~ the eSPIRE Newsletter ~
April 19, 2020
The Second Sunday of Easter
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No printed inSPIRE this week
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The church office is closed and all in-person church activities are cancelled per Bishop Lawrence's directive and the stay-at-home mandate for Charleston.
We will be offering worship online during this time.
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Click below to subscribe to our Vimeo and/or YouTube channel.
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An email with printable Sunday bulletins will be coming later in the week.
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St. Philip's Welcomes our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, as Preacher on Sunday
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This coming Sunday, April 19, was scheduled to be Confirmation Sunday, when Bishop Lawrence was to lay his hands on the 7th-graders in Al Phillips's confirmation class––along with those adults in the Rev. Andrew O'Dell's Foundations class who were wishing to be confirmed, received, or reaffirmed––as all publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ. Although confirmation has been postponed, we are pleased and honored that Bishop Lawrence will still be with us as preacher.
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Rector's Bible Study to Resume Online Tomorrow
We are just one day away from the first Rector's Bible Study of the quarantine! But that's still plenty of time for you to grab your Bible, get your sandwich makings together, find a comfy seat, and click below for details about how to watch.
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Watch "The Screwtape Letters" Class With the Rev. Brian McGreevy Tonight!
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The Rev. Brian McGreevy is back with his exploration of C.S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters" Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m.! You may stream the class on our streaming site, where you will be able to chat with others from the class (barring any technical difficulties) or you may watch at your convenience on YouTube beginning at the same time.
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Daily Devotions from the St. Philip's: Have You Subscribed?
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These reflections are posted to the news section of our website (
stphilipschurchsc.org/news
) Monday through Friday at 7:00 a.m., but you may also receive direct links to the videos by subscribing below. The Rev. Marc Boutan started off Easter week by reminding us that the best is yet to come: be ye glad! Yesterday, the Rev. Ryan Streett offered us guidance for these uncertain times using Psalm 13. Today, the Rev. Jeff Miller will be talking to us about the comfort and encouragement we find in John chapter 20.
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Pictured above: "Virtual choir" round number THREE during yesterday's staff meeting. So many spring birthdays among the staff of St. Philip's! Rachel Murphy presented this week's birthday boy and girl, Ben Singleton and Felicia Lescow, with birthday pancakes––yum! And we sang again...sort of.
Our weekly staff meetings continue to be a great way for the staff and clergy to check in with each other (and meet each other's pets––yesterday we met Sue Singleton, a beagle!). How are YOU doing? Please remember that your clergy and staff are here for you. Click the link below to let the clergy know how best to address to your needs. You may also reply to this email with any needs or concerns, or contact a priest directly.
The Rev. Jeff Miller: (843) 812-0556
The Rev. Andrew O'Dell: (843) 639-9084
The Rev. Marc Boutan: (843) 737-1277
The Rev. Brian McGreevy: (843) 793-9830
The Rev. Ryan Streett: (843) 601-1120
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Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Thoughts
by Penn Hagood
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I spent Maundy Thursday reading Exodus 11 & 12 plus the final chapters of the four Gospels, beginning with the Passover meal in Jerusalem celebrated by Jesus with his disciples that was his Last Supper, continuing on to his crucifixion and then concluding with his resurrection and ascension. In conjunction with the readings, I prayed for all of us and for our families and loved ones, that all may be protected during this time of disease, that the blood of the lamb shall “be on the houses where you are…and no plague will befall you to destroy you.” (Exodus 12:13).
John’s gospel provides the detail that after Jesus’ arrest, flogging, and crucifixion, the disciples were hidden inside behind locked doors, fearing persecution, pain, and death. It was in that setting, while they were anxiously hidden away from the world, that the risen Lord appeared to them. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (John 20:19).
As we are all hunkered in our homes, anxious about venturing out, fearful of disease and dying, it is striking to note how like the disciples we are. Our modern world, that seemed so orderly just weeks ago, is spinning topsy-turvy, our lives are not in our control. And yet, this time of uncertainty is also a time of opportunity.
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COVID-19 and Our Mission Partners:
Mighty Prayers Needed
by Susan C. Keller, World Missions Committee
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If we are honest, I think it would be safe to say that most of us are focused on our own needs at this incredibly unpredictable and challenging time. Some are out of work, parents are having to homeschool for the first time, some are sick with the virus, and all of us are experiencing a level of uncertainty like none before. Yet while we here in America are facing this difficult time, let’s consider the level of need in the lands where we have beloved ministry partners––and PRAY for these dear ones whose lives are hanging more in the balance than our own.
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Resources for Children and Families
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The Bailey children enjoyed playing an Easter scavenger hunt from the children's ministry website. Click below to find the perfect resources for YOUR family!
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Christian Grandparenting Network Calls for Global Day of Prayer and Fasting Today
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From Christian Grandparenting Network: Have you ever noticed how myopic our vision of who God is and what He is doing can become in life? Our regular routines, including those routines related to our faith journey can make us so nearsighted that we fail to see the divine appointments God places right along our life path. That's why we need those times in life when we can retune our peripheral vision to see what God is inviting us to do with Him.
That's what this Global Day of Fasting and Prayer on April 15 (that's this Wednesday) is about partly. It's an opportunity for us to reset to the big picture God has for us. It's a time to set aside our normal routines, which COVID-19 has already forced us to do in many ways, in order to seek God's purpose and plan, and to ask for His favor that we might make His name great in the eyes of the world.
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New Homes for the Easter Flowers
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After the Easter service, our clergy and others involved in the service divided up the flowers so beautifully arranged by the Flower Guild and made arrangements of their own at home!
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If you dedicated Easter flowers in memory of or in thanksgiving for a loved one and you would like a hard copy of the Easter bulletin when the office reopens, please
email Lea Andrews
if you have not already.
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Are You at Risk and Unable to Leave Home?
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The St. Philip's Joshua 1:9 Initiative is a response team for our church members while we are all experiencing the challenges of COVID-19. This is a united effort of the Compassion Committee, the Home Missions Team, the Disaster Relief Committee, and our clergy. We are here to help each other! Please contact us if:
• You are in isolation and need help getting groceries, prescriptions, running critical errands.
• You would like to hear from the church or a member of the clergy.
Email Monti Hanger or call Callie McLaurin at (803) 530-2323 if you would like help, and if you know of someone in our parish who does not receive these emails, please pass along this information.
Would you like to join our team? Please contact Monti or Callie.
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Do you have a loved one in isolation?
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Use the following questions as a guide as you seek to help family and other loved ones in isolation.
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1. Can that person FaceTime (must have Apple device: iPhone, iPad, Mac) or use Facebook messenger? Is it possible to get an iPad, set it up, and give it to that person?
2. Does the facility or home where he or she lives have an in-house Apple device to set up FaceTime for residents? In Myers Hall at Bishop Gadsden, the staff has set up a computer so that each resident can FaceTime with family at a certain time––no computer experience necessary.
3. Can your loved one receive emails? If so, does he or she know how to watch/stream the services and the daily devotions?
4. If not, is there a caregiver or someone else around that can receive the emails from the church so that services and information can be shared?
5. If the person is in a retirement home, can you stand outside a window and visit phone-to-phone across the glass?
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Would You Like Someone to Pray With You?
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To pray WITH someone:
Call Juanita Orvin, who will connect you with a prayer minister who will pray for your concerns over the phone.
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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Never miss a sermon!
Click below to subscribe to our Sermons podcast.
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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: Walton Avery, Katie Burris, Gus Croome, Ed Dibble, Elizabeth Flowers, Robert Gould, Janet Hanger, Jonathan Hanger, Jane Jilich, Gene Lesesne, Barbara Lisle, Joe Livesay, Kimbrough McEniry, Peter Moore, Sharon Nix, Benjamin Schools, and Lindsey Wing.
We grieve with and pray for Charlotte Hartsock and family on the death of her father, Richard Arthur Haberstroh, on April 8.
We pray for our expectant parents: Henslee and Van Elliott, Ralph and Anna Gray Baker.
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,
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 Committee.
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.
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Collect for
Sunday:
O God, whose blessed Son did manifest himself to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open, we pray thee, the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Readings for Sunday
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- Psalm 116:11-16
- 1 Peter 1:13-25
- Luke 24:13-35
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH
142 Church Street | Charleston, SC 29401
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HERE
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