View as Webpage

March 22, 2024

Spring is here, and it's time to get the Rice Street Community Garden ready for another year of providing fresh, nutritious food to Sharing House and Bread of Life. Our first garden work day is this Saturday, March 23 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Meet in the garden (behind St. Philip's). We have garden tools you can use, or bring your own.

If you can't make it, but would like to be notified of future work days, please email holly.votaw@gmail.com to be included on the contact list. Follow the garden on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ricestreetcommunitygarden. 

• 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. – "The Way of Love" is the topic of a four-session Adult Forum class during the Sundays in Lent continuing March 24th. Seven ancient spiritual practices will be discussed to help participants develop a Jesus-centered rule of life–TURN, LEARN, PRAY, WORSHIP, BLESS, GO, and REST. The Rev. Bill McCleery will be the facilitator. Adult Forum meets in the YAC, our large downstairs meeting room.
• Coffee & Conversation at 9:15 a.m. – The Raising of Lazarus is one of the most fascinating stories in the life of Jesus. Through art, story and narrative, we will discuss how a person actually experiences transformation. Can a person really change? Explore the stench of transformation and the lingering Jesus. We’ll explore 5 graveclothes that many of us wear in 2024 that hold us back. Stephen W. Smith, who attends St. Philip’s, will lead our discussion on March 24, 2024, at 9:15 in Miller Hall. In the life of the church, Psalm Sunday is held as the Sunday we observe the raising of Lazarus and how his resurrection foreshadows that of Jesus. Coffee & Conversation meets in Miller Hall, our large upstairs meeting room. The presentation begins at 9:15 a.m.
• Godly Play at 9:15 a.m. – Children ages 4 through 5th grade will be engaged in Godly Play. The Godly Play approach helps them to explore their faith through story, to gain religious language and to enhance their spiritual experience through wonder and play. Godly Play meets in the education wing downstairs.
• Children’s Church at 10:30 a.m. – On Sunday, March 24, we will have Children’s Church during the Liturgy of the Word in the 10:30 a.m. service. Children in K - 5th grade may be dropped off in the Sunday School room across from the Godly Play room (the youth classroom) before parents/grandparents go to church. Children will be brought to the church during the Peace and should join their family for communion.
• 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.

St. Philip's welcomes everyone to journey through Holy Week and celebrate our Lord's Resurrection! All these services are held at 256 E. Main St. in Brevard, NC. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are also livestreamed on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Palm Sunday, March 24

8:00 a.m. Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Eucharist. The service begins inside the church.

* 10:30 a.m. Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Eucharist. The service begins in front of the parish hall doors on Main Street and then moves inside the church.

Wednesday in Holy Week, March 27

10:30 a.m. Spoken Eucharist with Prayers for Healing

Maundy Thursday, March 28

* 5:30 p.m. Liturgy for Maundy Thursday with Holy Communion and the Washing of Feet

Good Friday, March 29

* 12:00 p.m. Liturgy for Good Friday

From 12:00-3:00 pm, the church, labyrinth, and contemplative path will also be open for private prayer.

Easter Eve, Saturday, March 30

7:30 p.m. The Easter Vigil. The service begins in front of the parish hall doors on Main Street and moves into the church.

An Alleluia Celebration in Miller Hall will follow the liturgy.

EASTER DAY, Sunday, March 31

(Note the special service times!)

7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist at the Labyrinth (bring your lawnchairs!)

8:30 a.m. Easter Festival Eucharist with choir and brass

10:00 a.m. Easter Egg Hunt - All children through 5th grade are invited - bring your own basket and meet in the back parking lot at the gate to the playground. (There will be separate areas for younger and older children, and extra baskets for children who need them.)

* 11:00 a.m. Easter Festival Eucharist with choir and brass

*Services with an asterisk are livestreamed.

The parish office will be closed Easter Monday, April 1, 2024, and will resume its usual hours the following day.

The Shop opened on Thursday with the Spring Collection of clothes and home goods. New clothes will continue to be brought out each day. Stop by the Shop for a Taste of Spring!

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.

• Anti-Bias Workshop (April 13-14, Morganton, NC) - This program invites us to look at the bias we all carry around any number of things, including gender, physical mobility, people’s size, shape, their age. It’s taking a look at a lot of things that get in our way of welcoming everyone into our communities in a deeply genuine way.
• Building Beloved Community Workshop (April 27-28, Zoom and Black Mountain, NC) – Dismantling Racism training.
• 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.

Kayleigh Miller will be giving her senior recital in the Porter Center at Brevard College on Monday, March 25 at 7:00pm. She has been a voice student of Kathryn Gresham for the past three years since beginning her studies towards a BA in music in 2021. Her recital will include classical vocal repertoire, featuring the works of historically significant composers including Handel, Debussy, and Schubert. Her collaborative pianist Richard Ricardi will accompany this roughly 30 minute recital as well as having one of his own arrangements being performed. Additionally, there will be a collaborative piece with senior mezzo-soprano Emme Griffith. Immediately following this performance is Jonas McCanless’s classical guitar recital at 7:30.

Jonas McCanless’s senior recital will take place on Monday, March 25th in the Porter Center concert hall at 7:30pm. He has studied classical guitar from Lou Mowad since he first arrived at Brevard in the Fall of 2021. Jonas has also taken two semesters of composition lessons from music theory professor Dr. Eggert in addition to his other musical studies. His senior recital features a variety of classical guitar repertoire that ranges from the baroque period to pieces completed last year. Composers include influential figures in classical guitar history, such as Giuliani, Sor, and Villa-Lobos. In addition, there will be some more contemporary works and a set of original compositions by Jonas. Collaborative musicians will include sophomore Hannah Sonnenberg on flute and fellow senior James Burgess on guitar. The program’s runtime is about 45 minutes.

Support for the Church in Jerusalem began in biblical days. The history of the Good Friday Offering reaches back to 1922 when, in the aftermath of World War I, The Episcopal Church sought to create new relationships with and among the Christians of the Middle East. From these initial efforts which focused on a combination of relief work and the improvement of ecumenical and Anglican relations, the Good Friday Offering was created. Through the years many Episcopalians have found the Good Friday Offering to be an effective way to express their support for the ministries of the four dioceses of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. Pastoral care, education and health care continue to be primary ministries through which the reconciling spirit of the Christian faith serves all in need. Participation in this ministry is welcome. The generous donations of Episcopalians help the Christian presence in the Land of the Holy One to be a vital and effective force for peace and understanding among all of God’s children. Please make checks payable to St. Philip’s Church with “Good Friday Offering” on the memo line; click here to make a donation online; and click here to read Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Good Friday Offering Letter.

In keeping with the tradition of St. Philip’s to designate the Easter offerings for specific charitable uses, the offering collected at our Easter services will be given to TC Strong. TC Strong’s vision is that every youth in Transylvania County feels confident and secure in connection, purpose, and hope; it was formed to create a broad coalition of youth, school, and community leaders to address mental health of teens in a collaborative and effective way. Please give as generously as you can. Designate “Easter Offering” on the memo line or envelope.

During Holy Week, they will provide a tremendous component of our worship as we journey through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Saturday Easter Vigil and triumphantly during both services on Easter Sunday. Between the 8:30a and 11:00a services, we plan to provide sustenance for them with luscious breakfast casseroles, yummy rolls & breads and fruit! Will you help by signing up in Easel Alley (outside the parish office) to bring a dish, assist with set-up/serve, or clean-up? They give so much to us out of love - let us return a portion of that love that morning!

St. Philip's is organizing another round of Foyer Group gatherings for April through August, and sign-ups are happening now through April 5. Use the sign-up sheet in Easel Alley outside the Parish Office, or sign up online using this link: https://forms.gle/n9zBrjYMDnxPTnSx9

Foyer Groups are a great way to get to know other church members better by gathering in small groups for meals. Participants are assigned to groups of 6-8 people who will meet 3 or 4 times over the next few months. Each group chooses its own meeting schedule. The meals are usually potluck-style dinners, but the format is up to each group. Some may opt to meet in the daytime, or gather at a restaurant and share the bill. Singles as well as couples are welcome. You don't have to have a partner, but if you want to pair up with someone for hosting, carpooling, etc., that's fine, too.

The only purpose is to share fellowship and get to meet other church members in a relaxed setting. Please consider signing up this spring! If you have questions, contact Mary McGinnis at marymcg864@gmail.com.

You are invited to join other young adults as we study the Gospels, beginning with Matthew. Starting April 9th, we will meet every Tuesday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. We will meet at Abby's house. Please contact her (goodphilipyouthfamily@gmail.com) for the address. We look forward to you joining us as we grow in faith and fellowship together!

Please join us for a celebration of Harvey Miller's 90th birthday on April 13th! There will be a 3:00 p.m. performance of Mr. Miller's original compositions in the sanctuary followed by a reception in Miller Hall, our large upstairs meeting room. We would love to see you there!

St. Philip’s will host a Passover Seder on Tuesday, April 23, at 6:00 p.m. Abe and Pam Pallas will lead us through a traditional Seder, which will include dinner. 

More than anything else, the Passover Seder is a family event.  It has a long-standing tradition, one that is passed on from generation to generation.  Not all Seders are exactly the same - different families and people of different ethnic backgrounds may have their own traditions. But they all incorporate the essential parts of the Seder, the initial blessings, the sharing of wine, the eating of matzoh, the asking and answering the four questions, and the enjoyment of dinner with family and friends. We invite you to share in the tradition of the Seder held at St. Philip’s this year.

The cost is $20 per adult or $40 per family. Seating will be limited, so sign-ups are required. Click here to sign up in Realm or call the parish office (828-884-3666) to confirm your seat. Payment is required at the time of sign-up.

Your family is invited to join the families from Good Shepherd for a family retreat. The retreat will be May 3rd-5th at Camp Tekoa in Hendersonville. Our theme this year is "Rooted in Love." We will spend time looking at what it means to be surrounded by God's love and how we can share that love with others in our everyday lives. The cost of the retreat is $150 per family with scholarships available. For scholarship information, please contact Ken, Elizabeth, or Abby Glass. Click here to sign up (or use the code in the flyer). We hope you and your family are able to join the other families from Good Shepherd and St. Philip's in this weekend of fun, fellowship, and worship. Please let me know if you have any questions about the retreat or with the registration. I'm looking forward to this weekend together! 

At last, the women of St. Philip's are invited to come together for the 2024 Women's Retreat at Lake Logan Conference Center. The weekend offers a flexible schedule so all can benefit from the spiritually enriching program. More information is forthcoming!

The needs at Sharing House are real. As you do your shopping, think about picking up an item or two and putting in the red wagon in the parish hall foyer. We'll make sure it gets to Sharing House for immediate distribution.

• Tarps and tents
• Canned chicken
• Pasta
• Individually packaged snacks
• Oatmeal and grits packets
• Cereal
• Baby wipes
• Diapers size 6
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Bar Soap
• Dish soap
• Household cleanser

There was a man who owned lots of acreage and had many head of cattle and sheep. His neighbor had only one sheep and for him and his children this sheep was more of a pet than livestock. The wealthier man was entertaining a guest one day and rather than culling from his own herds, he sent a servant to confiscate his neighbor’s lone sheep and prepare it as a meal for his guest. 

You may recognize this story as the one told by the Court Prophet, Nathan, to King David of Israel as a parable regarding King David’s affair with Bathsheba. Upon hearing this story, King David was outraged and demanded that justice be done. When Nathan revealed that King David’s actions were the backstory of the parable, King David had a decision to make—how would he respond? He could have had Nathan’s head brought to him on a platter because of Nathan’s insolence; he could have claimed royal prerogative to act however he chose; he could have denied culpability. He could have. But rather what he chose to do was to acknowledge his transgression and perform acts of penance. 

Nathan’s story could just as easily be a parable told to our “national self” regarding our forebears’ treatment of the indigenous tribes. The territorial confiscation, the forced relocations, the treaty abrogations—all are of one cloth with King David’s transgression. The question confronting us, as it did King David, is—how will we respond? We could allow the mists of history to cloud this reality from our consciences; we could claim the prerogative of manifest destiny; we could try to “Pilate-ize” our hands. We could. However, as we approach our centennial, your Vestry believes that our faith demands something different—to tell the story of our common life and how it is shaped by the history of our country and our individual circumstances. What that might look like, we are as yet unsure. We seek your prayers, patience, and partnership as we acknowledge a congregational history which includes all of those whose experiences touch on our own. 

David Yeager, Sr. Warden

The Agnes and Carle Wilson Scholarship for the Arts was established in 2020 to honor a long-time member of St Philip’s. Carle was a dedicated choir member whose marvelous baritone voice filled the church for years; he was a choir member for over 40 years and directed the choir for 11 years. Carle was also active in the music and acting community, especially the Little Theater. He was the first to bring live theater to Brevard’s African-American community and produced “Raisin in the Sun” at the Mary C Jenkins Center in the 1970s.

The scholarship is held under the umbrella of the Transylvania chapter of the NAACP. Applications go out in March for young people in Transylvania County ages 15-35 who are interested in the arts and are seeking to further their education. The fund gives precedence to those wishing to study music and other artistic endeavors. 

For those who didn’t know Carle or his wife Agnes, it is fitting to remember those Transylvania County students in need of scholarship money to further their education. It is hoped that the St Philip’s community will donate generously and send a contribution to the Transylvania NAACP, PO Box 303, Brevard, NC 28712, marking in the memo line “Agnes and Carle Wilson Scholarship for the Arts.”

We pray because prayer makes a difference. Pray because prayer changes us–because prayer opens us to the will of God. The doors of St. Philip's will be unlocked for prayer Monday-Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

During Lent, those who come to pray are invited to walk the Way of the Cross with the 14 bronze Stations of the Cross. You will find a booklet on the table at the font as you enter.

We invite you to join us on a virtual pilgrimage through the Stations of the Cross with this video (https://youtu.be/cKMmmOxSzAk) and service leaflet (linked in the video information) created at St. Philip’s with images from the 14 bronze stations inside the church if you are not able to come to the church. Through this video, we hope you can make this journey with us each week for the remainder of Lent.

Volunteer to befriend our Sharing House neighbors by helping them do their laundry at the Caldwell Street laundromat. It is easy work and a casual opportunity for in-person social outreach with others in our community. A volunteer gig is just two hours in the afternoon of the third Thursday of a month of your choice. Volunteers sign up on our Easel Alley poster (outside the parish office) for a shift on a month(s) that suits them. Submit your name for a volunteer list to be called in the event backup is needed. Thanks to all who are already graciously participating, and please keep signing up.

Just give it a try. And, Guys - this is an equal opportunity project. Mike Tiddy is already a premier clothes folder!

Contact Alicia or Susan for more info and/or to be included on the volunteer list.

Alicia Parker (text/call 828 335-5511 aliciamd@icloud.com)

Susan Wells (text/calll 828 421-3187 sbwells52@hotmail.com)

The Cemetery Committee would like to thank all the enthusiastic people who volunteered to adopt various plots at St. Paul’s in the Valley, promising to give these plots TLC and attention: Carrie Anderson, Peggy Bridges, Dolores Brown, Liz Fuller, Mary and John McGinnis, Jann and Bill Mellman, and Marty Wainwright. For more information and to volunteer/adopt a plot, contact Peggy Bridges (peggybcoc@gmail.com).

Thank you for investing your treasure in the work and mission of St. Philip’s. Your gift supports our Growth in Faith – through an engaging array of spiritual, intergenerational, and educational offerings with an exciting focus on youth and children. Visit https://www.stphilipsbrevardnc.org/donate to explore donating. To make a gift now use Realm or text STP to 73256.

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday is the Sixth Sunday in Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. It commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, palm fronds are blessed outside the church building and a procession enters, singing, re-enacting the entry into Jerusalem. However, the service changes focus abruptly from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the solemnity of the Passion. (The English word passion comes from a Latin word that means "to suffer," the same word from which we derive the English word patient.) The colors now change to red for Palm Sunday. Red is the color the church uses for Pentecost as well as remembering the martyrs of the church. Since it symbolizes shed blood, it is also used on Palm Sunday to symbolize the death of Jesus.

The “Execution Experience” is an interactive exhibit of Jesus’ final journey to the cross painted by inmates on death row in Tennessee’s Department of Corrections. This journey from conviction to execution, traditionally called the stations of the cross, will be on display from Thursday, March 28, through Saturday, March 30, at Covenant Community Church in Asheville. The display will be open from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, we will offer the experience from 11:00 AM - 1:00 p.m. To read the entire press release with more information, please click here.

Come celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility with us! Join Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd on April 2, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. as we celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility. Our short worship service will be a time to embrace inclusivity, celebrate diversity, and uplift all transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse people. All are welcome!

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!

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns, the Church's "Marshmallow Peeps," are the traditional treat for Good Friday, Click here to read all about hot cross buns! Many recipes are available simply by googling, but this recipe from the King Arthur Flour Blog gives detailed photographs demonstrating the process, and does this one from Pioneer Woman.