St. Philip Lutheran Church

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.

I am not quite sure this is true, but the pastors and church council want the congregation to be aware that starting mid-January, the three exterior entrances to the St. Philip facility will be re-keyed Since our building was constructed in 1993 the locks have remained the same. Over the years, one of the growing ministries at St. Philip has been opening our facilities to church members, ministry groups, and local non-profit organizations. We very much want that ministry of hospitality to continue.

Once locks are changed, entrance into the building will happen through the side doors where a coded box will have a non-duplicatable master key to get into St. Philip. Any member of St. Philip who would like the code will be able to get that from Laura, office administrator in the church office. Additionally, one-time users of the building will be provided a temporary code for entrance during their event. With this change we hope to have a bit of reset after years of keys being issued and not returned as well as simplifying procedures for all the folks who count on St. Philip for space for ministry.

PLEASE NOTE: AFTER THE NEW LOCKS ARE INSTALLED YOUR CURRENT ST. PHILIP KEY WILL NOT WORK ON EXTERIOR DOORS. The building key will continue to work on interior doors for now.

The congregation at St. Philip is a community who wants to Live Like That (live like Christ).  Jesus ministry was always about reaching out. We want to do that at St. Philip, too. Starting in March, we plan to serve and host a lunchtime meal for the neighborhood surrounding us. Everyone is invited, but the plan is to particularly reach out to people who work and live close by.

Mostly, this time is designed to be a time to be together. To hang out and hear stories. To connect with people around us.  To be a part of the neighborhood. No agenda – no expectation, simply being with one another.

If you have questions or would like to be a part of planning for Community Café speak to the anyone on the organizing team – Bev Stith, Mary Wingate, or Linda Duncan Rhodes.

Our mission together as disciples is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. Pastor David and I are so excited to launch a new ministry at St. Philip to do just that! On Wednesday, January 8 at 7pm, we are going to launch the Open Doors Digital service.

The digital worship service will be recording of the Sunday worship service in an interactive online format. Pastor David and I will host a chat for faith conversation and answer prayer requests as viewers converse and worship together. This ministry is specifically intended for those who are not yet a part of the St. Philip community, but All are welcome to join. The service can be accessed at

https://stphiliplutheran.churchonline.org