~ the eSPIRE Newsletter ~
April 5, 2020
The Sunday of the Passion:
Palm Sunday
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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. Please look for an email later in the week with details about this week's service, including instructions on how to watch and printable versions of our bulletin.
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Help Us Improve Our Worship-From-Home Offering!
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Whether you tuned into Sunday's service or not, you can help us give our viewers the best experience possible by answering a few very simple questions.
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"Hello!" from all of us to all of you!
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Pictured above: yesterday's virtual staff meeting, which fell on Florance Anderson's birthday! We sang to her ("Happy Birthday" is more fun to sing when not hand-washing!) and gave it our all, but as it turns out, we are not quite up to "virtual choir" level.
It was great to have everyone "together" at staff meeting yesterday and to hear how everyone is doing. We would love to hear from you, too! Remember that while the church office is closed, our staff is available by email, and the members of our clergy are available in the event of a pastoral emergency or to help you, talk with you, and be there for you in any way you need; please feel free to call them at the numbers listed below. If you know of a parishioner who may be in need of assistance, please reply to this email.
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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Easter Flower Memorials and Thanksgivings
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If you would like to make a contribution to the Easter Flower Fund as a memorial or in thanksgiving for a loved one, please submit your information by Wednesday, April 8, at 5:00 p.m. by clicking the link below. You may
make your donation online (your dedication submission confirmation email includes instructions) or you may mail a check to the church office (donations only––please do not mail your dedication information):
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St. Philip's Church
Attn: Juli Garland, Easter Memorials
142 Church St.
Charleston, SC 29401
Note:
The names will be included in the Easter service bulletin, and the confirmation email will include details for those wishing to receive a hard copy. A PDF of the bulletin will be emailed and posted to our website next week.
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Virtual Bible Studies and Fellowship
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The members of our clergy are still planning on having their virtual classes
ready for a post-Easter launch, and many of our lay leaders have already jumped on the Zoom, Google Hangout, FaceTime, or
insert other video conferencing app here bandwagon. Here's Al "Gator" Phillips, youth confirmation leader extraordinaire, leading class this past Sunday!
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Looking to keep your Bible study or small group connected by meeting online? Not sure how to begin? We would love to help you navigate the virtual landscape of video conference calls.
Email Rachel Murphy or call or text her at (843) 751-2909 to get started.
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Amy Watson Smith, St. Philip's Director of Ministry to Children and Families, is continually updating the children's ministry website with ways to connect with and engage your family in faith formation during this time of uncertainty and distancing; one such resource is free limited
access to RightNow Media's library of videos. Browse all of the curated resources at the link below and choose the ones that are just right for you and your family!
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Parents, grandparents, and caregivers of little ones, Jolene Hethcox (aka "Miss Jo"), director of our young Cherub and St. Nicholas Choirs, has some musical ideas for your time at home! Click the link below to sing and play with her and Clementine, Sammie, and Oreo!
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It's a Time To Be Faithful in Prayer
by Frenchie Richards, St. Philip's Prayer Team Ministry
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"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16)
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)
If there was ever a time to pray, it's NOW. There are so many things that need prayer coverage that it's hard to know where to start. First of all, it's vital that you start by enriching your own prayer life. During this time when we are quarantined at home, perhaps you can increase your dedicated time with Him in prayer.
Why is a personal prayer life important? Prayer draws us into a personal and intimate relationship with Christ. We pray because we want to know Him, not just know about Him. Your personal prayer life is the foundation that everything evolves from.
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And God is Able
by Martha Vetter, World Missions Committee
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In the midst of this time of uncertainty, I hope you are well. May you find safe shelter not only in “social distancing,” but especially in drawing close to Him who is our true Dwelling Place—the Lord God Almighty.
The plunging stock market, the postponed Olympics, the loss of employment, the shortage of ventilators, the incalculable dilemmas facing health care providers, the number of canceled graduations—all these point towards painful realities and choices that must be made.
Close to home, you or people you know are suffering these unimaginable losses. Some of you have lost your jobs, while others are being worked, almost to death. One friend has been on a ventilator for over a week. Another has lost a third of her stock portfolio. A friend’s son is supposed to get married in hardly three weeks. My niece works in the ICU in Mobile, AL, and one of the patients, a musician who had just played at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, died today.
Despite the enormity of these losses, I hope you can find comfort in the knowledge that none of this is a surprise to our Lord Christ. He who knew us before we were ever in our mothers’ wombs, and He who knows the number of the hairs on our heads, surely understands our concerns, fears, and frailties.
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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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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; Ed Dibble; Elizabeth Flowers; Meredith Gale; Robert Gould; Nick Gudzan, Janet Hanger, Jonathan Hanger; Bobby Hood, Sr.; Jane Jilich; Barbara Lisle; Joe Livesay; Kimbrough McEniry; Peter Moore; Sharon Nix; Harold Patteson; Benjamin Schools, Lindsey Wing, and Steve Wood.
We grieve with and pray for: Chris Colson and family on the death of his stepmother, Patricia Anne Colson, on March 27.
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
Palm Sunday:
Almighty and everliving God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Readings for Sunday
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- Psalm 118:19-29
- Zechariah 9:9-12
- Matthew 21:1-11
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH
142 Church Street | Charleston, SC 29401
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HERE
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