Category: News
Greetings St. Philippians:
After new recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) encouraging both vaccinated, as well as unvaccinated persons, to resume wearing masks indoors in public places, St. Philip Church Council voted to reinstate the expectation of wearing masks indoors at St. Philip, beginning this Sunday, August 15. This decision was made in consultation with our regional health officials, advice from doctors, and in caring discernment of how God is calling us to love and serve the community.
We continue to pray for the health, safety, and care for the community; our congregational community, our neighborhood community, and our global community. As always, connect and worship in the way that is best for you! We are called together to Live Like That (Christ): loving, feeding, and serving.
In God’s care,
Pastor David and Pastor Laura
The Stewardship Team and the pastors invite you to read this article about stewardship and the spiritual act of Giving to God. Once you have read this article, comment below your thoughts so the congregation might have shared conversation about the joy of giving.
Categories
Holy Week 2021 Schedule
Categories
St. Philip Invitation – January 2021
Categories
St. Philip Invitation – December 2020
Categories
Postponement of Indoor Worship
Dear beloved St. Philippians:
We are writing to inform you that at the November 10 meeting of the St. Philip Church Council, the leadership body voted to postpone a return to indoor worship.
This decision was not made lightly, as numerous communications have already gone out and preparations had been made for the planned November 15 return date. Unfortunately, since council met and approved the November 15 plan at the October meeting, the coronavirus situation in our Roanoke area has changed. Roanoke and much of Southwest Virginia are now “hot spots,” and our local positivity rates are now running between 10-12%. Roanoke Memorial Hospital has its highest numbers of Covid19 patients yet and now has two floors dedicated to treating Covid patients.
This was a weighty decision. Council is aware that every single one of us longs to be back to worshipping in the sanctuary. We are certainly all feeling the frustration, fatigue, and sadness of not being able to gather in our traditional ways. But, we are called to care for our St. Philip community and our neighborhood community and gathering in groups in an enclosed space, even briefly, risks those we love. Again, this decision was not made lightly. We – your pastors and your church council – very much miss worshipping as we did prior to this pandemic season. We miss you and eagerly await the time when we can gather again!
As has been the case throughout the pandemic, remember always that we continue to be a community of faith. Our mission has not and does not stop – we will always seek to Live Like That, like Jesus, as we love, feed, and serve. At this time, we plan to continue to worship in creative ways using our online resources and conference calls, as well drive-up options. While worship brings us much comfort and joy, worship is primarily about God, who is the audience. So while worshipping in these formats may not be our preference, we are indeed still giving thanks and praise to God. If you have not yet connected with the worship options available, we do encourage you to do so.
As we continue through this season, feelings of isolation and loneliness are so prevalent. We all very much need each other and ask you to connect with one another. The St. Philip family is such a gift and we encourage you to check in with one another. We, your pastors, also want to connect with you and encourage you to connect with us. Most importantly, as challenges and disappointments are prevalent, remember always you are not alone. Nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
In God’s Promise,
Pastor David and Pastor Laura
Dear Fellow St. Philippians:
This letter is to inform you of a Congregational Meeting, which Council has schedule for Sunday, September 27, after the 9:30AM “parking lot” worship service.
The meeting will take place in the parking lot.
The purpose of this meeting is to vote on Council’s recommendation for changes to the St. Philips Constitution. This will be the sole item on the agenda, and approval of the recommendation will require a majority of the voters present at this meeting.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that we have a quorum present for this meeting, so PLEASE make every effort to attend.
The changes being proposed are mostly to align our Constitution with the Congregational Constitution currently in effect in the Virginia Synod of the ELCA. The Virginia Synod Constitution has had seven (7) updates since St. Philip last updated its Constitution in April 2013, so we need to get current. The most important provision in the update to us right now would allow St. Philip to conduct Congregational Voter meetings digitally, without having an “in person” gathering. The lack of this provision in our Constitution is beginning to hamper Council’s ability to effectively manage the affairs of our congregation.
It is NOT Council’s intent to adopt digital voter’s meetings as a preferred practice. I think most would agree that in-person gatherings remain the preferred practice because it allows effective communication and important exchanges of ideas and viewpoints in a meeting. However, we have learned that the ability to conduct a digital voter’s meeting is indeed an important option to insure effective management of congregational business in extreme circumstances.
A copy of the recommended updates can be found below. Please review prior to our meeting on the 27.
God’s Peace to all of you,
Gary Sahm, Council President