Mid-September means one thing: the birthday of our church is just around the corner! Some people choose to celebrate their birthday all day, all week, or even with a birthday month. For St Simons Presbyterian Church’s 75th Birthday, we’re celebrating ALL YEAR! For 75 years, SSPC has been engaging in worship, praying together, doing mission in the community and across the world, and engaging in fellowship with Jesus Christ. How firm a foundation!
What better way to kick off the birthday celebrations than with a Day of Service where we’ll live into a foundational piece of our identity as followers of Jesus which is reminding the world of God’s presence in it in both our words and our deeds-mission. Join us for a Day of Service on September 25. We’ll begin our day with a light breakfast and devotion at 8:30a before heading out to various worksites in the community. After a few hours of service, we’ll come back together for a meal outside on the Ashantilly Lawn where we’ll share the work we did and take a moment to reflect on where we felt God moving. Worksites this fall include Hand in Hand, the Habitat ReStore, International Seafarers, Keep Golden Isles Beautiful, working at the church, and the food team. At all of the worksites there will either be plenty of room to maintain social distance or the work will be outside so that the COVID risk is mitigated as much as possible. We hope you’ll join us on this special day kicking off the 75th Birthday Celebrations-click here to sign up for the Day of Service!
Be on the lookout for several birthday celebrations throughout the year, and be sure to mark your calendars for a special cupcake celebration following worship on September 26!
Also, be sure to check out below a special congratulations to Meg Mimbs who was honored at this year’s Teacher of the Year at Oglethorpe Point Elementary School! Yay Meg!
See you on Sunday, friends!
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Rev. Annie Franklin Arvin
Associate Pastor
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Sunday Worship
September 12, 2021
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Some of you know that in May we got some baby chicks. We started with three, then a hawk decided to get one of them a few weeks ago. Can’t believe how sad that was. The other two – Noodle and Marsala – are as close as can be and are now full-grown white hens with bright red combs and wattles. At about 17 weeks, you change the feed. That’s about the time an egg appears. Well, this is week 17! Just like clockwork, when I got home from church last Sunday, there was a small, beautiful, perfect brown egg. Those of you who grew up on a farm or have chickens yourselves probably take that kind of thing in stride, but I am just thrilled with the first egg! That was a long time to wait, but we should with luck get two eggs a day. UPDATE: THREE EGGS so far!! David Burch is the new chair of our Worship and Music Council and grew up on a chicken farm. We compared notes. I can’t even imagine that many chickens. Ask him. At any rate, it’s amazing how these animals provide for those of us that eat eggs and chicken. I don’t know about you, but the miracle of nature never ceases to amaze me, and that amazement is equal to praise to our Maker and Savior. Our hymns for this Sunday 667 When Morning Gilds the Skies and 265 Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun are filled with nature references in praise of Jesus. Amy Bishop joins us in her selections of praise – Morning Has Broken and The Awakening Call.
The Chancel Ringers welcome new ringers this week – after one rehearsal, we will play together on Sunday. Selections are: Bell Peal in G Major and Breathe on Me, Breath of God.
If you are interested in playing with this group, contact the director, Suzanne Morrison.
The 75th Birthday of the church begins on September 25th with a Day of Service and a special 10:30 am service on the next day. Look here for music details in next week’s newsletter.
We have all been practicing safely at home, however, we gathered in the sanctuary this evening to prepare for this special day. There are fewer of us right now due to covid restrictions, but one day we hope to fill the entire loft!
Love & Gratitude,
Rhonda
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Sunday, September 19
8:30 am Early Worship - Sanctuary
9:30 am Combined Sunday School - Upper Room & Zoom
10:30 am Traditional Worship - Sanctuary
4:30 pm Marsh's Edge Worship - Marsh's Edge
5:00 pm Youth Gathering - Youth Suite
6:30 pm Youth Afterglow - Music Attic
Monday, September 20
10:00 am Chancel Ensemble - Sanctuary
5:30 pm Diaconate Meeting - Upper Room
6:30 pm Al-Anon Meeting - John Law
Tuesday, September 21
7:00 am Youth Breakfast Devotion - Chick-fil-A
9:30 am Staff Meeting - Upper Room
4:00 pm Session Meeting - Upper Room
6:00 pm Chancel Ringers - Sanctuary
7:00 pm Chancel Choir - Sanctuary
Wednesday, September 22
10:00 am Men's Bible Study - Upper Room
1:30 Hands and Heart Quilting Ministry - Music Attic
4:00 pm KidZ Crew - Veranda
Thursday, September 23
No Activities Planned for This Day
Friday, September 24
No Activities Planned for This Day
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A weekly thank you for all the people and ministries of St. Simons Presbyterian Church. Lovingly created by
Rev. Kate Buckley.
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Sunday School
October 3 - November 21
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Baseball as a Road to God
Seeing Beyond the Game
by John Sexton
9:15am / Library
Take me out to the ball game! Take me out to the crowd! Whether you love belting the verses of this song or looking forward to the World Series in late October or just love being a sports fan in general, John Sexton’s Baseball as a Road to God may be just the ticket for you.
For more than a decade, Sexton used baseball to illustrate the elements of a spiritual life in a wildly popular course as president of New York University. His book beautifully weaves the magic of baseball – its community of fans, its sacred places, its legends, its breathtaking moments of drama, its blessings and curses, its faith and doubt, its saints and sinners, its miracles – with the spiritual dimensions of life.
In the course of nine innings, fans experience a range of emotions from expectation and elation to frustration and despair. Sexton elegantly demonstrates that baseball is more than a game or even a national pastime… baseball can be a road to a deeper and more meaningful life.
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Always A Guest
Speaking of Faith Far from Home
By Barbara Brown Taylor
9:15am / John Law Room
BBT’s collection of 30 sermons as a guest preacher … from graduation ceremonies to Sunday pulpits …will show you why she is one of the most beloved and renowned preachers of our time. On themes from anxiety to beauty, resurrection to doubt, wisdom and telling the truth, Taylor proclaims the gospel as she meets us in our messy humanity.
Full of observations on the Spirit and the state of the world along with her gentle wit, BBT will inspire you as she explores faith in all its beauty and complexity. As the reader, you will be a BBT guest at this gospel feast!
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The Letter of Paul to the Philippians for Everyone Bible Study
By NT Wright
9:15am / Upper Room
We have lived through a year and a half of pandemic uncertainty. What an example of how things don't always go the way we intend. It's easy to feel discouraged because what we hope for is badly thwarted, or because people make life difficult. Paul, writing to the Philippians from prison, certainly knew what it was like to have plans interrupted. But he maintains robust confidence in God's overruling power, even when everything seems to be going wrong. In Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, we will learn from Paul the art of seeing God's purposes working out through problems and difficulties and will deepen our own confidence in God's power.
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Healthcare Worker Food Donation Information |
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[912-638-2220] [ada@sspres.org] [sspres.org] |
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