It is a great blessing to have so many members involved in the upkeep of our graveyard. Thank you to all who have expressed the interest and desire to help maintain and clean up this sacred space.

YARD BAGS TAKEN CURBSIDE TO ELIZABETH ST.
NO PRUNING WITHOUT APPROVAL
NO BLEACH

Beautify the Yard Day gatherings are hosted the third weekend of each month in 2020. Sign up for Beautify the Yard Days here. You are invited to join the group to help beautify and maintain the churchyard on those Saturday mornings or Sunday afternoons, but you are welcome to weed or rake leaves in the graveyard any day of the week. We have a large graveyard with many deciduous trees, so there are always leaves to rake, paths to weed, and a side yard to mow. Feel free to bring a rake and some leaf bags (or stop by the church office to be directed to equipment), but note that leaf bags need to be brought curbside around to the sidewalk along the wall on Elizabeth Street.

The Graveyard Task Force has asked that any pruning be cleared by Jennie Harding or Sue Henderson.

Flowering trees and shrubs should only be pruned immediately after blooms fall.
Camellias should rarely be pruned.
Hydrangeas, Cassia, tea olive, boxwood and azaleas can be pruned, but care should be taken not to remove blooms that are “set”. The rule of thumb for hydrangeas: they may be cut from April to August.

Also, please be mindful not to use bleach if cleaning headstones. We recommend D/2 Biological Solution, a cleaner that will not harm the stones nor the plants nearby--though some of the lichens and mosses can kill surrounding grass and plants as they die off the stone. D/2 cleans the stone from the outside in and will continue cleaning for up to a year.

D/2 can be used on all wood, stone, masonry, metal, vinyl, and roofing surfaces to safely resolve the problem of staining and soiling, which contribute significantly to the degradation and disfiguring of structures. D/2 is what is used to clean the Statue of Liberty and Arlington Cemetery!

There is a “No Scrub/No Rinse Method” and an “Immediate Results Method” for D/2 which can be employed as need be. Details can be found here.

For more information on helping around the church property, please contact Rob McCready or the church office.

Greetings, Second Family! Hope you are all having a wonderful fall.

In the last 6 years that I've been at Second Presbyterian, I've made many great memories serving the Lord with others. Just a few months after Boeing moved me to Charleston, I started participating in Bible Studies, "Beautify the Yard" days, and since 2017, I've served as an Elder on the Second Presbyterian Session. I have a busy life full of travel and work, but in all the places I've lived and all the places I've seen, I carry the memories of the people I've worked joyfully side by side with at church. In between all my crazy travel for work (300+ days and counting), I get to build memories like these with this Church and this community. They are my treasure.

While the fellowship around the coffeemaker or the potluck dinner is wonderful, I truly think there is something special about the more difficult work we do for the Kingdom. My memories of "Beautify the Yard" and the challenges we've faced as a Session are special to me because of the work we've accomplished for the Church. There's a joy in the aftermath of sore limbs after a day in the yard or the tired mind after a long meeting. When we give more sacrificially we find more meaning and connection as a community. The satisfaction is even greater when even more of us come together for a great task. I specifically cherish one of the more significant days in the yard with dozens of people, including children and families. It was a special day.

For these greater challenges (and greater memories) we can only reach our goals if we act – and act together. I would encourage all of you to think on what more you could do to support Second Presbyterian Church this Stewardship season. You don't have to start big … but remember, the more you put in to this community, the more we can all grow in it. I encourage you to find your treasure.