We will be recognizing our hardworking high school and college seniors on Senior Recognition Sunday on May 21 and in next week’s inSPIRE (mailed and emailed May 17). If someone in your family is graduating this spring, please submit his or her information at the link below by May 14!

My wife, Tricia, and I were invited by Jill and John Settle to join them at the Lowcountry Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) fundraising dinner held at Trident Technical College on Monday, May 1. Along with many other community members and St. Philippians, we enjoyed a wonderful evening learning about the overview mission of the FCA in great detail. Keynote speaker Marcellus Casey, Chaplain for 2023 Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs, gave an inspiring talk that elicited laughter and some tears, reminding us all humility is essential in our walk with Christ.

All of this had a very special meaning to me, as it took me back to my first association with FCA as the head football coach at Gardner-Webb University, where I served for a time as the FCA faculty representative. I have been able to maintain a warm and enduring relationship with so many of my former players over the last 40 years, which I attribute to our mutual faith. One of my most prized possessions is the Bible I was given by our FCA group when I left Gardner-Webb to become the head football coach at The Citadel, my alma mater.

Thank you, St. Philippians, for answering the call and supporting Lowcountry Pregnancy Center (LPC), one of our home mission ministry partners! Following the final collection Monday morning, Home Missions Team members Jennie Richardson, Jill Settle, and Ashley Davis filled up two SUVs (Suburbans!) and delivered 5,993 diapers, 84 packs of wipes, and 26 cans of formula to LPC!

Karen Nix reacts to the Rev. Jeff Miller’s quip about the role her gun and handcuffs play in her success when bringing worshippers in off the street.

Sunday, May 7, was Officer Karen Nix’s final day acting as security for St. Philip’s Church. During the Rev. Jeff Miller’s announcement about her retirement, he thanked her not only for keeping the congregation safe, but also for the warmth she displayed when offering comfort to restless children and drawing people into the services from the street. Officer Nix is looking forward to honing her deep-sea fishing skills in her retirement, as well as worshipping at St. Philip’s from the pews and possibly taking the Rev. Andrew O’Dell’s Foundations class in the fall. “I can’t imagine myself anywhere else, in any congregation,” she said when she took her spot at the eagle to address the people. “You brought back that spark of Christianity in my life.”

In the absence of information or when simply listening to the headline news, people can assume the worst and give up hope for the people in Haiti, a textbook case of a country that has suffered from years of corruption from within and outside its borders. Since Haiti’s bloody beginning, the ruling class and politicians have oppressed the common people––it is no wonder that the country is in the state it is in. But there’s more to the story. One must be willing to search for alternative sources of reliable information, and be willing to spend the time and the effort to look for rays of light and for positive stories to counter the prevailing narrative.  

Such rays can be found on La Gonâve, an island 20 miles off the coast of Haiti. God has been at work on this small, rocky island for the past 32 years.

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

 ––Isaiah 56:7

Happy Mother’s Day!

Answered Prayers (Give thanks with a grateful heart):

1. For Justin’s safe return from the GAFCON Conference.

2. For the $10 million already committed for the Shine the Light capital campaign.

3. For the great kickoff meeting for the Generations Ministry.

4. For the confirmation of 40 young people and 80 adults. Thank you, Al Phillips and Andrew O’Dell.

5. For the hundreds of people coming in through the Open Door Ministry (many have come to the services as a result of it)

6. For the successful Tea Room outreach. Very well-attended.

7. For the 60,000 young people that filled the university of Oklahoma’s football stadium to focus on worship and evangelism.

8. For the glorious Easter Services: worship, flowers, and hundreds of people that attended.

9. For Marc and the worship team ministry on Wednesday nights.

10. For the prayer team ministry.

A note to parents of current 5th graders: Your students are considered the senior class of VBS and as such get special privileges! They will meet together in their own small group and have special field trips. They are not "too old for VBS"! Don't let them miss out on this fun and enriching time of fellowship!

Is there any better way to celebrate a year of friendship, hard work, learning, and fun than with chicken nuggets and Kona Ice? No, not that we know of, so that's how the Cherub, St. Nicholas, and St. Cecilia Choirs marked the last of 2022-2023 weekly rehearsals. Stay tuned for information about summer activities, and contact Zippy Hood if you have any questions!

May 17: Final Wednesdays Alive! service and supper (no class)

May 18: Final Rector’s Bible Study

May 21: Final Sunday School, Rector’s Forum

May 21: Final high school youth group (off-campus)

May 26: Final middle school youth group (rising 6th-graders, you’re invited Fridays in May for a fall preview!)

The Rev. Justin C. Hare is preaching at our services of Holy Eucharist: Rite I at 8:15 a.m. and Morning Prayer: Rite I at 10:30 a.m.

Happy Birthday, Queen Victoria!

Yesterday was a very special day at the church office because we celebrated the birthday of Denise Pickford, more commonly known around the office as Queen Victoria! You likely remember that we always celebrate staff birthdays with a perfectly on-key and beautifully harmonized rendition of "Happy Birthday" at staff meeting (if you don't go to our staff meetings, just take our word for it––that's an absolutely accurate description) and some yummy treats (tres leches cake, anyone?). But the celebration for Her Majesty must of course go above and beyond––at least it does as long as Chris Walchesky, organist and choirmaster, has anything to say about it.

So late yesterday morning, several of Queen Victoria's subjects gathered in her office to present her with some items befitting a queen, including a crown, an orb and scepter, and a royal robe. And then we prepared to serenade her once again with another permonance of "Happy Birthday" in our dulcet tones.

But wait! Just then, ADOSC priest and one-man band Rich Giersch appeared as if from thin air to declare that this was his day to sing his song––just as he had done last year. To Her Majesty's and subjects' delight, this year's commissioned piece was perhaps even catchier!

If you follow St. Philip's on social media, you already knew about the royal celebration, but if this is the first you're hearing about it, why don't you take a moment right now to click the links below and give us a follow so that you, too, can be among the first to know about office shenanigans, weather-related schedule updates, and other breaking news?

Important Dates

May 11 ~ ECW Spring Social (6:00 p.m.)

May 12 ~ Excursion to Millford Plantation

May 17 ~ Final Wednesdays Alive! service and supper (no class May 17)

May 18 ~ Final Rector’s Bible Study before summer recess

May 21 ~ Senior Recognition Sunday

May 21 ~ Final Sunday School, Rector's Forum before summer recess

May 21 ~ Final high school youth group (off-campus)

May 27 ~ Sacred Harp Shape Singing (10:00 a.m.) 

May 28 ~ "Recounting Rwanda" with the Rev. Justin Hare (9:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall)

May 29 ~ Charleston Men's Chorus Memorial Day Chorus

June 19-22 ~ Vacation Bible School (VBS)

June 26–30 ~ GrandCamp 2023

We pray for the sick: Johnny Anderson, Sallie Barrera, Tim Bass, Elizabeth Bowles, Tory Bowles, Diane Christensen, Karen Collins, Cullen Crowley, Sally Fayard, Mary Forbes, Dana Heikes III, Susan Hemminger, Susan Keenan, Marvin Kirkland, Robert Kizer, Thomas Legaré, Libby LeLand Puckette, Wes Lewis, Rena Mack, Rene Meyer, Elaine Pendarvis, Eli Penn, Bill Phillipps, Sally Rhett, Becky Riggs, Fran Sanders, Joanna Sparks, Pete Sperr, Margaret Swanson, Clark Thompson, Jenny White, and Lindsey Wing.

We pray for our expectant parents: Sarah Beth and Devin Angel, Sallie and Sam Barrera, Kimbrell and Bruce Blackwood; Elizabeth and William Bryan; Ainsley and Dominic Monda; and Demontre and Minka Parish. 

We pray for protection for Becca Baird, Graham Blunt, Robert Cale III, Henry Clayton, David Daughtridge, Eric Gaines, Morgan and Mason Herring, Andrew Kane, Quin Kane, Horry Kerrison, Frazier Kulze, John Mason, Zach McFadden, Philip Middleton III, Jackson Miller, Edward Pritchard, Nathaniel Rollings, David Scott, and Joey Villeneuve.

We pray for our home and world missions: Lowcountry Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, Star Gospel Mission, Suzy McCall and LAMB, for the medical missions to Honduras, for ministry to victims of genocide and AIDS in Rwanda, for the Persecuted Church, for Anglican Frontier Missions, for Uganda Christian University Partners, for Water Mission and the Global Water Center, and for St. Jean Baptiste, our sister church, and the schools in Haiti.

Collect for Sunday:

O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee in all things and above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings for Sunday:

• Acts 17:16-34
• Psalm 148:7-14
• 1 Peter 3:8-18
• John 15:1-11