November is Thornwell Emphasis Month

In 1875, Presbyterian minister William Plumer Jacobs opened Thornwell Orphanage to ten children. Now, although children who need a loving home are still welcome there in Clinton, Thornwell is known throughout South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida as a source for training foster parents and working with and helping to heal families in need of support.

Family changes everything in a child’s life, and Thornwell addresses the welfare of children not as a singular event, but rather as a comprehensive, ongoing cycle of services and support designed to help children and families, no matter what stage of life they’re in.

Our offering for Thornwell will be given in the service on November 19, 2023, and your gifts are welcome online now and through the end of the month.

What Thornwell Does to Help Children and Families

Foster Care – We help place children who have no relatives to care for them with loving families who can provide the security and shelter of a stable home.

Residential Care – We provide a safe family-like home setting where children can recover from trauma and disruptions while their families cope with crisis. The new legal realities mean that big changes have come to Thornwell, but we remain committed to providing residential care for children and families in need.

Child Development Services – We provide nurturing care and educational support to children and families, including pregnant and teen moms, to support healthy futures for kids.

Academic Services – We provide essential education support that addresses distinct learning gaps and provides personalized learning for children and families in need.

Family Engagement – We offer several highly-personalized programs to teach parents important skills and coping tools that help them build a stable family and strengthen it over time through love and support.

Transitional Living Services – We help young people on the verge of adulthood adjust to an independent life outside the foster care system, with housing, life skills training, advanced education support, and workforce preparedness resources.

November is when we at Second Presbyterian remember Thornwell through a special offering. Please give to support this mission.

Pentecost Offering 2022

Pentecost Offering June 5 | Give online today

investing in our greatest resource

Help youth begin life with a solid foundation of faith.

Psalm 71 testifies that a foundation of faith established during childhood helps ensure lifelong faith and service. The patterns and lessons established during these formative years continue to bear fruit throughout a person's life. By receiving the Pentecost Offering, you are nurturing the faith of those who are the church to come —  children, youth, and young adults.

A gift to the Pentecost Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. 40% of the Pentecost offering can be retained by individual congregations wanting to make an impact in the lives of young people within their own community. The remaining 60% is used to support children-at-risk, youth, and young adults through ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. This offering will be received on Pentecost Sunday, June 5.

Mother's Day Special Offering

Since 1954, Presbyterian churches in South Carolina have marked Mother’s Day with an offering to support the ministry of Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina to older adults. 

Presbyterian Communities operates six retirement communities across the state that hundreds of seniors call “home.” Each location provides a full range of accommodations and services from independent and active living to healthcare and memory support.  

Living at a Presbyterian Community, residents find everything they need to live life to its fullest.  They are empowered to “grow old,” and not just “get old.”

And yet, after years of living at their community, some will find their financial resources dwindling, perhaps due to a costly medical crisis or to extreme old age.

Thankfully, the Presbyterian churches who founded this ministry continue to sustain it, so that residents who have outlived their life’s savings can continue to call PCSC “home.” One way they do this is through the Mother’s Day Offering, which is used solely to provide charitable care for residents who can no longer pay for the full cost of their care.  

Because the cost of charitable care can run to $1.5 million or more, it is truly a blessing that generous Presbyterian churches and their members help to shelter and care for each and every one of these through the Mother’s Day Offering.

Please give generously – thank you!!!

November is Thornwell Emphasis Month

Thornwell’s mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect, build and reunite families, and support healthy communities in the name of Jesus Christ. Founded in 1875 in Clinton, South Carolina, by a Presbyterian minister to care for orphans from the civil war, Thornwell still cares for abused, neglected, and abandoned children, while also providing innovative ministries to strengthen families throughout Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Timothy was just 13 when he arrived at Thornwell, but he had already experienced more heartbreak than many will in a lifetime. Timothy witnessed his own father’s death. Before that, Timothy was placed in foster care with his sister when their mother went to jail. They were reunited, but only briefly, when he was placed in foster care again. He often cried inconsolably for hours. He needed the extra support that Thornwell could provide. His trauma affected his whole person. He walked on tiptoes because no one had ever taught him any other way. He used foul language regularly because that’s all he heard at home.

At Thornwell, Timothy lived in a loving family setting where he heard and learned acceptable language. He got the physical therapy he needed for walking properly and the emotional therapy for learning to calm himself. He also learned of God’s love for him.

In our own faith walk, let us remember Timothy’s journey from unimaginable suffering to faith and love, and give generously to Thornwell. The special offering will be given on November 21st, the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

Hands of Christ 2021 Update

Thank you for your support of Hands of Christ. The validated ministry of the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery has served over 60,000 children since 2003 with new school uniforms and school supplies at the start of the academic year. Second Presbyterian Church has been a part of the Hands of Christ team since 2016, serving as the downtown distribution site, where we’ve greeted hundreds of children and their families for two afternoons in early August. Due to the pandemic last year, the distribution became touchless, with schools submitting orders, which were in packed in bags by the Hands of Christ operations team then delivered by members of Second and First (Scots).

This year, as most children will not be vaccinated, we will again be using the same system; but we hope to expand our coverage to more schools. Hands of Christ could not exist without your help. Funding comes from donations, primarily from our member churches and individuals. Please join us in supporting this wonderful ministry through our special offering Sunday, July 25, 2021.

Stay tuned for more details later in the summer. We’ll need volunteers to pick up the bagged clothing and deliver it to schools in the downtown area. In addition, this fall Hands of Christ hopes to create a stronger partnership between our area churches and their schools in their communities. Last year, a great need for winter coats was identified. Other needs may include clothing for a school clothes closet, sweaters, shoes, belts, Bibles, grade-appropriate leisure reading books and hygiene supplies. Individual churches may hold drives for their local schools if they are able, and we may conduct Presbytery-wide collections for the items to supplement local efforts. 

Thank you in advance, and thank you for supporting the Hands of Christ offering on Sunday, July, 25, 2021.

Pentecost Offering

Pentecost Offering May 23 | Give online today

The Pentecost offering helps our youth begin life with a strong start—a solid foundation of faith formed in the first third of life, from childhood through young adulthood.

Each year on Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the church. The Holy Spirit remains with us still, connecting us with the church of the past, continuing to inspire the church of today, and pointing us to the church of the future. Each year, this celebration is marked by receiving the Pentecost Offering which nurtures the faith of those who are the church to come — children, youth, and young adults. Psalm 71 testifies that a foundation of faith established during childhood helps ensure lifelong faith and service. The patterns and lessons established during these formative years continue to bear fruit throughout a person’s life. By giving to the Pentecost Offering, your congregation participates in helping our children, youth, and young adults grow up to proclaim with the Psalmist, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.”

Mother's Day Special Offering

Since 1954, Presbyterian churches in our state have marked Mother’s Day with an offering to support the ministry to older adults that is provided by Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina.

PCSC operates six retirement communities which hundreds of seniors call “home.” As you can imagine, 2020 was difficult for Presbyterian Communities. The ever-changing regulations restricted visitation, and residents had to adapt to communicating digitally with their families. Thankfully, vaccinations were made available early to seniors, and the communities have begun to “open up” again for visitation.

Living at a Presbyterian Community, residents find everything they need to live life to its fullest. Each location provides a full range of accommodations and services including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Healthcare and Memory Support. Residents are empowered to “grow old,” and not just “get old.”

And yet, after years of living at their community, some will find their financial resources dwindling, perhaps due to a costly medical crisis or to extreme old age.

Thankfully, the Presbyterian churches who founded this ministry continue to sustain it. One way we do this is through the Mother’s Day Offering, which is used solely to provide charitable care for residents who have outlived their life’s savings.

It is truly a blessing that generous Presbyterian churches and their members help to shelter and care for each and every one of these through the Mother’s Day Offering.

On Mother’s Day, May 9, our congregation will continue this tradition of caring that touches the lives of these seniors in need. Because of your generosity, these folks will continue to call Presbyterian Communities “home,” and know that they are truly cared for and not forgotten.

You can give in the church service or online.

Christmas Joy Offering: Being Together

MINUTE FOR MISSION

Being Together

“Many hands make light work.”

“Teamwork makes the dream work.”

“If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.”

There are lots of ways to say it — but working together really does make bigger and better things possible.  And, lots of times, working together makes it more fun, too.  In fact, there are times made better just by our ability to be together, to be with one another.

That is something that really rings true, doesn’t it?  Being together. During these past months, many of us weren’t able to be together in person.  We have always been together in spirit, and in faith.  But we missed seeing each other.  We missed seeing faces we love — up close and personal.  But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been together.  And we definitely have not been alone.

There is a word that comes up a lot during this season we call Advent in the Church, and it points to the same sentiment, but about God: “Emmanuel.” Emmanuel means “God is with us,” and, in Jesus, we Christians claim that God took on human form to be with us. "God is with us” is more than just saying God is along for the ride. It states God values togetherness and relationship with us, leading us to value togetherness and relationship with one another.  When we are all together as we are today — and even when we are apart.

The Christmas Joy Offering is one way we join together as Presbyterians from around the country.  We do this to meet the needs of vulnerable people we might not be able to meet as individuals or as single congregations.  We might not be able to meet face to face with those who need the support that our gifts provide, but we are very much still together. 

The gifts we share connect us.  They also change lives.  Through the Christmas Joy Offering, we support church workers and their families who experience critical financial needs through help from the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions.  We connect with the young people attending Stillman College, Presbyterian Pan American School, and the Menaul School, supporting the education and leadership development for students of color, who will soon be leaders in our Church and in the world.

“God is with us.” All the time. During this season of Advent, as we approach Christmas, I can’t think of a more perfect gift than that.  Thank you for sharing those lessons and those truths, through your gift to the Christmas Joy Offering.

Please give generously, for “if we all do a little — together — it adds up to a lot.”

Let Us Pray ~

God, we are your Church, together. Because of your son Jesus, we are brought together to serve those who lead your Church but find themselves in need. And we are brought together with students at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color, who have the potential to lead your church and world in the future. In the name of the Christ, Emmanuel we pray, Amen.

God saw the great needs of the world and offered a perfect gift, Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we receive the perfect gift of God being with us, and of being with those in need—the gift of being together when we are near, and being together when we are apart.

The Christmas Joy Special Offering is an opportunity to join other Presbyterian churches throughout the country to support our PC(USA) leaders. Through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, our gifts honor the faithfulness of current and retired church workers in need. These generous actions bear witness to our response to Christ's charge to love one another.

Christmas Joy Offering: A Love Story

God saw the great needs of the world and offered a perfect gift, Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we receive the perfect gift of God being with us, and of being with those in need—the gift of being together when we are near, and being together when we are apart.

The Christmas Joy Special Offering is an opportunity to join other Presbyterian churches throughout the country to support our PC(USA) leaders. Through the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions, our gifts honor the faithfulness of current and retired church workers in need. These generous actions bear witness to our response to Christ's charge to love one another.

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MINUTE FOR MISSION

A LOVE STORY

Rev. Ken Tracy has spent much of his more than 30 years with the PC(USA) helping congregations work through conflict and revitalize their membership — a mission grounded in love.

If you have the opportunity to talk with Rev. Tracy for even a few minutes, it’s easy to understand why he would be really good at tackling difficult conversations and helping others heal — he laughs easily and has an infectious personality that quickly draws you in.

Along the way, he’s built a legacy of love and faith with a focus on ministry and service within the church. His wife Carol has been by his side throughout all these years.

His first call was at the Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, Presbyterian Church. He then went on to work within Boulder Presbytery, now known the Presbytery of Plains
and Peaks, and serve for seven years as the executive of Utah Presbytery and then as the pastor at St. James Presbyterian Church in Tarzana, California, following the Northridge earthquake in 1994 that damaged the St. James sanctuary. He went on to lead a congregation in the Alaskan village of Hydaburg, taking him and Carol to the smaller churches he loved to serve. It was in Alaska that Carol got very sick.

“We made three trips to Seattle to see doctors, and the shared grants handled by the Board of Pensions picked up 100 percent of our expenses,” he says. “They paid for our flights, hotel, meals, rental car, whatever we needed.”

The doctors discovered that Carol had significant damage to her lungs due to an exposure to black mold; so they turned again for help to the Board of Pensions, which is funded in part by the Christmas Joy Offering. Now they live in Monte Vista Grove Homes in Pasadena, a retirement community for retired pastors, church workers and missionaries. “Carol now lives in skilled nursing, and I live in independent living. Her room is about 30 feet from me,” Rev. Tracy explains. “I’d never heard of a shared

grant until I was the executive at the Utah Presbytery and a member needed some support. I didn’t realize then that years later it would also help my family.”

This is a love story. Not just about Ken and Carol’s love for each other and love for the mission they have served side by side for so many years, but also about God’s love and the love we show with our gifts. Half of the Christmas Joy Offering goes to the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions to help current and past church workers and their families in their time of need critical financial need. The other half supports education and leadership development at Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color.

Please give generously, for when we all do a little — it adds up to a lot.

Let Us Pray ~

In our passionate leaders,
we see the echo of your passionate love for us, O God.

Thank you for the gift they are, and receive our gifts
to support church leaders, past, present and future.

Amen

Thornwell Offering

November is when we at Second Presbyterian remember and support Thornwell. In 1875, Presbyterian minister William Plumer Jacobs opened Thornwell orphanage to ten children. Now, although children who need a loving home are still welcome there in Clinton, Thornwell is known throughout South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida as a source for training foster parents and working with and helping to heal troubled families.

Our offering for Thornwell will be given in the service on November 22nd, and your gifts are welcome online now and through the end of the month.

Find out more about how Thornwell helps children and families here.

Peace and Global Witness Special Offering

You can contribute now toward the Peace and Global Witness Special Offering. GIVE HERE (choose Peace and Global Witness from the drop down ‘fund’ options) or deliver your donations to the church office.

Building God’s Household of Peace, Together

Peacemaking is active not passive, doing not waiting.

Let’s let that sink in for a moment: peacemaking is active, not passive; doing, not waiting.

And this is A Season of Peace when we, the church together, are focused on seeking peace and reconciliation. Together we are building God’s house of peace where all are welcome, where all can find compassion, peace and justice.

We are the peacemakers.

Here in our community, we are working to eliminate racism. Our work is supported by your gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering. The portion of the offering that we retain will go to the Tywanza Sanders Legacy Foundation. These gifts also unite us with Presbyterian peacemakers across the country and the world who are also active, not passive; who are doing, not waiting.

In Baltimore, Maryland, the Hunting Ridge Presbyterian Church used their share of the offering to promote anti-violence programs in their schools.

The Central Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, used their share to send a delegate to the World Presbyterian Peace Fellowship in Colombia to participate in conversations about the progress of the peace accords in areas of the nation wracked by revolution.

The Presbytery of the Pacific supports efforts to bring about change for low-wage workers and other vulnerable community members in the Los Angeles area.

Our gifts to the Peace & Global Witness Offering have also been combined with others to help end the forced inscription of child soldiers, to end gender-based violence and violence against women, to seek peace through nuclear disarmament, to end hunger and promote peacemaking in places like Madagascar and Rwanda.

During this season of peace, we have heard stories about Presbyterians working together to support sustainable food programs in war-torn parts of Cameroon. We’ve heard about the establishment of a new worshiping community in a Washington prison and a program to provide education to prevent STDs and HIV/AIDS in one of the worst-struck regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

With our gifts we are part of all these efforts, whether they are right here in Charleston or in places we’ve never seen and maybe never will. But these are all places that have one thing in common —the need for freedom and dignity that Christ wants for us all. Let us offer the peace of Christ at all times, in all ways.

We are the peacemakers.

We are the church, together. We are peacemakers, together. We are the builders of God’s household of peace. Together. And when, together, we all do a little, it adds up to a lot. 

Let us pray~

Prince of peace, make us active in reconciliation as we seek to build your house. May your spirit join these gifts that all might be instruments of your peace. Amen. 

Hands of Christ 2020

Special Offering this Sunday for Hands of Christ

Thank you for your continued support of our effort as a Church to support the incredible Hands of Christ ministry in the Charleston community. This year may be even more important than ever. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are modifying our distribution to safeguard both our members and the children we serve. Rather than hosting the event at Second, we will be asked to deliver bags of pre-staged clothing to the downtown schools. Those schools will be submitting orders directly to Hands of Christ, which the team will stage at Westminster Church. We will need volunteers to pick up the clothing bags and deliver them to schools--and most importantly, we need the continued support of your donations during our special offering to allow us to serve as many children as we can during these difficult times.

You can donate toward the Special Offering for Hands of Christ today. You may send a check to the church or use the online donation tool and designate 'Hands of Christ'.

Pentecost Offering

BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

Rev. Dr. David Gambrell spends of plenty of time with young people. He is a father of two daughters, he volunteers to teach confirmation classes at Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky and he was one of the youth leaders who preached at the 2019 Presbyterian Youth Triennium. 

He says Triennium was quite an experience for him and shares: “Our kids need to know they are valued in this moment—their gifts, wisdom and experiences are important. They need to know that we take them seriously and honor them as members of Christ’s body, and that we want to learn from them even as they learn from us —right here, right now.” 

Pentecost Offering May 31st | Give online today

Being valued is something that Rev. Ashley Faul-Erwin can certainly affirm makes a big difference in embracing a life of faith and service. A native of Northern Ireland, Ashley was looking for ways to express herself and serve in a faith community. After some searching, she connected with a program at Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville through the Young Adult Volunteer program. Her experience as a Young Adult Volunteer was so profound that Ashley decided to attend seminary and now serves as the community outreach pastor at Setauket Presbyterian Church on Long Island. 

God’s youngest family members need support for developing their full potential in both faith and life, and all of us have a role to play. From projects like the churchwide Educate a Child, Transform the World national initiative to the Presbyterian Youth Triennium to tutoring and mentoring children in our own community—this is a mission that unites us as Presbyterians. Susan Byrne, a volunteer tutor at Willow Brook Elementary who attends First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, says, “Our immediate support of children is critical. If a person can get a good education, they have a chance to succeed in life, no matter where they come from.” 

And isn’t that what we all want? For our young folks to succeed in life? Our gifts to the Pentecost Offering support many programs for both children at risk and youth and young adults and are a testament to our commitment. And as a shared offering, our gifts also support countless programs in communities and congregations like ours. Here at Second Presbyterian, we hope to use our share of the offering when we are able to have our Vacation Bible School. David says,“We tend to say something like ‘we’re investing in the future because the youth are the future of our church.’ But our youth already have gifts to give and important ways to serve and lead in the church.” 

Together, we are building a life of faith and building the household of God with our children, youth and young adults. And every building needs a strong foundation — a foundation in faith that begins right here, right now and is strong enough to last a lifetime. 

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Pentecost Offering May 31st

Nurturing the faith of those who are the church to come

A gift to the Pentecost Offering helps the church encourage, develop, and support its young people, and also address the needs of at-risk children. 40% of the Pentecost offering can be retained by our congregation to make an impact in the lives of young people within our own community. The remaining 60% is used to support children-at-risk, youth, and young adults through ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.

Mother's Day Offering

On Sunday May 10th, our congregation will join other Presbyterian churches throughout South Carolina in the Mother's Day Offering in support of Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina. The mission of PCSC is simply this: "We are a compassionate Christian ministry dedicated to enriching the quality of life for seniors of all faiths.”

More than six decades ago, Presbyterian churches in South Carolina responded to the need of its older members for retirement living by opening the Presbyterian Home in Summerville. Today, Presbyterian Communities operates six retirement communities across the state that more than 950 seniors call "home."

Living at a Presbyterian Community, residents find fellowship, intellectual stimulation, opportunities for physical fitness, and spiritual growth. They also find a caring staff that provides assistance when health needs arise.

It is inevitable that, after years of living with Presbyterian Communities, some residents will find their financial resources dwindling. What happens then? Thankfully, the Presbyterian churches in this state continue to stand by those residents.

One of the most visible and important ways we do this is through the the Mother's Day Offering. Collected each year, this offering is used solely to provide charitable care to those who have outlived their life's savings.

This offering stands as a witness that Presbyterian churches and their members are not content merely with founding Presbyterian Communities. Rather, they continue to embrace this ministry to older adults as their own and witness to God's love for its residents.

On Mother's Day, May 10th, our congregation will continue this tradition of caring through the Mother's Day Offering. Please give generously. Your gift directly touches the lives of those needing financial assistance, assuring them that they can continue to call Presbyterian Communities " home."

PEACE & GLOBAL WITNESS OFFERING

Special Offering

The Peace & Global Witness Offering encourages the church to cast off anxiety and fear, discord and division, and embrace our reconciling God's mission to those around the corner and around the world.

Please give generously toward this special offering on Sunday or online (include description: Peace). This special offering will be taken up in the service on Sunday, October 6, 2019.

25% of the offering stays in this congregation to use in a local reconciliation program, this year to the Tywanza Sanders Legacy Foundation for college scholarships. These are awarded in part by the applicant's commitment to use his or her education "in improving race relations and dissolving racial barriers".

25% is used in our presbytery. For example, in January a group will travel to Allendale for a day of service in a Headstart program.

50% supports the work for peace and reconciliation being done by Presbyterians across the globe. Mission Co-workers, like our own Leisa Wagstaff, are working with peacemakers in countries torn by war. Her recent newsletter told of the work with rehabilitating former child soldiers.

Each year, the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations facilitates PC(USA) involvement in the UN Commission on the Status of Women, helping shape global standards on the empowerment of women, working to prevent gender-based violence.

Please give generously to the offering. "When we all give a little, it adds up to a lot."