As Disciples
The Sunday service is posted below. Scroll to the bottom for sermon notes.
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Pastor Cress delivers a message for the week of June 21st.
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 21, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ –
Today is the 19th of June, just two days after the 5th anniversary of what was intended to be the beginning of a race war, instigated by a young man who was welcomed into a bible study and as the people closed their eyes to pray, began killing mercilessly, randomly, demonically.
How do we describe or comprehend such hate, such evil? Families decimated, dreams lost, trust ruptured, yet, his purpose to start a race war foiled.
A dialogue began to address …what? Systemic racism? Leaky gun laws? Human depravity?
And yet, laws remain in place. Efforts to change relationships and culture have stalled. Dialogue has dissipated.
It has been said that violence against men and women of color has intensified – the reality is it’s just now it’s being filmed.
The issues are complex as we look at 400 years of denied access to education, property, credit, safety, respect, dignity, justice. And now we see the eyes of racism gaze on brown skin, Asian eyes, and native reservations.
Today is Juneteenth – the day that news of the Emancipation hit the shores of Texas and we are still in the morass.
Last Sunday I prayed that Jesus would ‘Kum ba yah’- Jesus, come by here.
This Sunday Matthew describes Jesus sending his ‘people’ out, without weapons, without credit cards, without Siri, to touch and to heal, to forgive and to proclaim. And we are sent, too! We are to move through our disappointment, our distaste and our denial to be Jesus’s agents to show that we are his by our love that is radical, and universal, and unconditional and fearless, as is God’s. We won’t, we dare not refuse to love, but we will stand and act in the righteousness of our radical Savior.
We will be shown the way by God’s Spirit. We will stand on God’s promises. We will be repairers of the breach.
Second Church is positioned to do this. We are called to accept this assignment. God’s Spirit will be our strength, our protection and our guide.
In Christ -
Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information.
The Second Pres COVID-19 Task force met via Zoom this week.
While COVID-19 deaths are not increasing in our area, hospitalizations are increasing and confirmed cases have tripled in the past three weeks. Requirements by the Insurance Board state that in order to move to stage one, cases must be in a downward trend for 14 consecutive days. Therefore, we cannot move forward with reopening for worship services at this time and data indicates 4-6 week minimum before we could consider returning to church, but church services will continue online at www.2ndpc.org.
Thank you to all who participated in the survey. While there is much to be considered and determinations are yet to be presented to session, the survey helps to assess the needs of the congregation.
Read the Full Task Force update including survey results 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 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 →
The Young Adults Zoom get-together on Friday night was a lot of fun! Thanks for all those who showed up and I hope we see you next time if we missed you.
Is your church group continuing to meet in creative and safe ways right now? Please let Jordyn know so that we can get the word out!
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
Lee Pringle, founder of the Charleston Gospel Choir that makes its home here at Second Presbyterian and sings twice yearly in our services, is also the founder of the Colour of Music Festival. Based in Charleston and organized in 2013, the Colour of Music Festival has brought international, national, and regional classically trained black musicians of African descent to share their musical talents, knowledge, and inspiration to concert and performance halls across the U.S.
The Festival has decided to re-release the yellow 2017 poster as it has become a symbol of national solidarity and togetherness.
Resistance, solidarity, and togetherness is the context for the artist’s use of a five-string violin and a fist, a symbol of black resistance, that commemorated the Festival’s fifth anniversary.
Posters and new t-shirts are available in the shop at colourofmusic.org, where you can also view their George Floyd Memorial montage video.
Find more information about the poster and artists here →
Concert for Equality
What: Call and Response: A Concert for Equality
When: 7:30 p.m. on June 19
Where: Live stream. Visit www.CharlestonSymphony.org to watch
The Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will present a special program, “Call and Response: A Concert for Equality,” to leverage the power of music and the spoken word to promote unity, love and understanding.
Find out more here →
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.