~ the eSPIRE Newsletter ~
November 14, 2021
The Twenty-Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
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As we thank God and pray for the veterans of the armed forces of the United States, let us also pray for this country they have defended––or continue to defend––so valiantly:
Lord God Almighty, who hast made all the peoples of the earth for thy glory, to serve thee in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with thy gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ––The Book of Common Prayer, page 207
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The Angel Trees Are on Their Way!
Home Missions Team Gift Card “Angel Trees,” generously provided by the St. Philip’s Flower Guild, arrive soon
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Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and then before you know it, it will be the season of Advent, a time for preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this can be a stressful season for many families that are struggling in these uncertain times.
So the St. Philip’s Home Missions Team is continuing its tradition of partnering with Neighbors Together (formerly Tricounty Family Ministries) to help brighten Christmas for Charleston families by collecting $25-gift cards to Walmart, Target, Family Dollar, and Publix so that parents in need can experience the joy of purchasing a gift for their children or simply cooking a Christmas meal. The Team is also working in tandem with three of our other home mission partners, St. John’s Chapel, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center (LPC), and Star Gospel Mission, to provide $25-gift cards to Walmart and Target. Cards collected for St. John’s Chapel will be used to support our shared outreach at Simmons-Pinckney Middle School and will be given to the teachers who have been working so diligently throughout the pandemic. Cards collected for LPC and Star Gospel will be used by the ministries to support their clients and serve as a tangible reminder that God loves them and cares about them.
The trees––which will be in the narthex for three Sundays even with Thanksgiving coming late this year––will be decorated with ornaments that are the Home Missions Team’s gift to you to serve as a “thank you” or a reminder.
But you don’t have to wait for the ornaments to appear to purchase your gift card! We encourage you to take a step of generosity now by purchasing a gift card and bringing it with you to church on November 28, December 5, or December 12 and exchanging it for an ornament from one of the trees. You may also drop off a gift card or pick up an ornament at the December 1 and December 8 Wednesday night services! (Word on the street is that these ornaments make terrific stocking stuffers and hostess gifts!). If for some reason you miss the deadline on December 12, you can still bring your gift card(s) to the church office by 9:00 am on Monday, December 13.
This is a great time to share the blessings that we have all received with those who have been less fortunate. Please generously support the home mission outreach ministries at St. Philip’s. Let’s make this the best year ever! Thanks be to God!
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Team St. Philip’s Raises Over $4,000 for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center |
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It was a cold, drizzly day in Charleston last Saturday, November 6, when Team St. Philip’s was set to gather at Wannamaker Park to raise funds for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center (LPC), one of our home missions partners. But the weather didn’t matter one bit to our walkers, who ranked 7th out of 46 teams in fundraising, raising enough for 22 life-affirming ultrasounds and parenting classes!
Thank you to all who walked and all who donated and prayed for our team and the families who will benefit from all that LPC offers. Stay tuned for more opportunities to support LPC and our other home mission partners!
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Tomorrow: Last CPR/AED Class of the Year
Thursday, November 11 at 1:30 p.m., Room 109 of the Parish House
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We are working on getting as many parishioners and staff members trained in the use of CPR and automatic electric defibrillator (AED) devices as we can in order to keep our congregation as safe as possible in the event of an emergency.
Tomorrow's class is your last chance to get trained before the end of the year––sign up at the link below! If you can't make it tomorrow but would like to join a future class, or if you're interested in an evening class (a Wednesday evening following worship and supper, for example), please contact Doug Ringer at ringdoug@gmail.com or (423) 827-6596. |
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Fall Clean-Up at Camp St. Christopher
Saturday, November 20, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
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St. Philip’s will be joining forces with Cursillo of The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina and other churches in our diocese in order to maximize efforts for this clean-up day. Projects will include debris cleanup, facility facelifts, light painting, minor carpentry, and more. We need as many helping hands as possible––no experience necessary! Lunch is provided. Feel free to work until 3:00 or as long as you’re able.
Please sign up at the link below by Wednesday, November 17, so we know how many folks to plan for. Also, please bring gardening gloves, clippers, and/or whatever equipment you are comfortable handling (lawn mower, weed eater, etc.). We can’t wait to see you there!
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Art Auction to Benefit St. Philip’s Choir
with the Rev. Jeff Miller, auctioneer
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Mark your calendar for January 15, and prepare yourself for a fabulous evening of enjoying (and bidding on!) beautiful artwork in the Parish Hall, mingling with friends, sipping wine or soda, and supporting the St. Philip’s Choir as they prepare for their internship at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London next summer! The silent auction will begin at 6:00 p.m., and live auction will begin at 7:00. Have artwork to donate? Contact Pat Gould at pgould@stphilipschurchsc.org or (843) 364-9552––and please invite your artist friends to donate, too! |
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Advent Resources for Families
A message from Dorothy Lancaster, Director of Ministry to Children and Families
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Advent will be here before we know it! This season in the church is a time of preparation and waiting, and it is a great time to make having a family devotional part of your routine if it is not already. Try setting aside 5-10 minutes (or more!) to read this short devotional, Tracing Glory: The Christmas Story, together as a family either first thing in the morning, at dinner, or bedtime. If none of those times fit, sometimes families find they have time in the car.
Copies will be available on Sunday mornings on the table on the ground floor of the Parish House while supplies last. The book is a great tool by itself; however, if you are looking for an Advent craft to take on with your children, there is an additional supplement with directions and a supply list to make an ornament for each day. I will also have on display a craft hack for those of you who may want a visual aid but may be overwhelmed with the idea of a daily craft.
The ultimate purpose of this Advent resource is to start conversations between you and your children about Jesus––who is, of course, the reason for the season! So don’t feel defeated if every day doesn’t produce a meaningful discussion or if you skip a day. We all are just doing our best as our parents and the Good News is that God is gracious and fills in the gaps when we inevitably fall short.
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Sunday School for Children of All Ages |
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If you have a child 18 or younger who would like to attend Sunday school, please click the registration link below. If you are an adult interested in helping the leaders out during Children’s Church, please contact Dorothy Lancaster at dlancaster@stphilipschurchsc.org. |
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Integrity through Accountability
from watermission.org
Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water,
sanitation, and hygiene solutions in developing countries and disaster areas. Water Mission is one of St. Philip’s world missions partners.
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This year, Water Mission celebrates the 20th anniversary of our official founding. Over the past two decades, the Lord has worked powerfully through a talented global team and our passionate partners. Together, we have served more than 7 million men, women, and children over the last 20 years.
Throughout the last two decades, we have been recognized as a leader in safe water solutions for underserved communities. For example, the International Organization for Migration’s audit of water projects in Northern Uganda serving South Sudanese refugees reported:
“Water Mission stands out as the NGO with enough in-house expertise to independently design O&M [operate and maintain] solar water schemes and are also the only ones chlorinating water in all of their solar schemes.”
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Register Now for 2022 Christian Men's Conference! |
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TONIGHT: Wednesdays Alive! |
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Tonight's Supper: Creamy Curry Chicken over Rice
Next Week's Supper: Pork Tenderloin
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Did You Miss Last Week's Field Trip to "The Most Reluctant Convert"? |
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Last week, about 50 St. Philippians headed to Mt. Pleasant for the screening of The Most Reluctant Convert. Last Wednesday's showing was to be the one and only showing in our area, but it's sticking around until next week!
About the film: An elder C.S. Lewis looks back on his remarkable journey from hard-boiled atheist to the most renowned Christian writer of the past century.
The Most Reluctant Convert features award-winning actor Max McLean as the older Lewis and Nicholas Ralph––breakout star of PBS Masterpiece’s All Creatures Great and Small––as young Lewis. Beautifully filmed in and around Oxford, this engaging biopic follows the creator of The Chronicles of Narnia from the tragic death of his mother when he was just nine years old, through his strained relationship with his father, to the nightmare of the trenches of World War I to Oxford University, where friends like J.R.R. Tolkien challenge his unbelief.
Written for the screen and directed by two-time Emmy and BAFTA winner Norman Stone (BBC’s Shadowlands), The Most Reluctant Convert brings to life the spiritual evolution of one the 20th century’s sharpest minds and keenest wits.
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Receive Email Updates, Remote Viewing Options |
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If you would like to receive updates such as schedule changes and weather-related cancellations and you are not already on the Rector's Bible Study email list, please join by filling out the form at the link below. |
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**No Youth Group This Weekend** |
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Many of our youth will be attending the Regenerate conference at Camp St. Christopher this weekend, so youth group will not be meeting.
About youth group: 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.
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Middle School Regular Schedule: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. on Fridays in the Youth Room
High School Regular Schedule: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. on Sundays in the Youth Room
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This Week's Service Information |
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The Rev. Brian K. McGreevy will be preaching this Sunday at our services of Holy Communion at 8:15 and Morning Prayer at 10:30 a.m. |
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St. Philip’s Smile Ambassador
Hard at Work in New York
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We recently heard from Marshall, St. Philip’s smile ambassador, who was last on duty in Maine and has now moved on to New York. Marshall, a young Golden Retriever, continues to encourage smiles wherever he goes, and he’s added an additional task to his list of duties: squirrel patrol!
We can’t wait to see Marshall back on Church St. when he returns to downtown living in December, but for now, we are ever so grateful for all the hard work he’s putting in up north. We know that he will work just as hard at spreading smiles in the Holy City when he gets back, and if he’d like to help Gus keep squirrels out of the Tea Garden, we’re sure he’d be more than welcome.
If you follow St. Philip’s on social media, you already knew Marshall’s latest adventures. But if this is news to you, why don’t you take a minute to visit us on Facebook and Instagram and click the like or follow buttons so that you, too, can be among the first to hear stories like these?
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Would You Like Someone to Pray With You? |
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To pray WITH someone:
Contact Frenchie Richards, who will connect you with a prayer minister who will pray for your concerns over the phone: frichards7@aol.com.
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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Save the Date
Nov. 14 ~ Choral Evensong (5:00 p.m. in the church)
Nov. 24 ~ No printed inSPIRE (Thanksgiving week)
Nov. 24 ~ Church office closes at 1:00 p.m.
(reopens Monday, November 29, at 8:30 a.m.)
Nov. 24 ~ No Wednesdays Alive! service, class, or supper
Nov. 25 ~ Thanksgiving Day Service (9:00 a.m.)
(note corrected time)
Dec. 4 ~ Advent Drop-In at the Rectory
Dec. 10 ~ Greening of the Church
Dec. 12~ Lessons and Carols, Wassail Bowl
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Never miss a sermon!
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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: Charles Cornwell, Sally Fayard, Mark and Cindy Fields, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, Dave Gund, Mary Anne Hanckel, Susan Hemminger, John Jerger, Kevin Kane, Claudia Kolster, Joe Livesay, Connor Lowndes, Lucille MacLennan, Beverly Melvin, John Murray, Juanita Orvin, Olivia Palmer, Isla Pearce, Mave Riggs, Valerie Rouillard, Wanda Russer, Fran Sanders, Jay Schrimpf, Larry Scoville, Lynne Scoville, Jason Stryker, Lawrence Timoney, Hope Walters, and Lindsey Wing.
We grieve with and pray for: Pat Barber and family on the death of his sister-in-law, Irene L. Epting, on October 26.
We pray for our expectant parents: Kimbrell and Bruce Blackwood.
We pray for protection for Becca Baird, Chris and Julia Beasley, Graham Blunt, Henry Clayton, Ben Colyer, David Daughtridge, Hayes Fair, 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.
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Collect for Sunday:
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that, by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings for Sunday:
- Hebrews 10:31-39
- Psalm 16
- Mark 13:14-23
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