SSPC Weekly Update : March 3, 2021

March 3, 2021

It’s March. Again. Making it to March 2021 feels like reaching a monumental milestone. I don’t know about you, but when I reach a milestone, I start to reflect. I am sure we all have our list of joys from this past year alongside a list of grievances as this past year hasn’t been what we expected. Two things on my list of joys that I see God very much at work in are SSPC’s COVID Community Relief Fund and the Season of Service.

The COVID Community Relief Fund began as an idea last April in a stewardship team meeting. Since then, almost $200,000 has been raised in our church along with some very generous grants from the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation. Between the two phases, just over $141,000 has been put in the hands of those who are struggling financially as a direct result of the pandemic. The past few months, the CCRF team has noticed a significant change in the amount of applications received. As less people applied for these grants, we wondered how our COVID Community Relief Fund might better serve our community one year later as many are still recovering from financial devastation after losing a job early on. The Holy Spirit was moving and we created an opportunity to reach back out to those grantees to see how they’re doing and what their continued needs are. The first grantees expressed a great deal of thanks to St Simons Presbyterian Church, to you, as the COVID Community Relief Fund helped them pay bills in a time when they weren’t sure how to make ends meet. We also learned that for most people, the ramifications of the initial financial blow were still being felt one year later, and many are still behind on their bills and their rent payments. To respond to this ongoing need, the CCRF has pivoted again, and we’ve begun offering $150 grants to applicants who have already received grants if they are still experiencing a need. It is a great joy to see our church being the hands and feet of Jesus in this way! Thank you for your generosity that has met a significant need in our community and that will continue to meet those same needs.

Another thing God has been at work in this past year is the Day of Service pivot. Instead of ~100 church members and friends gathering in the social hall for breakfast before being sent out into the community to work on various service projects, we pivoted and began what we’re calling a Season of Service where our church works on one project a month. So far, we cleaned up underneath the Back River Bridge, done a HUGE food drive for Sparrows Nest, re-landscaped the lawn at Manna House, and packed rehydrating salt packets at MAP International. This month, after months of waiting, we’re working with Habitat for Humanity to help build another home for neighbor in our community on March 20th. You can sign up to participate by clicking on the ad below! Participation is limited to 12 volunteers, but if we fill up the 20th, we’ll volunteer the next weekend too!

Friends, as we begin another March, I hope you’re able to see God working in your life and in our church.

Peace,

Rev. Annie Franklin Arvin

Associate Pastor

Habitat Build

Upcoming Events

Sunday Worship

February 28, 2021

Musical Notes

One more cold snap and spring is here! Looking at my weather app, it looks like the rest of this week is cooler after the rain. This could be it, folks. Temps after that are in the “perfect” 70’s range. Because of our position on the globe (31° 08’ 34” N 81° 23’ 54” W – that’s about where the outdoor pulpit is located), we have been very fortunate to be able to safely continue our worship services outside. Even if at some point we are allowed to worship and fellowship together safely inside the building, I think we should consider having a few services during mild weather times in our “Green Sanctuary.” However, all of us in the music ministry are looking forward to being in the sanctuary again. The acoustics are infinitely better and the wind doesn’t blow all of our music around.

Speaking of wind, the organ has been wired and is waiting for more pipes and the case that will arrive on March 8th. If you want to see the inside of the organ, now is the time before it gets covered up. Amy or I will be glad to explain the various parts to you. It’s a complex machine, for sure.

Again, thank you for your support of the Island Concert Association.

Suzanne Morrison, Board President, and all the rest of the board members are grateful that we could once again present quality programming. We were able to fund all expenses this year without going into reserves from the previous year! Anyone interested in serving on this working board (once a year), please let us know.

This Sunday, the choir will present another African American spiritual, Let My People Go, arranged by Roger Emerson. We will sing the Introit, Rain Down, once again. Here are the words you need to know by Sunday:

Rain down, rain down, rain down your love on your people.

Rain down, rain down, Rain down your love, God of life.

Sunday’s hymn is Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (65).

Love & Gratitude,

Rhonda