The sermon and children’s sermon are posted here. Scroll to the bottom for sermon notes.
THE KUMBAYA CHRIST - Pastor Cress delivers a message for the week of June 14th
Stay home, stay healthy and let’s flatten the curve! Sermon videos will be posted online for 10:30 a.m. on Sundays as we worship together from home.
A sermon discussion will be posted on Tuesday and we would love for you to join the conversation. Yes, we really want you to ask questions!
SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, June 14, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ –
You know I am one of the guilty ones. Guilty of what you ask? Or what now? Well, I have been guilty of denigrating a camp song that I think I understand now. It doesn’t mean that I’ll find it any easier to sing, but I’ll forever be more charitable. It's a song for these times, a song for this time.
The song is "Kum ba Yah". It has been ridiculed, held up and laughed at in corn chip commercials. But I think that I, among many, have missed the point of the song.
Most research points to its origin from the beginning of the last century. And some believe that may have originated in Africa or off the coast of South Carolina, as it was known to be sung in the Gullah culture, but what is important is what it says. And it seems to come from a deep need, a longing, a yearning for deliverance, for relief or release. “Lord, come by here”, it says – and why? Because there is someone in distress, someone cryin’, someone dyin’, someone moanin’, maybe someone singin’ but it grew from the recognition that we weren’t, that we aren’t sufficient, we aren’t enough for right now. And so we pray, “Jesus – come by here, come now, come, Jesus come."
Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information.
A COVID-19 Task Force has been formed to explore and coordinate reopening our church to in-person worship. We understand that these are stressful and fearful times and we wish to come together in Jesus’ Spirit, to care for one another, especially those of our flock who are most vulnerable. It is our charge as Christians to love and care for one another and for our community. We do not plan to restart in-person worship services in the sanctuary in the immediate future. We do, however, want to begin the process of evaluating the best possible time for that to occur.
Please fill out the survey, adapted from LifeWay Research, to help identify risk and to explore how we can best move forward with reopening our church. We appreciate your participation.
COVID-19 Task Force,
Katie Mai (chair), Dr. Sallie Schuh, Julia Harlow, Gary Jaffe, Felicia Sanders and Dan Tenpas
Read the full letter from the Task Force here →
Send in your questions!
A sermon discussion will be posted each Tuesday and we would love for you to join the conversation. Yes, we really want you to ask questions!
Did you know that the word "sermon" comes from a Latin word "sermo," which means "discourse" and "conversation"? You can ask your questions here anonymously and they will be answered during the Tuesday sermon discussion post. Please send in any questions you have after you watch the sermon this week. Check out last week's response here →
MUSC's Psychiatry Unit has reached out offering ways to help pregnant women and new moms right here in Charleston. They are collecting donations for the women in our community to help with mental health care, child care and provide support for young child education.
Find out specific ways to help here. →
One80 Place is in need of volunteers! If you are healthy and able, please sign up and help serve those who need us most right now!
Sign up here: one80place.volunteerhub.com/
Or donate to meet their "need of the week".
Wish list: one80place.org/wish-list/
Find it on Amazon: bit.ly/Wish-List-One80
Find it at Walmart: bit.ly/2NSDx7O
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is in contact with partners in Guatemala and El Salvador offering assistance after Tropical Storm Amanda. Please join us in praying for the affected communities.
To support PDA’s response, designate gifts to DR000139. bit.ly/DR000139
CHURCH-WIDE TAG SALE
The church is going to have a tag sale in mid-August, so now is a good time- you might even say a great time- to purge, clean out, get rid of, or to just empty out some of the things around your house and yard. If you have a storage unit you haven’t visited in a while, now might be the time to clean it out too. You can start getting your stuff together and we'll let you know when collection begins. Clean out those closets, basements, attics, and garages. We will need lots of volunteers when the time comes but more info will be coming soon. Any questions please contact Dawn McCready by email or at 203-921-7819.
Please text the number 81010 with the message '@2pcchurch' to sign up for church text messages so that you are made aware of pertinent announcements and church-related news. If you didn't receive a text this week regarding the fire, then you aren't yet signed up! Please take a moment to sign up right now so that you're connected in the future. Please contact Jordyn or Sarah if you need help signing up.
SUPPORT YOUR CHURCH WHILE YOU PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING! Many of us are ordering online right now and you can support Second Pres any time you shop on Amazon! Choose to support “Second Presbyterian Church” at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will automatically donate to Second Presbyterian with each purchase you make. Remember to check out and place your final order via smile.amazon.com (and not the app) each time you shop to activate the donations.
The bell tower was struck by lightning the afternoon of Sunday, April 19, 2020. The Steeple Fund campaign for the current renovation continues and, considering the damage from the fire, the need to raise money is now even greater.
Help us bring the Second Church tower back to its former glory, so it can continue to be a beacon for Charleston. Donate today to the Steeple Fund.
Bell tower progress updates (and lots of photos) can be found here.