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Ministries

Anti-Scamming Seminar

In recent years, there has been an unfortunate increase in scamming attempts. It is important to understand what these scams can look like and how to avoid becoming a victim of scams. On February 15 from 12pm-3pm for a seminar and light lunch will be will be hosted by the League of Older Americans and St. Philip Lutheran. Lunch will be provided through a Thrivent Action Team. Please RSVP for this free event to the church office by February 9. All are welcome to join – invite your friends and neighbors so that we can all be better equipped.

Categories
News

Open Doors – Digital Worship Experience

Open Doors has lift off! On January 8 St. Philip launched an interactive digital worship experience. It was a grand experience both for us as hosts and those who participated. One participant was a neighbor close by whose church home is some distance away. We were reminded of the incredible accessibility of this format.

Our mission together as disciples is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. The digital worship service is a recording of our Sunday worship service in an online interactive online format. Pastor Laura and Pastor David will host a chat for faith conversation and answer prayer requests as viewers converse and worship together.

Research suggests that a significant portion of the population is either apathetic to Christianity and practices of faith or even distrustful about conversation with people of faith about the faith.

YOU CAN HELP! We very much want to explore every avenue possible to publicize Open Doors. You can share the Facebook Event that communicates the next service. You can direct co-workers or acquaintances who are not quite sure about church or Christianity by directing them to the St. Philip website. You can send an email with the link below and an invitation to come and see. The service can be accessed at https://stphiliplutheran.churchonline.org

Categories
Newsletter

The Growing Community at St. Philip

As a community of faith active in ministry, we expect to worship with zeal, serve the world with gladness, proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus, and grow in faith. We also expect for our community to grow. Knowing that God is moving in and through St. Philip we excitedly look forward to Sunday, February 23 (Also Anniversary Sunday), as we officially receive new members to this congregation.

You are a part of a growing community. Share your faith with someone you know. Tell someone about the ministry that you are passionate about. Invite someone to worship.  God’s Spirit is moving through you.

If you are interested in joining the congregation at St. Philip please speak with Pastor Laura or Pastor David.

Categories
News

Church Council News – January 2020

Council met on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the church library.

Peter Shick, Treasurer, distributed the Treasurer’s report for month ending December 31, 2019. The Treasurer’s report showed receipts for month ending December 31, 2019 of $23,115.22 and our year to date budget under $5,478.34.  Mr Shick stated we had more expenses for maintenance and repairs in the month of December.

Council continues to work on the proposed changes to the endowment policy, the guidelines and application to help process a request for donations.

Council discussed staff compensation for 2020 to include cost of living increase, step increase and merit increase. Gary Sahm, Council President, Gary Dudley, and Doug Layman will meet to discuss these increases for the staff and make recommendations to council at the next meeting.

Pastor David submitted to Council a Staff Evaluation Form he will use for yearly staff performance reviews. Pastor David and Pastor Laura will complete the form in June and submit to Council for their review in July.

Upcoming events are as follows:

Winterfest will be held on January 18, 2020. Children and family activities will be from 2-4 pm with the chili cookoff form 5-7 pm for all.

Open book hosted by Sue Huntington is on January 25, 2020, from 6-8 pm with a potluck meal. The book discussion will be on “Braving the Wilderness” by Brene Brown.

An anti-scamming seminar will be held on February 15, 2020 from noon until 3 pm.

A three part “Celebrate My Life” seminar will be held on March 1, March 15 and March 29, 2020.

Council discussed appointments to the nominating committee as new council members will be elected in April to replace those who have completed their term.

Pastor Laura reported the digital Open Door Worship was a success.

Pastor Laura will attend Winter Celebration with the senior high youth on January 25, 2020.

Pastor David will be out of the office February 2 through February 6, 2020. Pastor Laura will also be out of the office for a retreat but can be reached by phone.

B&D Locks will rekey the locks on the church doors and install a box with a passcode near the door at the kitchen to be used to enter the church on January 20 2020. Keys will be limited to church staff. Members of the congregation with a key will still be able to use their key inside the church to unlock the office and closets when needed. The passcode will be given to members of the congregation by speaking to one of the Pastors or Laura Latham, Office Administrator. A log will be kept as to whom the passcode has been given.

The next council meeting is February 11, 2020 in the church library.

Categories
Newsletter

St. Philip Church Calendar

Did you know St. Philip has an online calendar? All events and room reservations can be found on the calendar, as well as St. Philip Preschool happenings. This is an excellent way to keep up with what’s going on at St. Philip and when the building is available for your events or needs. Because ministry is thriving at St. Philip and part of the outreach of the church is to allow outside groups a space to meet, the building is often alive with activity. For example, a group that offers chair yoga to anyone in the community meets in the fellowship hall on Thursday afternoons at 3:00pm. Not only does the preschool occupy the four classrooms weekday mornings, it also uses the fellowship hall each weekday from 8:30 to 9:15am and 10am to 11:00am on bad weather days.

Because the church calendar is kept on Google, it can be added to your own Google calendar to keep it right at your fingertips. To add the church’s calendar to your own:

· On your computer, open Google Calendar.

· On the left, next to “Other calendars,” click AddFrom URL.

· Enter the calendar’s address in the field provided. The St. Philip calendar address is https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/officeadmin%40stphiliplutheran.net/public/basic.ics

· Click Add calendar. The calendar will appear on the left side under “Other calendars.”

It might take up to 12 hours for changes to show in your Google Calendar.

St. Philip’s calendar can also be found on the church website at www.stphiliplutheran.net/calendar.

Categories
Newsletter

Live Like †hat: Love, Feed, Serve

Love, Feed, Serve is not slogan; it is mission, it is purpose, and it is identity. St. Philip is an active community of faith, compelled by God’s grand gift of love to share that same love with others. As we move into the year 2020 there will be new opportunities, new ministries, new challenges, new possibilities and all that new stuff should be greeted with faith and hopefulness. In the coming weeks all kinds of new will start to take shape.

Even as pastors and staff, step willingly into the “what’s next”, we want to continually give thanks for what has been. Thank you for your generous hearts! The pastors, along with church council, wanted to give thanks. Your financial generosity for our mission together at St. Philip is appreciated, essential, and inspiring. St. Philip finished 2019 with receipts exceeding giving last year by $9000! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

God’s Spirit moves as we were blessed to receive 26 new members to join in living out God’s mission in this community. This past year was so exciting in many ways:

· Called full time Pastor Laura to serve alongside us with faithfulness, energy, passion, and innovation.

· Rejuvenated faith formation for people of all ages.

· Expanded community partnerships for Feast at Philips.

· Bible study can now be accessed via video conference

· New liturgies shaping worship.

· New online worship experiences and platforms.

· New partnerships for community ministries

We can be bold to Live, Like, †hat. Your St. Philip council is committed to continue to be faithful with the resources entrusted to this congregation. Please keep being faithful. Please keep being generous. God’s got us so that we can – Live Like †hat.

Categories
Ministries

Souper Bowl of Caring 2020

Please remember to donate food and toiletries or make monetary donations at worship on February 2. All food/toiletries will be given to St. Mark’s Food Pantry and funds will go to Feeding America Southwest Virginia.
Categories
Congregational Life Youth Ministry

Fat Tuesday Steak Dinner Tuesday, February 25, 5:30-7:30pm

Come enjoy a steak dinner with baked potato, green beans, fresh bread, and fine desserts. You can even choose to begin with a bowl of gumbo. But the best part is gracious pampering and service provided by our youth. Our youth will greet you at the front door, hang up your coat, seat you in the dining area, get your drink order, and find out how you want your steak fixed – all while you relax.

This event is not only a great time to catch up with members of St. Philip, but it is also a great time to invite someone to enjoy some great hospitality at your church (then be sure to invite them back for Ash Wednesday services the next evening). Tickets are available from any St. Philip youth.

This is an important fundraiser for the youth group so they can attend youth retreats for all ages. Tickets are available from Eventbrite and are $15 in advance/$18 the night of for adults, and $3 in advance/$6 the night of, for a kids hot dog meal. Add a bowl of gumbo to your meal for an extra $2. Yum!

Categories
Worship Assistants

February 2020 Worship Servers

Categories
Newsletter

St. Philip Invitation – February 2020