We had quite a crew at the last workday at Camp St. Christopher––let's try to get even more this time around! The day promises to be just as much fun (weeding! mowing! pruning! lawnmower racing?), so dig your gloves and clippers out of your garage (if you have them––no worries if not) and register today by 5:00 p.m. so we can get an accurate headcount. There are jobs for all ages and activity levels, and lunch is provided!

Questions? Email Robby Marion or call (843) 296-4085.

We are happy to announce the return of the printed inSPIRE! We will be mailing our newsletter out every other week until September 8, when we intend to resume our regular weekly mailings.

We rely on volunteers (the "inSPIRE ladies") to stuff and address the envelopes for mailing, and we are overjoyed that we will be welcoming those who are comfortable back into the office next week after over 13 months away! What a happy day it will be!

Many of our parishioners have been automatically signed up to receive our newsletter via both email and regular mail. If you've become accustomed to receiving your St. Philip's news by email only and would like to opt out of the mailing, please fill out the brief form (name and email address) at the link below. Note that this opt-out will not impact other mailings from St. Philip's; you will still receive occasional updates and letters, as well as your giving reports.

Last Thursday night, a group of sixteen St. Philippians joined over 600 others for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center’s Annual Fundraising Banquet at the North Charleston Center for the Performing Arts. The program was a wonderful celebration of life and a powerful presentation of the importance of protecting life in the womb.

The keynote speakers were Dr. Anthony Levatino, a retired OB/GYN physician, and his wife, Ceil. For years, Dr. Levatino performed abortions as part of his routine practice––until a personal tragedy caused him to rethink his views. The Levatinos' five-year-old daughter, Heather, was struck and killed by a car in 1985, and ultimately, Dr. Levatino became a committed pro-life advocate. Their story is one of redemption, of God’s great mercy, and of the power of God to change a life.

We also heard testimony from Aderia, a young woman who visited the pregnancy center upon learning of her own unplanned pregnancy. After her ultrasound, Aderia made the decision to keep her baby––a decision she rejoices in every time she sees her precious 10-month-old little boy smile!

Lowcountry Pregnancy Center is one of four organizations St. Philip's supports through our Home Missions Team. Learn more about LPC's ministry on their website and in the diaper drive information above.

Several St. Philippian women joined others in our diocese at Christ Church in Mt. Pleasant last Saturday for the Anglican Women's Annual Gathering. Attendees enjoyed hearing Joanne Ellison speak on "Faith Moving Forward" and spending time in small groups and quiet reflection. They were also blessed to hear from Bishop Mark J. Lawrence and his wife, Allison.

Would you like to make sure you don't miss events like these? Sign up to receive news from the Women of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina at the link below!

The sun was shining as brightly on Sunday evening as the smiles surely were under the choristers' masks as they gathered on the sidewalk before their spring concert! What a glorious way to end an unusual year––we can't wait to start back up in the fall!

If you have a child three years old and up (through high-school-aged) who has not yet joined a children's choir, contact Pat Gould or Chris Walchesky so you'll be sure to know when rehearsals resume in the fall or when other opportunities (e.g. choir camp) for your soon-to-be chorister come up!

While the children are taking a little break, the St. Philip's Choir is preparing for a service of Evensong on Sunday, June 6. We are also hoping to welcome the full choir back to Sunday services soon! And if God has given you the gift of a voice to sing his praises, we invite you to join us. Remember, if you can speak, you can sing! Men are especially needed. Socially distanced rehearsals are Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall (remember your mask, please).

Do let us know to expect you so we can have music prepared for you, and consider joining us as we serve in London as resident choir at St. Paul's Cathedral in August 2022.

Call Pat Gould at (843) 364-9552 or email her at pgould@stphilipschurchsc.org if you have questions or you're ready to give choir a try.

We are pleased to offer preschool camp for babies through age three! Two sessions are available (campers must have been born after September 1, 2017), and at each session, the children enjoy socializing while engaging in age-appropriate activities.

The fee per child is $250, and campers do not have to be St. Philip's Preschool students to attend. Space is limited, with preference given for church members and for full-week camp attendance.

Reservations for this Sunday's services of Holy Communion at 8:15 and 10:30 a.m. open today at 9:00 a.m. Children's worship and childcare during the 10:30 service are available for infants and young people through third grade, with limited capacities within each age group. You may register for childcare at the link below after first registering to attend the 10:30 service, or you may call the church office at (843) 722-7734 to reserve space.

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.

Do you receive Fr. Brian's updates and weekly wrap-up emails? Click here to read his last wrap-up email, and if you'd like to join his email list, let him know!

Yes, it's time for your weekly reminder that the very best way to spend your Thursday lunch hour happens to be wherever you have access to Zoom, because that's how you watch the Rector's Bible Study! So make yourself a sandwich, grab your Bible and a seat on your couch (or at a little coffee shop table, on a rocking chair on your porch––anywhere with wifi), and click the link below a few minutes before noon tomorrow. See you (on Zoom) then!

Gus, the newest addition to St. Philip's office staff, seemed to know just where to go for tummy scratches when he walked into the office last Thursday. Several of his coworkers, including the Rev. Bill Christian, Felicia Lescow, Denise Pickford, Ben Singleton, Juli Garland, and Chisolm Leonard, took time to scratch, pet, and coo––he even got some scratches from his boss, our Rector, the Rev. Jeffrey S. Miller.

However, he wasn't there for tummy scratches; he was there to learn what was expected of him on his shifts. After reluctantly tearing himself away from his new friends, he visited the workroom to learn about bulletin-printing before sitting at the front desk to learn about transferring calls and registering folks for Sunday services.

While Gus did quite well with his training, he's a bit young compared to the rest of the staff (he turned 11 weeks yesterday, making him a full 93 weeks younger than our sexton in training), and this is his very first job, so please be patient as he's learning. We know he'll be a great asset one day!

If you follow St. Philip's on social media, you already knew about Gus's training day. But if you haven't followed us yet, how about you click one or both of the links below and give us a follow right now so you can be among the first to hear stories like these?

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

May 1 ~ St. Philip's Workday at Camp St. Christopher

May 9 ~ Diaper drive for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center (drop-off begins May 3)

May 30 ~ Senior Recognition in Sunday bulletin

June 6 ~ Choral Evensong (5:00 p.m.)

We pray for the sick: Elizabeth Boineau, Sam Chesnutt, Diane Christensen, Patty Cox, Jerry Craig, Sarah Fayard, Elizabeth Flowers, Mary Forbes, James Gettys III, Robert Gould, Steve Green, Harry Gregorie, Jr., Jonathan Hanger, Clark Johnson, Denise Keranen, Joe Livesay, Connor Lowndes, Beverly Melvin, Deborah Pollak, Ed Riggs, Sam Robinson, Fran Sanders, Rose Tisdale, Mike Walsh, Carolyn Warlick, Lindsey Wing, and Charlie Yoho.

We grieve with and pray for Gray Bailey and family on the death of his father, Guy Bailey, on April 26.

We pray for our expectant parents: Justin and Molly Hare, Tim and Liz Strickland.

We pray for protection for Becca Baird, Chris and Julia Beasley, Graham Blunt, Henry Clayton, Ben Colyer, David Daughtridge, Hayes Fair, Andrew Kane, Horry Kerrison, Charles Kirkman, Frazier Kulze, John Mason, Zach McFadden, 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 Water Mission and the Global Water Center, and for St. Jean Baptiste, our sister church, and the schools in Haiti.