in-person worship and do not need to print bulletins at home, we will now be sending printable bulletins only to those who wish to continue receiving them. If you haven't already signed up and you'd like to be on the list, click the link below.

Your reservation ensures there will be a place for you to sit, but your seat is not decided until you arrive. To minimize incidental contact between parishioners, ushers will seat available pews from the front of the church to the back, and then move on to the balcony. We currently do not have a way of identifying the registrants who are unable to climb the stairs to the balcony; please arrive early if you must sit downstairs. Ushers begin seating 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.

While this Sunday's 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. Reservations close Friday at 5:00 p.m.

Attention college-aged (and up!) young adults: College Fellowship is BACK!! Grab your mask, pack a little dinner (just for you), and head to the Silcox residence in West Ashley TONIGHT at 6:30 p.m.! It's time to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones––and welcome the Rev. Justin Hare to the group! Bring a friend if you'd like! Questions? Need the address? Call/text Justin at (843) 478-3443 or click below to email him. See you soon! (Quick reminder: remember your mask and your dinner!)

Are you looking for a deeper way to connect with the Body of Christ during COVID-19? Consider joining the Thursday morning Centering Prayer group in its weekly Zoom meeting at 8:00 a.m. This group convenes for one hour, and the heart of the meeting is an opportunity to practice 30 minutes of contemplative (silent) prayer, resting in the presence of the Christ with others who are also earnestly seeking Him. Afterwards, group members discuss their experiences and share insights and prayer requests. This is an opportunity to bond with the Lord and a group rooted in peace.

For more information, please contact Pringle Franklin, group facilitator, at franklin.pringle@comcast.net or (843) 270-5585.

The Church Street Singers rested their vocal cords after last week's stellar performance.

FINALLY, St. Philip's family and friends were together again on Sunday morning! Clergy, staff, and volunteers were well-prepared for modified worship––as were the folks who arrived! But staff meeting two days later was the time to debrief. Are there steps we can take to help next Sunday go even more smoothly? Did we need more volunteers here? Fewer volunteers there? More this? Less that?

Our return to worship coincides with a ramping-up of other activities, such as tonight's socially distant College Fellowship with the Rev. Justin Hare (fun and fellowship provided––bring your own mask and food!). Youth Group met via Zoom or in small groups throughout the summer, but this past Sunday, the youth had a special guest: Dr. Ian Murphy, author of Dying to Live: From Agnostic to Baptist to Catholic and our own Rachel Murphy's husband. "Youth group was great this weekend," said youth minister David Gilbert. "The kids really respected [Dr. Murphy's] authority in Christ and the love he has for preaching the gospel and apologetics." David further explained that there are tough questions to wrestle with, but the youth know there are answers along with the mystery: God has everything in his hands. They benefitted from having their honest inquiries validated, and they came away knowing that they are loved, they are created, they are blessed, they are unique, and God has a plan for each of them.

It's not just teenagers who wrestle with the tough questions, though. If there's anything you're struggling with as we begin getting back into a routine or as you remain in isolation, or if you'd simply like to touch base with a member of the St. Philip's clergy, please reach out directly using one of the numbers below. You may also reply to this email or click the link below to get connected. Your clergy, staff, and fellow parishioners are here for you!

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

In last Thursday's devotion, the Rev. Andrew O'Dell made the case for wearing one's "Sunday best" to worship––but not for the reason you might think, and not without doing something else at the same time.

Today, the Rev. Jeff Miller will address a question that so many find so perplexing: If God loves us and cares for us, why does he allow affliction and difficulty to come into our lives?

The devotions are posted on the news section of our website at 7:00 a.m. and will return to a Tuesday/Thursday schedule next week. 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 Laura is steering clear of us, but it seems like there's a new hurricane threat every week––are you prepared? 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!

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, Mac Leppard, Joe Livesay, Alan McNeel, Rogers Moore, Benjamin Schools, Mike Walsh, Lindsey Wing, and Vereen Woodward.

We grieve with and pray for the family of Trudie Johnson Owings, who died on August 21.  

We grieve with and pray for the family of Antoon Rijswijk, who died on August 23.

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.