~ the eSPIRE Newsletter ~
December 1, 2019
The First Sunday in Advent
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No printed inSPIRE this week
No Wednesdays Alive! service, supper, or classes tonight
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Thanksgiving Week Changes to Note
- The church office will close at noon today, 11/27, and reopen Monday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 a.m.
- No Wednesdays Alive! service, supper, or classes tonight, 11/27
- There will not be a printed inSPIRE this week
- No Rector's Bible Study on Thanksgiving Day
- Youth Group and children's choirs will not meet this week
** There WILL be Rector's Forum on Sunday even though the Jesse Tree project will be going on downstairs. However, it will be a "stand-alone" talk, so don't worry about missing your weekly Revelation talk if you are out of town or downstairs! **
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No Sunday school for children 6th-grade and younger this week––come to this instead!
The Jesse Tree is an old tradition (dating back to the Middle Ages) that tells the story of the Bible from Creation to the birth of Jesus. Our Jesse Tree kit is a wonderful way to journey through Advent using handmade ornaments and a daily devotional.
Everyone is invited to join us for the event! While a Jesse Tree is ideal for families with children, it is a wonderful way for adults to celebrate the Advent season as well. Grandparents will want to join us so they may introduce their grandchildren to this ancient tradition.
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Available Sunday: Advent Devotionals Recommended by the Clergy of St. Philip's
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In the Collect for the first week of Advent, we pray that God would “give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light.” Preparing ourselves through Scripture and prayer and contemplation using an Advent devotional guide helps us to do just that.
This year, the St. Philip’s clergy recommendations for Advent devotionals are N.T. Wright's
A
dvent for Everyone: Matthew
and Timothy Keller's
Hidden Christmas.
Both books will be available in the church office for a suggested donation of $15 each (while supplies last).
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The Advent Drop-In is on a SATURDAY this year!
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If you would like to make a contribution to the Christmas Flower Fund as a memorial or in thanksgiving for a loved one, please click the link below and submit your information by this
Friday, Dec. 13. Forms are also available in the church office and in the narthex. You may pay online through the My St. Philip's portal of our website,
stphilipschurchsc.org, or you may drop off a check payable to St. Philip's Church at the church office or mail it to:
St. Philip's Church
Attn: Juli Garland
142 Church St.
Charleston, SC 29401
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The Trees Are Coming!
Home Missions Gift Card "Angel" Trees, lovingly provided by the St. Philip's Flower Guild, arrive next week
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The St. Philip’s Home Missions Committee is once again partnering with
Tricounty Family Ministries
to help brighten Christmas for Charleston families by collecting $25 gift cards to Walmart, Family Dollar, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree so that parents in need can have the dignity of purchasing a gift for their child. The Committee is also working with St. John’s Chapel, a mission church of our diocese, to collect $25 gift cards to Walmart or Target for the teachers of Sanders-Clyde Elementary School, who have poured their hearts into the students of Charleston's Eastside neighborhood. With Thanksgiving coming late this year, the trees––which will be decorated with the ornaments that are Home Missions Committee's gift to you to serve as a "thank you" or reminder–– will be in the narthex for only two Sundays!
But you don’t have to wait for the ornaments to appear to purchase your gift card! We encourage you to take a step of generosity
now
by purchasing a card and bringing it with you on Sunday, December 8 or 15, and exchanging it for an ornament from one of the two trees (Advent/Christmas planning note: we've been told these ornaments make fabulous stocking stuffers and hostess gifts!). If for some reason you miss the deadline, you may bring your card to the church office by Wednesday, December 18.
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Christmas Eve Ministry Opportunity
Male Angel Needed for 7:30 Service Nativity Tableau
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Help us make this Christmas Eve a time of reverent worship as we celebrate the eve of our Lord's birth. This is always a special service with a powerful word from God delivered by our rector, beautiful music by our choirs, and visual splendor provided by the ECW (Every Church Woman) of St. Philip's. But with all the activity of the season, it is easy to lose sight of why we celebrate Christmas!
You can help return our focus to Christ our Lord by volunteering to participate in the Nativity tableau, which will be presented at both the 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. services with two groups of volunteers.
Thank you to those who have already responded to the call for volunteers--we are happy to report that all roles except for a tall male angel at the 7:30 service are filled! Volunteers should be ages high school to young adult.
If you are willing to serve in this capacity, please contact Bill Warlick at (843) 810-9926 or click below to email him.
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Registration for this event is officially at capacity, but do not lose heart! Call the church office at (843) 722-7734 to join the wait list.
And if you've already registered but now find that your plans have changed, please let the church office know so that someone from the wait list may fill your seat.
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Sunday, December 15, 10:30 a.m.
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If you answered yes to the above question, then...
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Christmas Pageant Registration Open Now!
Parts available for children ( 3+ years) and youth
Christmas Eve, 4:30 p.m.
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Would you like to take another listen to Sunday's sermon? Or were you out of town and you missed it the first time? Sermons, the Rector's Forum, and more are available on our website,
stphilipschurchsc.org/sermons-classes.
Accompanying slide presentations for certain classes are also available for download.
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Never miss a sermon! Click below to subscribe to our Sermons podcast.
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SAVE THE DATE
Dec. 7 ~ Advent Drop-In at the Rectory (3:00-6:00 p.m.)
Dec. 13 ~ The Greening of the Church (9:00 a.m.)
Dec. 15 ~ Lessons and Carols (10:30 service), followed by Wassail Bowl reception and poinsettia delivery
Dec. 18 ~ Community Carol Sing and Lunch (12:30 p.m.)
Dec. 24 ~ Christmas Eve Services
- 4:30 p.m. Christmas Pageant (register your child)
- 7:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist: Rite I (children’s choirs)
- 10:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist: Rite I (St. Philip’s Choir)
Dec. 25 ~ Christmas Day Service (10:00 a.m.)
Jan. 5 ~ Fellowship brunch following 10:30 a.m. service
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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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Do you have a loved one you would like added to our prayer list?
Please provide his or her name by calling the church office, 843-722-7734
.
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We pray for the sick: Katie Burris; Elizabeth Flowers, Meredith Gale; Robert Gould; Tracy Graudin; Janet Hanger; Jonathan Hanger; Delia Hipp; Bobby Hood, Sr.; Gene Hunt; Barbara Lisle; Joe Livesay; Jacqui Luce; Peter Moore; Stuart Philp; Aranell Ray; Edmund Rhett; Benjamin Schools; David Smythe; and Lindsey Wing.
We pray for protection for:
Becca Baird, Julia Beasley, Graham Blunt, Henry Clayton, Ben Colyer, David Daughtridge, Hayes Fair, George Hoefer, Andrew Kane, 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, Life Resources, 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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St. Philip's Regular Weekly Worship Services
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Collect for
the First Sunday in Advent
:
Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings for Sunday
:
- Isaiah 2:1-5
- Romans 13:8-14
- Matthew 24:29-44
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Sundays
8:15 a.m. – Holy Communion: Rite I, in the Church
10:30 a.m. – Holy Communion: Rite I, in the Church (on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays)
10:30 a.m. – Morning Prayer: Rite I, in the Church (on the 2nd and 4th Sundays)
Wednesdays
8:00 a.m. – Morning Prayer, 1928 Prayer Book, in the Chapel
5:30 p.m. – Wednesdays Alive! Holy Communion: Rite II, in the Church (Sept.–June)
Lay server schedules are sent out quarterly, one month prior to the start of each quarter.
If you are unable to serve, please make an effort to find a substitute, and let
Felicia Lescow
in the church office know who will be substituting for you.
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ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH
142 Church Street | Charleston, SC 29401
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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Click
HERE
if you would like to opt out of receiving the printed mailing of the newsletter each week.
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