View as Webpage

May 3, 2024

Our music on Sunday during the 10:30 a.m. service will spotlight parish members sharing their gifts of music. On Sunday, May 5, we feature Mike Dunham (violin and hammered dulcimer). He will join the choir and other members of our music ministry team leading the congregation in a special Sunday of praise and worship! 

On May 3-5, 2024, 33 people (including 8 families with children) will be attending a combined Good Shepherd and St. Philip’s Spring Retreat at Camp Tekoa. Please pray with them (and their leaders Ken Albright, Elizabeth Roles, and our Children, Youth, and Family Minister Abby Glass) as they play, worship, break bread together, and enjoy fellowship! (Please note: On Sunday, May 5, 2024, our young children will have their Christian Formation at the retreat. Godly Play will return to St. Philip's on Sunday, May 12, 2024, at 9:15 a.m.)

• Sunday at 8:00 a.m. – From Palm Sunday through the summer, we will enjoy sharing the same Holy Eucharist, Rite II liturgy in our Sunday morning 8:00 a.m. spoken service as the 10:30 a.m. service.
• Adult Forum at 9:15 a.m. – On Sunday, May 5, 2024, St. Philippian Kevin Greene concludes a three-week discussion regarding the Reformation with the topic “The Reformation in contrast: Anabaptism and Anglicanism.” Kevin graduated from Campbell University with a degree in Religion and Philosophy. After college he spent three years at Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas before graduating from Southeastern Seminary. During his last year of seminary Kevin changed his focus from church history to pastoral counseling. He would spend the next 35 years in the mental health field specializing in grief and trauma concerns. Kevin and his wife Caroline have lived in Brevard since September of 2023. Adult Forum meets in the YAC, our large downstairs meeting room.
• Coffee & Conversation at 9:15 a.m. – On April 28, Christy Bauman introduced her upcoming book "Her Rites" and the seven rites of passage experienced by all humans. Following on that presentation, Susan Lefler and Terry Decker will facilitate orientation and discussion about these rites and open exploration in ways we can define the arc of our life's legacy through recognition and reflection. Join Susan and Terry for Coffee & Conversation in Miller Hall, our large upstairs meeting room. The presentation begins at 9:15 a.m. with coffee served in advance.
• Sunday at 10:30 a.m. – Join us for Holy Eucharist, Rite II (with music) at our 10:30 a.m. service.
• Coffee Hour after the 10:30 a.m. service – All are invited and always welcome to join us in Miller Hall (our upstairs fellowship hall) after the 10:30 a.m. service for juice or coffee and fellowship. This is a great chance to mingle, meet new people, or just relax with friends.

On Sunday, May 5, 2024, two people will be available to pray with you for your concerns and needs in both services during the Eucharist. Simply come to the chapel after you receive the Eucharist. Let an usher know if you’d like someone to come to you. This prayer time is quiet, private, and absolutely confidential. No details about this prayer time are revealed to anyone. Sometimes the prayers are offered in silence. Anointing with oil and laying on of hands can be part of this time if desired.

The St. Philip’s Caregiver Support Group will meet on Sunday, May 5 at 4:00 p.m. in Sunday School room 117. The group is open to those in the St. Philip’s family who are caregivers for a loved one on a daily basis. The group has two facilitators and will provide an opportunity for caregivers to share concerns, experiences, support, and resources. For questions about the group call Susan Andresen (570-220-4589) or Liz Cozart (828-884-4795).

Prior to the public Explorations in Jewish Life and History Lecture (see below), a small group from both St. Philip's and from the Brevard Jewish Community (30 from each group) will gather at 2:00 p.m. to share a discussion on the current Israeli challenges and issues. If you desire to be one of the 30, please sign up in Realm or contact the parish office (office@stphilipsbrevardnc.org). The cut-off of 30 will be firmed adhered to, so sign up early!

On May 5, St. Philip's is pleased to host and participate in the second of a series of four sessions arranged by the Brevard Jewish Community. Dr. Geoffrey Levin from Emory University will speak on “Strangers in the Land of Egypt or Subjects of King David: Dilemmas of 20th Century American Jews" at 3:30 p.m. in Miller Hall.

The Diocese of Western North Carolina is excited to offer the following Building Beloved Community workshops to fulfill the Dismantling Racism requirements for vestry members, lay leaders, and staff.



Sacred Ground Circles (10 weeks beginning May 7, 2024 on Zoom) - Sacred Ground is a sensitive, prayerful resource that creates space for difficult but respectful and transformative dialogue on race and racism. It invites participants to walk back through history in order to peel away the layers that brought us to today, reflecting on family histories and stories, as well as important narratives that shape the collective American story. It holds as a guiding star the vision of beloved community – where all people are honored and protected and nurtured as beloved children of God, where we weep at one another’s pain and seek one another’s flourishing.

Kanuga invites Episcopalians for a Feast of Ascension Celebration on Thursday, May 9. Join members of the Province IV Synod for a celebratory Eucharist (the Rev. Elizabeth Roles is preaching!), followed by supper on the Rocking Chair Lawn as we watch the sunset together. Come enjoy nature crafts, kite-making, and connecting with the greater Episcopal Church! The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and will be held rain or shine. Click here to sign up!

Join CrossTown for our "Love Your Habitat Day" on Sunday, May 12, 2024, where Transylvania Habitat for Humanity teams up with CrossTown for a day of community support! Visit the Habitat table in the Miller Hall Foyer after services, where our youth will share about the important work Habitat does in our area. While you're there, consider participating in our noisy offering by donating any spare change, cash, or checks. Every contribution counts, and all donations collected from CrossTown churches will be pooled together for a collective contribution to Habitat. Habitat will match the total amount raised by CrossTown, doubling the impact of your donation. Let's come together to support our community! 

We are excited to announce the leader of our retreat will be the Rev. Canon Augusta A. Anderson, Canon to the Ordinary and Chief of Staff for the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Canon Augusta will guide and inspire our time together with playfulness and prayer while deepening our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Christian Social Concerns, as a parish outreach arm charged with helping neighbors in crisis, is launching “Shower Power” for the month of May. Sharing House offers the only year-round shower ministry for homeless neighbors in our county. We recently learned that Sharing House volunteers desperately need white towels and washcloths. Around 75 people a week, most of whom live in the forest, use this service. Volunteers wash 3 huge loads of towels daily. The color white is preferred because bleach is necessary with every load. Thank you for so generously spreading what we share inside this parish Rock. Please place your contributions of white towels and wash clothes in the little red wagon in the parish hall, and members of Christian Social Concerns will deliver them to Sharing House. Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Earth Day worship with Bethel A, First United Methodist, Good Shepherd, St. Philip’s, St. Timothy, and the Unitarian Universalists. During the service, we sang hymns celebrating our planet and shared Bible readings and poems. Over the past few weeks during CrossTown, our youth had discussions about the importance of creation care and challenges they see. During the service, they had the opportunity to share parts of those conversations. Participants were also introduced to Mud Guy! Mud Guy helped us think about the ways humans came from the earth and encouraged us to take better care of the place we came from. Thank you so much to everyone who helped plan and lead this worship service. We look forward to doing it again next year!

At the April 11 meeting of the WNC Diocese Executive Council, Jann Mellman's appointment to the Executive Council was confirmed by vote of the council, and she attended her first meeting. The Executive Council is to the Diocese as the Vestry is to the Parish, working with Bishop José and his staff on matters that impact the Diocese of Western North Carolina that covers the westernmost 13 counties of North Carolina.

The Executive Council appointment is a three-year term, serving with a body of 21 members who, just as our Vestry does, rotates one-third of the representatives each year. Please join us in congratulating Jann on the appointment and thanking her for having a voice and an ear for St. Philip's, as well as the good of the Diocese, at the table.

When I was 9 or 10 years old, we lived down the street from a cotton gin. The cotton farmers from all over the county would bring their cotton to the gin in town to be vacuumed out of the trailers, ginned, graded, and baled. The process would take several hours, so being the “entrepreneur” that I was, I had my mom buy peanuts in the shell from the store. She would help me roast them and bag them, and then I would sell them to the waiting farmers for ten cents a bag. Serious money!

It was about this same time that in school I was learning about folks like Eli Whitney and Robert Fulton, inventors of the cotton gin and steamboat respectively, and icons in the Industrial Revolution Hall of Fame. In school we were regaled with stories of how the cotton gin was an unquestionable good as it transformed the economy of the cotton growing areas. It was only later (and not in the reductionist histories of grade school or high school) that I learned that the story was more complicated than I was taught. While the cotton gin did increase the value of cotton, it also enabled the plantation owners to increase their cotton acreage (which they did), to purchase more slave labor (which they did), and to work that slave labor more harshly and for longer hours (which they did) in order to maximize profits. So, was the invention of the cotton gin a good thing? I guess it depends on who you ask. In other words, it’s complicated.

When, in my reflective moments, I think back over my life’s experiences I recognize that there were highs and there were lows; there was good and there was not so good; there were elations and there were depressions. However, none of these experiences were purely what they seemed to be. The good times had moments of bitterness and the bad times had moments of serendipity. In other words, it’s complicated.

As national and global events swirl around us, it is easy, even tempting, to boil the happenings down to a simple, easily digestible, uncomplicated analysis. The reporters of these events are not necessarily our friends, because they, too, seek to explain the “news” in a lowest-common-denominator sort of way. We often become lulled into a worldview in which one side, or the other, is depicted as an unqualified good or an irredeemable bad. This makes our task as arbitrators of Christlikeness difficult. It requires of us a judiciousness of spirit, a hesitancy of judgment, a willingness to see life from the perspective of all involved. This is hard work, but it is the job we accepted when we took on the cross. 

So, when you pray for guidance in confronting life’s and society’s challenges, it may well be that what you hear is the Divine intuition whisper in the stillness, “It’s complicated.”

David Yeager, Sr. Warden

St. Philip’s Prayer Chain requests may be submitted directly to stp.prayers@gmail.com. Prayer for/from our parish members may be requested by full name, first name only, or anonymously. These prayers are confidential and are NOT put in the bulletin nor on the Sunday list. Please use this email ONLY for prayer requests and if you have an emergency; you may also call Daphne's cell (828-989-7877) and leave a confidential message. 

Thank you for investing your treasure in the work and mission of St. Philip’s. Your gift supports our worship – in Word and Sacrament and music. Visit https://www.stphilipsbrevardnc.org/donate to explore donating. To make a gift now use Realm or text STP to 73256.

May Birthdays

01 Michelle Roth

01 Grant Cobb

02 Meredith Tooley

02 Sue Ann Miller

02 Debra Izard

03 Holmes Desmelik

04 Chappie Powell

04 Susan Hansel

04 Sally Rausch

05 Carol Cartwright

06 Barbra McCune

06 Lucia Bennett

06 Mimi Pomeroy

07 William Begg

07 Wyatt Topper

07 Julie Workman

09 Carole Orr

09 Ben Long

09 Dorothy Trotter

10 Marcia Millar

10 Beth Busbee

10 Mary Thigpen

12 Ida Smith

12 April Méndez

13 Barbara Walter

13 Megan Shepherd

14 Bru Izard

15 Daniel Richmond

16 Susan Winsor

16 Leo Alvarenga Byers

16 Lila Alvarenga Byers

17 Dan Pascone

18 Adrian Zabala

18 Beth Rich

18 Ali McCabe

19 Mary Dryselius

19 Susan Whaley

23 Grant Bullard

23 Judy Mowery

25 Bruce Roberts

25 Eric Manner

25 Emma Newman

25 Judith Davis

25 Paul Ann Gaines

26 Barthell Joseph

26 David Messer

27 Cohen Taulbee

28 Shannon Powell

28 Jen Silva

29 Pam Watson

30 Pauline Merrill-Foster

31 Julie Heinitsh

31 Chuck Cibella

May Anniversaries

01 Chip and Rebecca Freeman

06 Mac and Veronica Morrow

06 Chris Foster and Pauline Merrill-Foster

11 Jared and Jen Silva

14 Jim and Judy Pierce

14 Greg and Carole Hilderbran

16 Bill Byers and Jo Pumphrey

20 Adrian and Kathryn Zabala

22 Michael and Joann McCarthy

24 Don and Susie Stubbs

28 Mark and Mary Richmond

28 Davis and Perrin Whitfield-Cargile

30 Miles and Teresa Coady

31 Terry and Sheree Watt

31 Bob and Paulette Cantey

The Season of Easter begins with the first Alleluia of Easter and ends 50 days later on the Day of Pentecost. During this season, the liturgical color is white, and the liturgies are uplifting and joyful. From the ashes of Ash Wednesday, God has brought us into the fullness of life and joy!

Join us each week at our services of Holy Eucharist!

• Sundays, 8:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II (spoken)
• Sundays, 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist, Rite II (with music)
• Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m. – Holy Eucharist Rite II (College Walk Senior Living Community Chapel)
• Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. – Holy Eucharist with Prayers for Healing (Chapel)

Barbara Boerner (2024)

Craig Gralley (2024)

Mike Wallace (2024-Junior Warden)

Jo Buescher (2025)

Jann Mellman (2025)

David Yeager (2025-Senior Warden)

Peggy Bridges (2026)

Gordon Murray (2026)

Jen Silva (2026)

Pat Dunham (Clerk)

The Rev. Elizabeth Roles, Rector

Abby Glass, Children, Youth, and Family Minister

Dr. Brittnee Siemon, Director of Music Ministry

Edna Hensley, Facilities Manager

Angela Patane, Maintenance Supervisor

William Begg, Co-Treasurer, Receipts

Bob Wesneski, Co-Treasurer, Disbursements

Jill Stewart, Parish Administrator

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA!

Ascension Day Meditation

Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we repeat the phrase in the Nicene Creed "he ascended into heaven..." To read up on the firsthand account of the event, read Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 in your Bible.

We celebrate Ascension 40 days after Easter, and it is one of the chief feasts of the year. May 9th is the day we celebrate Ascension this year! 

Fr. Matthew Moretz is an Episcopal priest with an unusual video-blogging ministry. Click here to see his YouTube video, in which he looks at the Ascension of Jesus and just can't help but think about Mary Poppins.