“How was your weekend?” My beautiful wife asked me.

“It was ...” was all I could say as my 80-lb. beast of a dog almost knocked me to the ground upon my return from Regenerate.

Regenerate is a youth retreat designed for high school students to grow closer to the Lord Jesus. For 20 years, this event has been held at Camp St. Christopher. This year’s theme was HOPE. What is biblical hope, and how do we live it in our daily lives?

The speaker was Jacob Graudin, son of Steve and Tracy Graudin and former youth grouper (6th-12th grade) here at St. Philip’s. I can’t even begin to put into words the joy I had sitting at the feet of Jesus as one of my former students preached the Gospel that saves all weekend long. Jacob built an incredible foundation for the students to grow from through his three teachings. He tied personal stories of suffering and deep theological points together to formulate a beautiful tapestry of biblical hope for this young generation of Christ-followers.

   (reopens Monday, Nov. 29, at 8:30 a.m.) 

St. Philip’s family, I have been blessed to share an important opportunity and invitation with you to volunteer a few hours this December at Star Gospel Mission, one of the four home missions we support and hear our clergy pray for every Sunday. Star Gospel provides transitional housing for homeless men and aims “to transform hearts and lives through Jesus Christ”––and indeed it has been doing just that for 117 years.

As many of you may know, our very own Bill Christian headed up Star Gospel Mission as executive director for 17+ years, and our Home Missions Team is very blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know the new executive director of Star Gospel Mission just a few weeks ago at our monthly Home Missions Team meeting. The Reverend Dr. Marion Platt III was invited to present his vision and plan going forward, and he also accepted an invitation to worship with us during the Wednesday evening service prior to our meeting.

The blessings we received from Dr. Platt’s presentation, vision, and life story were beyond comprehension, and the presence of the Holy Spirit was indeed palpable. Dr. Platt wrote a kind and heartfelt thank-you note for the invitation to present to our team and worship with us, saying, “What an honor it was to meet with you and the wonderful folks from St. Philip’s last week. I enjoyed the worship service so much (wow, did my soul need that!) and the fellowship and laughter afterward. What a great evening!”

He also outlined the opportunities for holiday volunteering:

On each of those days, they will need three “caseworkers” and two “greeters.” Caseworkers will attend a brief training that morning, and then distribute assistance to those who have made an appointment. Good Cheer Greeters will assist Dr. Platt in welcoming mission guests, serving coffee and/or cocoa, and ensuring every person is encouraged that day.

The St. Philip’s Home Missions Team is continuing its tradition of partnering with Neighbors Together 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. Click the links below to learn more or to sign up to help collect gift cards before and after services.

Volunteers will serve hot meals, distribute holiday turkeys, and pass out stockings to the children in attendance. Gift cards from the St. Philip’s angel tree will also be distributed to families during the party. Space is limited, so for more information or to volunteer with our St. Philip’s team on December 18, please contact Jennie Richardson at (843) 364-2912 or jmerr3975@aol.com. 

Prayers for local needs answered: Theology on Tap has been a great success with 50 to 60 young people attending at Henry’s. 

St. Philip's will hold a noonday prayer service in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd (located between the church and the Parish House) on Tuesday, December 7, in anticipation of the State Supreme Court hearing on December 8. The hearing will be live-streamed, and our diocese will also be holding a virtual prayer vigil on December 7 and an on-site prayer vigil at Camp St. Christopher on December 8. Please read the message below for further details.

From the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina: The South Carolina Supreme Court will conduct a hearing on Wednesday, December 8, at 9:30 a.m. of the appeal of Judge Edgar W. Dickson’s interpretation of the Supreme Court’s 2017 rulings. On June 19, 2020, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson granted the motion made by our Diocese and Parishes for clarification and other relief related to the August 2017 ruling of the South Carolina Supreme Court. That clarification was needed because the 2017 ruling had the rare character of consisting of five separate opinions. Judge Dickson’s clarification determined that our parishes and the Diocese are “affirmed as the title owners in fee simple absolute of their respective parish real properties.”  TEC and TECSC appealed Judge Dickson’s decision to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

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.

"Copy that, Big Father Of Lights: Mission Complete!"

I love Christmas, and I love the act of giving gifts, so when I first heard about Operation Christmas Child years ago, I knew that I wanted to participate in this fantastic ministry of hope! Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has distributed 188 million shoeboxes filled with toys and the Gospel. Over 12.5 million people have received Jesus as a direct result of this ministry. St. Philip's youth group and some 6th-graders from Charleston Day School packed boxes of hope and blessings to send to children worldwide. There are so many ways to get creative and bring hope and bless those in need this holiday season, and Operation Christmas Child is just one of them. I want to encourage you to make time as a family to pray together, serve together, worship together, and hope together as we prepare to head into this Advent season!

Middle School: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. on Fridays in the Youth Room

High School: 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. on Sundays in the Youth Room

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.

The Rev. Andrew R. O'Dell will be preaching this Sunday at our services of Holy Communion at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m.

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.

Our beautiful sanctuary is the site of three weddings on three consecutive Saturdays this month, and the second was this week. While some staff members, such as sexton Ben Singleton and sexton-in-training Cecilia Walchesky (whose age is now regularly measured in years––and fractions thereof––rather than months) are happy to put in some extra time and effort to ensure all goes smoothly, others––well, one in particular––have been a little ... cranky. 

Our cemetery guard cat, who remains less than forthcoming about his name and current home address, swished his tail vigorously as he eyed the laughing, dancing, and general merriment during the reception on the Parish House lawn on Saturday. We’re not exactly sure what his issue with the reception was, but while he didn’t go so far as to have anyone removed, we expect we will see a written report in the coming days with some sort of complaint and perhaps a proposed set of new guidelines for future weddings. However, since this was a duty he took on himself (just as he did with parking enforcement several weeks ago), he just might find his suggestions shot down. Perhaps he should stay in his lane––and on the other side of the street!

Contact Frenchie Richards, who will connect you with a prayer minister who will pray for your concerns over the phone: frichards7@aol.com.

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

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.)

Dec. 1 ~ Monthly Men’s Lunch (noon in the Parish Hall)

Dec. 3 ~ ECW Advent Luncheon (noon in the Parish Hall)

Dec. 4 ~ Advent Drop-In at the Rectory

Dec. 7 ~ Prayer service for State Supreme Court hearing (noon in the chapel)

Dec. 10 ~ Greening of the Church

Dec. 12~ Lessons and Carols, Wassail Bowl

Jan. 15 ~ Art Auction with Jeff Miller, auctioneer

We pray for the sick: Harry Carr, 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, Owen Ravenel, Mave Riggs, Valerie Rouillard, Wanda Russer, Fran Sanders, Jay Schrimpf, Larry Scoville, Lynne Scoville, Jason Stryker, Lawrence Timoney, Hope Walters, Lindsey Wing, and

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.