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~ the eSPIRE Newsletter ~
April 21, 2024
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
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Friday and Saturday:
Tea Room Set-Up and Kitchen Prep for Next Week's Tea Room!
Friday beginning at 9:30 a.m. ~ Saturday beginning at 10:00 a.m.
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Click the link below to sign up to help Friday or Saturday––there are jobs for all activity levels! | |
Saturday: "Saturday Serve" for Lowcountry FCA
9:30 a.m. in the church office ~ off-campus option is full!
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Join us in helping the Lowcountry Fellowship of Christian Athletes prepare for their annual banquet! We will be making table arrangements, writing thank-you notes, and making treat bags. If you are a baker, please consider bringing homemade cookies and other treats to share in the treat bags. This is a fantastic service opportunity for both children and adults! | PLUS: We are still collecting $10-gift cards to places like Subway and Starbucks to add to the bags. Drop off at the church office OR bring with you on Saturday! | |
Sunday: No Rector's Forum or Children's Sunday School
due to the Tea Room Parish House Takeover!
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Next Week: Tea Room Time! | |
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Help Support the Mission and Ministries of St. Philip's Church by Stopping in for Lunch, Volunteering, Donating to the Gift Shop, and Making Dessert!
April 22–26, 11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. daily
About the gift shop: New and handmade boutique or upscale consignment shop-style items from our talented and generous parishioners are needed for the Tea Room gift shop. Pickup is available! Get ideas, let us know what you're donating, and request pickup at the link below!
Volunteering, making dessert: We also have various volunteer needs, and we can ALWAYS use dessert––especially later in the week!
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Other Upcoming Events and Registrations | |
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Lowcountry Fellowship of Christian Athletes Fundraising Banquet
Monday, April 22, 5:30 p.m. ~ Trident Tech in North Charleston
Join us as we support our friends and mission partners at Lowcountry Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Check-in and silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the dinner program will begin 6:30 p.m. Throughout the evening, you will get to hear from several members of the Lowcountry FCA staff, the coaches and students they work with, as well as special keynote speaker Jessica Kolp. Free to attend––list St. Philip's as your table sponsor.
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Theology on Tuesdays
Tuesday, April 23, 7:00 p.m. ~ Henry's on the Market
Young adults, Justin Hare and Brian McGreevy have another round of Theology on Tuesdays coming to you next week! Come enjoy pizza (provided along with water) and beverages of your choice if you'd like (cash bar), and as always, you may ask questions anonymously through a texting app. Park for free in the church lot on the corner of Cumberland and Church Streets––and bring a friend!
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Discover Your Spiritual Gifts!
Two-day workshop, May 3-4
Friday evening and Saturday during the day
God has given you (yes, you!) gifts for ministry. Come experience the joy of discovering these gifts and finding ways to use them in the service of Christ!
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Cinco Carnival
May 5 ~ 3:00–5:30 p.m.
Games ~ Prizes ~ Tasty Treats
Join us as we have fun and raise awareness for the Shine the Light Campaign!
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Home at St. Philip's
by Katie Perez-Phillips
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I’ve been fortunate enough to call St. Philip’s my church home for my whole life. Both sets of my grandparents joined the church after moving to Charleston, and they planted St. Philip’s roots in their children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. My grandmothers first instilled in me the gift of service right here at St. Philip’s. During my elementary years, they would bring me along to polish the communion and collection plates for the Altar Guild. I still can remember being so excited to open up the safe and read the engravings on the silver dishes given to our church in honor of parishioners. In the 5th grade, I became one of the first female acolytes, and in 8th grade, I started helping my dad, Al Phillips, with Confirmation class. Needless to say, even when I was a young girl, St. Philip’s significantly impacted me and my faith as it has for innumerable parishioners both past and present.
My husband and I now have two young boys who have begun their own relationship with St. Philip’s. Whether attending the preschool, Sunday school with Mrs. Morgan and Mrs. Dorothy, or choir with Mrs. Zippy, they find comfort and joy here.
All of our major life milestones have been celebrated at St. Philip’s: baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals. All of these blessings have been given to us from God and made possible through the faith and stewardship of past St. Philippians. The Shine the Light campaign reminds us of the importance of stewardship so that future generations may enjoy the same blessings while deepening their faith here at St. Philip’s.
St. Philip’s is our home, and our hope is that our children will be able to say the same. We contributed to the Shine the Light campaign this spring in memory of generations who built their faith here before us and in honor of those who will follow.
Learn more about the Shine the Light campaign, make a pledge, or donate at the link below.
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Prayer Request for St. Philippians Traveling to Uganda
by Tom Gurley, World Missions Committee
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How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”––Isaiah 52:7.
The St. Philip’s Uganda Mission Team will head to Uganda Friday, April 19. The team includes Fred Willis, Guv Gottshalk, Tammy Gottshalk, Jayne Gurley, and Tom Gurley. Two others will join us in Uganda: Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese (OB/GYN from Hamilton, Ontario) and Dr. Sean Gillis (OB/GYN from Bozeman, Montana). Mark Bartels, Executive Director of Uganda Christian University Partners, will join us and will handle the logistics of the itinerary and mission outreach.
We will be staying on the campus of Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Uganda. UCU is the largest Christian (Anglican) University in Uganda with approximately 13,000 students located at five different locations around the country. We will be touring the campus and meeting with the administration, staff, faculty, students, and alumni. The team will worship on Sunday and have community worship at noon during the week. The objective will be to build friendships with Ugandans who have similar interests and expertise and to explore potential future interactions.
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House of Prayer:
April Prayer Points
by Frenchie Richards, St. Philip’s Prayer Ministry
“My house shall be called a house of prayer
for all nations.” ––Isaiah 56:7
Give thanks with a grateful heart
for our risen Lord!
Answered Prayers:
1. For all the glorious Holy Week and Easter services.
2. For the increase in Shine the Light pledges and donations.
3. For Alan Runyan’s excellent Rector’s Forum teaching series.
4. For the confirmation class of 30-plus children.
5. For the 92 adults who have chosen to get confirmed in May.
6. For the many visitors coming through the Open Door Ministry.
7. For the great attendance for the Foundations and Spiritual Gifts classes.
8. For the successful outreach ministries locally and abroad. For the safe return of the St. Philippians who traveled to Honduras.
9. For the successful turnout at the Walk For Water.
10. For the outgoing vestry members and their service these last three years.
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Oh, To Be Young at St. Philip’s!
It’s hard to say which age group has it best at St. Philip’s: is it our young adults with their biweekly Theology on Tuesday meet-ups? (The next one is on April 23, by the way!) Or is it our youth with their weekly gatherings in the Parish Hall for food, games, teaching, and prayer? (Every week their games don’t result in broken light bulbs is a good week.) Or could it be our retirees with their special outings to places like Brookgreen Gardens and Millford Plantation? (Stay tuned for information on the next outing!)
To be fair, we are all blessed no matter our ages: week after week we’ve got beautiful worship with excellent preaching, fun parishwide events like oyster roasts and fellowship suppers (and the Cinco Carnival coming up May 5!), and classes that people from across the world tune into while we sit live in the Parish Hall.
But the children of St. Philip’s edged the rest of us out last week with their simple but beautiful classic childhood pastimes: playing with blocks and eating Sno-Cones! Below, a block rendering of St. Philip’s during children’s church on April 14, and gleeful and colorful Sno-Cone assembly during the final Wednesday afternoon choir rehearsal of 2023-2024.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ––Matthew 19:14
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Regular weekly events and services | |
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Midweek Morning Prayer
Wednesdays at 8:00 in the Chapel
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Wednesdays Alive!
come-as-you-are service of midweek Holy Communion followed by supper and C.S. Lewis class
REMINDER: No supper or class next week, April 24
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Tonight's Supper: Chicken Marbella | |
REMINDER: The Rector's Bible Study will be in recess next Thursday, April 25 | |
This Sunday's Service and Class Information | | |
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The Rev. Jeffrey S. Miller is preaching at our services of Holy Eucharist at 8:15 a.m. and Holy Eucharist and Baptism at 10:30 a.m. Sunday school and the Rector's Forum are in recess this week because the Parish House will be set up for the Tea Room. | |
Unsolved Mysteries: STP Edition | |
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We are very sorry to report that a crime occurred between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon––and we have yet to catch the culprit (or culprits).
The day started out like any other Tuesday at St. Philip's: with the staff meeting. And as is often the case given the size of our staff, we had a birthday to celebrate. Ben Singleton, who turns [REDACTED] this Friday, had requested pies for his special celebration: sweet potato and chocolate bourbon pecan. After the staff meeting, Rachel Murphy, who is the most talented pie/cake cutter in the office (her slices always begin in the exact middle of the cake/pie), cut several pieces of each pie and laid them out for the taking.
A few hours later, though, she walked through the first-floor hallway, and those who were in the vicinity when she laid eyes on what was left of the bourbon pecan pie can tell you her distress was audible.
Someone had massacred the pie. There unfortunately is no other word to describe what had happened to it. But what perhaps is even more disturbing than the stomach-turning, misshapen sight of it is the fact that some people in the office didn't think it was "that bad."
Let us repeat. Some people in the office didn't think it was "that bad." Obviously the Rev. Andrew R. O'Dell was not one of those people; we managed to capture his shock and betrayal on camera (photo above). But it's always tough when you find out your coworkers' values simply don't align with your own (and this came on the heels of a debate on whether day-old donuts were "old"...newsflash: they are not).
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If you follow St. Philip's on social media, you already knew about the crime of the century. But if you hadn't heard, why not take a minute right now to give us a follow so that you, too, can be among the first to hear about schedule changes, special events, and the latest office news––both the good and the very, very bad? | |
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IMPORTANT DATES
April 20 ~ Saturday Serves: Lowcountry FCA
April 20 ~ Prayer as Worship Workshop
April 22 ~ Lowcountry FCA Spring Banquet
April 22–26 ~ St. Philip’s Tea Room
May 1 ~ Monthly Men's Lunch (noon in the Parish Hall)
May 2 ~ Grandparents@Prayer monthly drop-in (11:00–11:45 in the chapel)
May 3–4 ~ Spiritual Gifts Workshop
May 4 ~ Anglican Women’s Gathering (Pawleys Island)
May 5 ~ St. Philip’s Cinco Carnival (3:00 p.m.)
May 5 ~ Choral Evensong with the Canterbury and St. David Choirs (5:30 p.m.)
May 12 ~ Diaper Drive for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center
May 16 ~ Pop-Up Chamber Concert (11:00 a.m.)
May 18 ~ "Saturday Serve" for Lowcountry Pregnancy Center
May 19 ~ Graduating Senior Recognition Sunday
June 17–20 ~ Vacation Bible School (VBS)
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We pray for the sick: Jimmy Bowes, Diane Christensen, Karen Collins, Mary Forbes, Mike Goodwin, Myron Harrington, Tom Kerns, Marvin Kirkland, Melvin Knight, Rena Mack, Paula McNamara, Eric Panizza, Lou Parker, Barbara Sainsbury, Fran Sanders, Esther Spade, Pete Sperr, and Ginny Townsend.
We grieve with and pray for Mims Weldon and family on the death of her grandfather, William Edward (Eddie) Weldon, on April 9.
We pray for our expectant parents: Sarah and Wyatt Baldwin, Katy and Andrew Brown.
We pray for protection for those serving in the armed forces: Becca Baird, Janie Baird, Henry Clayton, David Daughtridge, Eric Gaines, Andrew Kane, Quin Kane, Horry Kerrison, Frazier Kulze, John Mason, Julia Middleton, Philip Middleton III, Jackson Miller, Edward Pritchard, Nathaniel Rollings, and David Scott.
We pray for our home and world missions: Lowcountry Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Hope to Home, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, Star Gospel Mission, 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.
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Collect for Sunday:
O God, whose Son Jesus is the Good Shepherd of thy people: Grant that when we hear his voice, we may know him who calleth us each by name, and follow where he doth lead; who, with thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Readings for Sunday:
- Ezekiel 34:1-10
- Psalm 23
- John 10:1-15
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH
142 Church Street | Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 722-7734, www.stphilipschurchsc.org
Church Office Hours
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday
8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Friday
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