All are invited to join the Reverend Jeffrey S. Miller for the Rector's Bible Study online tomorrow at noon! Fix yourself a sandwich, grab your Bible and a seat on your couch, and click the link below a few minutes before noon! We will be picking up where we left off in chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew.

On Monday, September 28, the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, returned to St. Philip's to preside over another service of Confirmation. At this service, thirty youth and six adults were confirmed; two adults were received. The youth began their confirmation class with Al Phillips in person in the fall of 2019 and finished up in the spring on Zoom.

All singers please register here for choir rehearsals, which begin Wednesday, October 7, and Thursday, October 8:

Cherub Choir (ages 3–4): 4:00–4:30 p.m. (Parish Hall)

St. Nicholas Choir (ages 5-6): 4:30–5:00 p.m. (Parish Hall)

St. Cecilia Choir (grades 2-3): 4:15–5:15 p.m. (Choir Room, second floor of the church office building)

Canterbury Choir (4th grade–high school, unchanged voices): 6:00–7:30 p.m. (Choir Room)*

St. David Choir: (7th grade–college): 6:00-7:30 p.m. (Choir Room)*

Come learn fine music, learn about the church, pray together, learn why we worship, and enjoy great fellowship! If you have questions, please contact Pat Gould at (843) 364-9552 or pgould@stphilipschurchsc.org or Chris Walchesky at (724) 504-5767 or cwalchesky@stphilipschurchsc.org.

The St. Philip's Choir is looking for YOU! Register now at the link below to let Pat know you're coming––your rehearsals are Wednesdays at 6:00 in the Parish Hall. No choir experience is necessary––if it's new to you, you will be placed near someone who can help guide you. Make a joyful noise with your St. Philip's family!

We had two beautiful services of Holy Communion on Sunday! Thank you to all of our volunteer check-in teams, greeters, and ushers who helped our congregation navigate yet another "new normal."

This coming Sunday, October 4, both the 8:15 and 10:30 a.m. services will be Morning Prayer, but we will be resuming our pre-pandemic schedule on October 11:

Reservations for worship and childcare (10:30 only) will continue to open Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. You may also call the church office at (843) 722-7734 to reserve space.

Are you available on occasion on Sunday mornings to offer a warm St. Philip's welcome and a bulletin to those coming to worship? We are currently working on expanding our greeter teams for both 8:15 and 10:30 a.m. services, so if hospitality is one of your spiritual gifts and you're ready to use it, please call the church office at (843) 722-7734 or click below to email Felicia Lescow.

As you can imagine, a 300+ acre beachfront property like St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center needs to be well cared for. As you can also imagine, in the middle of a COVID world where the Barrier Island Environmental Educational program, summer camp, and other year-round event income abruptly stops, you are forced to make tough decisions. St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center has had to furlough or lay off close to 80% of their staff, including most of the maintenance crew, but the maintenance work is never ending. This situation is what several St. Philippians drove into a couple of weeks ago!

Todd Brown was nicknamed “Mr. Clean” in a recent eSPIRE, but we saw a different side of Todd on Thursday. He is now “Zero Turn,” named after the fancy lawnmower he conquered. And then there was Sam Robinson, who set the tempo for the entire workday. It was all Todd and I could do to keep up with him. Sam singlehandedly cleared the roads and near road beds of debris that blows down daily when the sea breeze or a storm settles on the property. Sam was able to get all of it to the drop area using an available pick-up truck.

That title sounds like it belongs to a science fiction novel, one that would open, “It all started while the world was still spinning but suddenly came to a halt. It seemed that all social mores were lost as the gravity of the pandemic gripped the once bustling planet. A silent planet it became, for the noise of machine and man came to a rest. Birds once forgotten could be heard as if brand new, and families once separated by the tyranny of busyness were secluded into their homes by the sudden rush of stillness. They were forced to create a new pattern of normal.”

The protagonist in the story, often the outcast and considered weird by society, felt a sense of grief and pain as if he had lost his best friend. “Lord, what on earth am I to do if my goal is relationships and sharing life with young people––and I can’t meet them face to face?” the youth leader shouted loudly into the prayer-filled night.

Pictured above: Youth leader extraordinaire David Gilbert (right) with leader-in-training Robert Silcox.

Middle School Youth Group (6th-8th grade): Fridays 6:00-8:00 p.m.

High School Youth Group (9th-12th grade): Sundays 6:00-8:00 p.m.

The St. Philip's Youth Group is open to the youth of St. Philip's and the surrounding community.

The ECW is looking for a few volunteers to serve on the New Mothers Committee. This committee helps women transition from “expecting” to “mothering” by providing a meal, prayers, and encouragement. If you would like to help, please contact Gigi Dobbins.

The following is an excerpt from last week's email update from the Rev. Brian McGreevy. If you would like to join his email list, please click here to contact him and let him know.

Mere Christianity began as a series of radio talks during the darkest days of World War II in England. Lewis was asked by the BBC to do the talks because so many people were living in fear and anxiety and were feeling that the world was crumbling around them, that "the wheels had come off the bus." Our culture today is beset with many of those same anxieties, albeit for different reasons. Lewis's broadcast talks were then edited by Lewis and published in book form as Mere Christianity. The book is still remarkably fresh today and serves as an encouragement to the believer, a winsome challenge to the doubter, and an effective apologetic for the unbeliever.

If you would like to begin reading the book, I would encourage you to get a copy and read one chapter aloud and then let that chapter "percolate" for a day or two before reading the next one. The chapters are short but packed, and it is easy to get lost if you read too much too quickly. Because the book was originally broadcast in serial format, reading one chapter at a time and doing so out loud will help you recapture the pace Lewis intended.

I am so looking forward to engaging this marvelous book with you all--many blessings to you.

Further up and further in,

Brian+

Last year, our small-group Bible study examined the account of Moses when he met God on Mt. Sinai and returned to the camp with a shining, transformed face from this amazing encounter. We also studied 2 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4, where Paul highlights seeing the “light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This fall, we will review some of these themes from our previous Bible study. Then we will branch out to study how seeing God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ helps to transform our hearts so that we might image Him more dearly and clearly to others. Join us as we examine these themes and more using the stories of Scripture to inspire and encourage us. All are welcome!

Questions? Contact Martha Vetter, facilitator: marthavetter@gmail.com or (828) 773-5352.

You're invited to join Georgia Bell at her home on Tradd St. for a study of the book How to Pray by R.A. Torrey! Enjoy some wine and cheese (and tea and cookies!) while you learn a deeper and more meaningful way to pray. This will be a small group, so be sure to let Georgia know you plan to come so she can have a seat and a book ready for you! Contact her at (843) 568-1601 or georgiabell12@gmail.com.

Who: You, participating in a Zoom-based class led by Pringle Franklin, author of Hope & Healing in Marriage; Pringle has taught marriage seminars/classes in church settings in Charleston, SC, and Paris, France.

What: A nine-week study of the stories of real couples dealing with a mixed menu of struggles and issues such as infidelity, alcoholism, abuse, loss of love, destructive anger, the death of a child, and chronic illness.

When: Two class sections are available: Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. or Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. Classes run from the first week in October to the second week in December.

Where: Join via Zoom from home or wherever you happen to be.

Why: To gain inspiration, hope, encouragement, and insight; to strengthen your marriage and your relationship with God.

How: To register, send an email to HopeandHealinginMarriage@gmail.com. Or use Facebook to send a message to our page, Hope & Healing in Marriage. The class is free; participants will want a copy of Hope & Healing in Marriage, available on Amazon in the USA and most of Europe (in English).

College-aged (and beyond!) St. Philippians and friends, join your peers and the Rev. Justin Hare for food and conversation tonight at 7:00––bring a pal! Questions? Call/text Justin at (843) 478-3443 or click below to email him.

Yesterday, the Rev. Brian McGreevy gave us the story behind the author of "The Spacious Firmament on High": Joseph Addison, a famed British essayist and the author of Cato––whose name you may recognize from high school English. But did you know Addison was also a devout Christian with a connection to C.S. Lewis? The Rev. Andrew O'Dell will be delivering tomorrow's devotion––stay tuned!

I, the Reverend Jeffrey S. Miller, publish the Banns of Marriage between Grant Phillips Eversmann and Tara Kate Mahoney. If any of you know just cause why they may not

be joined together in Holy Matrimony, you are bidden to declare it. This is the first time of asking.

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

Start by following St. Philip's on Instagram and liking our page on Facebook. You'll receive lots of suggestions for connecting with other St. Philippians!

October 15 ~ LAMB's Party With a Purpose (virtual)––Register here.

November 7 ~ 13th Annual Lowcountry Walk for Life––Learn more.

We pray for the sick: Harold Arnold, Jr., Dotsy Boineau, Kelsey Brockbank, Katie Burris, Hal Dyer, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, Robert Gould, Janet Hanger, Jonathan Hanger, Dan Kohn, Reed Kurtz, Mac Leppard, Joe Livesay, Alan McNeel, Mason Paul, Harold Robling, Benjamin Schools, Mike Walsh, and Lindsey Wing.

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, Philip Middleton III, Jackson Miller, 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.