Good Friday 2021
Find all Holy Week services here.
Greetings
Online Church is posted on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Watch here.
Find upcoming events and announcements here.
SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, April 4, 2021
Dear Friends in Christ –
We have taken this Lenten season to accompany Jesus in his final days.
What have we learned?
That Jesus in his humanity is far more interesting, more competent, more radical, more intentional than we may have thought. Would the forces he opposed have killed him eventually? Probably, but we have seen Jesus leverage relationships and time to fulfill ancient prophecy, and to insure that this disruption in time would accomplish what needed to be done.
The longed-for Messiah arrives in the Holy City at Passover to liberate God’s people from navel gazing to radical inclusivity. We employ the Gospel of Matthew. The earth quakes. Roman guards are stunned. An angelic presence reminds us that Jesus has plans and we’ll find his resurrected self in Galilee, just as he said.
This Easter we’re open – to worship together, masked up and safely spaced. Invite your friends and let’s worship our God of righteousness, paradox and love.
Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information.
Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.
Source: sermons
Maundy Thursday 2021
Find all Holy Week services here.
MAUNDY THURSDAY
Communion Service Thursday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m.
“What Love Looks Like -Bellies Full & Feet Clean”
John 13:33-35
Easter is a time when we have enjoyed record participation in our Sunday service as well as our highest giving during the offering. Please consider giving cheerfully and generously this joyous season, whether in person, online, or by mail.
“Meeting people at their point of need and inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ.”
Volunteer Opportunities - April 2021
CLICK ON VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION
Lenten Devotional: To Be Patient and Wait for the Lord
This Lenten season, let us answer the call to slow down, dwell in stillness, breathe deeply in the silence so we might listen and hear what God is whispering into our hearts.
To Be Patient and Wait for the Lord
It is hard to believe that we have already made it to Holy Week. Easter is coming upon us quickly, and yet, there is still so much that must happen before we celebrate a tomb empty and our Lord risen. The seasons of the liturgical year teach us a rhythm in which we can live our lives. Most of the seasons, I have found, urge us to slow down, sit still, be patient and wait for the Lord. I believe Holy Week is a special invitation to sit and wait for the Lord.
There is something powerful about sitting in the discomfort of Holy Week. Throughout the Lenten season, Rev. Darwin’s sermon series has guided us through Jesus’ final days and we have been practicing sitting with and learning from that journey alongside our Savior. I often think about the disciples and how scary, jarring, and heartbreaking the last few days must have been. Especially when Jesus dies.
For the past few years, it has become an important practice for me, personally, to try and sit in that discomfort of grief and darkness of Good Friday and the uncomfortable unknown of Saturday. Because I have learned time and time again that when I sit in the grief, suffering, and darkness of my pain or others’ I can more truly and fully join in the celebration, the brightness, and the joy. Let us accept the invitation to be with Jesus on this journey this week so we might be able to truly celebrate when Easter Sunday arrives.
—Margaret Fleming
About the author
Margaret Fleming has been a member of Second Presbyterian Church since 2017. A native of Mt. Pleasant, she found herself back home after graduating from Columbia Theological Seminary in May 2020. She resides in Mt. Pleasant with her husband Will, a fourth-year medical student at MUSC. She is a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA and is currently serving as a Chaplain Resident at Roper Hospital.
Margaret's ordination service will be held on April 18, 2021 in the sanctuary.
“Meeting people at their point of need and inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ.”
Palm Sunday 2021
Find all Holy Week services here.
PALM SUNDAY
Virtual Palm Processional
Palm Sunday sermon: “The Beginning of the End”
Livestreamed Worship Service from Palm Sunday, March 28 at 10:30 a.m.
Easter is a time when we have enjoyed record participation in our Sunday service as well as our highest giving during the offering. Please consider giving cheerfully and generously this joyous season, whether in person, online, or by mail.
“Meeting people at their point of need and inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ.”
Bulletin- March 28
THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME
“Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ”
LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - Please fill out a contact card to assist with COVID-19 contact tracing and to let us know you worshiped with us in person today even if you are a member. If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.
INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Second Presbyterian is a church community where you will be known and nurtured. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here. Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here.
And get connected! Join a small group here. While we may be practicing social distancing these days, there are still ways to be involved and to offer your time, talents, and resources in service to others. Please reach out to our Director of Community and Communications Jordyn Pritchard to get connected.
The Beginning of the End
Online Church is posted on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Watch here.
Find upcoming events and announcements here.
SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, March 28, 2021
Dear Friends in Christ —
Throughout the season of Lent we’ve engaged Jesus’ Final Week, discovering a more complex man, intentional leader, and shaper of the narrative. We’ve discovered someone who kept the mission in sight and provoked authorities and created situations as necessary to accomplish the goal of defeating those forces that divide and separate us.
This Sunday we start at the beginning of the week. The Messiah enters the Holy City from the Mount of Olives on the back of a colt in fulfillment of prophecy. We’ll see that each parable, each turn, each visit, meal and conversation moves the needle to and through humiliation, ridicule, and torture to love’s triumph.
Don’t miss this chance to accompany the Lord of life through human horror to God’s defining moment.
Let us abide together with God in love —
Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information.
Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.
Source: sermons
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING - April 11, 2021
The Annual Meeting of the Congregation will be held this Sunday, April 11, 2021, following the 10:30 a.m. Worship Service to be followed by the Annual Meeting of the Church Corporation in compliance with the church’s by laws. The Nominating Committee will offer members to be elected for of the 2021 Nominating Committee and the 2021-2022 Corporation. The church budget will be presented having been approved by the Session and the Pastor’s Terms of Call will be offered for approval.
Slate of Nominees for the 2021 Nominating Team: Jessica Brock, Dominique German, Sarah Mitchell, Jordyn Pritchard, Nicole Schuerman, Debbie Smith, and Nathan Walker.
The 2021 Nominating Team is being put forward now by the 2020 Nominating Team based on the the officer recommendations forms submitted during the 2020 season. This election was postponed last spring by the Nominating Team considering the annual nature of these particular roles, unlike deacons and elders, in hopes that in-person meetings would be a safe option ahead of the 2021 nominating season. Officer recommendations for the Class of 2024 Deacons and Elders, and 2022 Nominating Team will open after the 2021 Nominating Team has been officially elected.
Holy Week 2021
Our usual Holy Week services will be offered in the sanctuary masked and socially distanced and also livestreamed. Join us as we journey to the cross together for services on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.
PALM SUNDAY: Worship Service Sunday, March 28 at 10:30 a.m. Watch the virtual palm processional here. Thanks to everyone who sent in photos and videos.
MAUNDY THURSDAY: Communion Service Thursday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m.
GOOD FRIDAY: Service of Tenebrae Friday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m.
EASTER: Festival Communion Service Sunday, April 4 at 10:30 a.m.
Easter is a time when we have enjoyed record participation in our Sunday service as well as our highest giving during the offering. Please consider giving cheerfully and generously this joyous season, whether in person, online, or by mail.
“Meeting people at their point of need and inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ.”
Lenten Devotional: Vulnerable Prayers
This Lenten season, let us answer the call to slow down, dwell in stillness, breathe deeply in the silence so we might listen and hear what God is whispering into our hearts.
Vulnerable Prayers
Becoming more human or allowing ourselves to get more fully in touch with our humanity has been a theme that has continuously been coming up for me in this season of Lent. Yesterday, I had the honor of preaching at Second and I preached on Mark 14:32-42, Jesus praying in Gethsemane, if it has been a while since you have read or heard this scripture, I urge you to give it another read.
In the text Jesus is wrestling with God and praying what I believe is an incredibly human prayer: “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want” (Mark 14:36). I know I have prayed a similar prayer and I wonder, have you? I find that this text brings me comfort for many reasons, one being that Jesus is so human here as are his very sleepy disciples. I can’t help but see this text as an invitation; an invitation to allow God into our messes, even the ones we create ourselves. I have hope that when we pray raw and vulnerable prayers, like Jesus did in the garden, God honors them, hears them, and is present with us as we offer them—even if God doesn’t necessarily answer them in the ways we think God ought to or in the ways we might want.
May we be renewed and strengthened by the love of God this week and always. May we take heart in knowing our Lord never falls asleep and is always awake. May we try and stay awake, but be willing to accept God’s grace when we inevitably fall asleep.
—Margaret Fleming
About the author
Margaret Fleming has been a member of Second Presbyterian Church since 2017. A native of Mt. Pleasant, she found herself back home after graduating from Columbia Theological Seminary in May 2020. She resides in Mt. Pleasant with her husband Will, a fourth-year medical student at MUSC. She is a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA and is currently serving as a Chaplain Resident at Roper Hospital.
Margaret's ordination service will be held on April 18, 2021 in the sanctuary.
“Meeting people at their point of need and inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ.”
Baroque Music Concert
Enjoy your Sunday afternoon with beautiful music on March 21, 4:00 pm.
Freewill offering in person or via Venmo @johnsamuelroper
Celebrate JS Bach’s 336th birthday live or virtually!
John Samuel Roper, flute, Tim O’Malley, viola da gamba, and our own Julia Harlow, harpsichord, will play a concert both in-person here at the church (masked, distanced) and live streamed here.
Composers include Michel Blavet (French, 18th c.), Anna Bon (a child prodigy of mid-18th c. Italy), Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Bulletin- March 21
THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE - ALL ARE WELCOME
“Meeting people at their point of need, Inviting all into a dynamic relationship with Christ”
LET US KNOW YOU WORSHIPED WITH US TODAY - Please fill out a contact card to assist with COVID-19 contact tracing and to let us know you worshiped with us in person today even if you are a member. If you’re a visitor, online or in person, and would like more information please feel free to fill out a card or email Pastor Cress.
INFORMATION & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Second Presbyterian is a church community where you will be known and nurtured. Have a prayer request? Please let us know here. Interested in joining Second? Find more about becoming a member here.
And get connected! Join a small group here. While we may be practicing social distancing these days, there are still ways to be involved and to offer your time, talents, and resources in service to others. Please reach out to our Director of Community and Communications Jordyn Pritchard to get connected.
A Pivotal Moment--Gethsemane
Online Church is posted on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Watch here.
Find upcoming events and announcements here.
SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, March 21, 2021
This Lenten season, we have been following Jesus throughout his final week. This Sunday we reach the Thursday of his final week and a lot happens. We will walk alongside Jesus as he prepares his disciples for what is to come—anointing, betrayal, denial, arrest, and death. Mark 14 is a chapter full of the events of Thursday and Mark 14:32-42 shares the account of Jesus in Gethsemane, a vulnerable fully human moment and also a pivotal one.
Let us gather together to journey alongside and worship the One who became fully human, who knew suffering, and who loves us with an everlasting love.
Grace and Peace,
Margaret
Margaret Fleming has been a member of Second Presbyterian Church since 2017. A native of Mt. Pleasant, she found herself back home after graduating from Columbia Theological Seminary in May 2020. She resides in Mt. Pleasant with her husband Will, a fourth-year medical student at MUSC. She is a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA and is currently serving as a Chaplain Resident at Roper Hospital.
Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information.
Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.
Source: sermons
Lenten Devotional: Suffering and Celebration
This Lenten season, let us answer the call to slow down, dwell in stillness, breathe deeply in the silence so we might listen and hear what God is whispering into our hearts.
Suffering and Celebration
Last week, I wrote about how Lent is a time to do things that will draw us closer to God and in doing so we become more fully human. By acknowledging our reliance upon God and learning what it means to answer the call to follow Christ, we recognize not only our full humanity but the full humanity of others. In answering the call to follow Christ we are invited to move closer to people and their pain, to bear witness to their suffering and in learning to be present in the suffering we learn how to more fully celebrate in times of joy.
The society we live in offers us amazing ways to numb ourselves to the pain of this world—our pain and the pain of others. A few of my personal favorite numbing tools are scrolling through social media, store websites, and buying things I don’t need all in the search of a quick fix to alleviate pain or to make me happy. However, as I wake up to my full humanity by drawing closer to God—I learn that the numbing does not help but rather hinders real relationship. In this Lenten season I am personally being challenged to connect fully, without numbing, to my humanity and the humanity of others. It hurts, it is some of the hardest work we have to do—yet it is holy as it draws us closer to one another and to the One who created us all and calls us beloved.
As we enter into this week, may we do so as fully human. May we step into others’ pain and suffering and into their joy, laughter and love with our whole selves and may we find that Christ goes with us, Christ is already there, and that Christ surrounds us.
—Margaret Fleming
About the author
Margaret Fleming has been a member of Second Presbyterian Church since 2017. A native of Mt. Pleasant, she found herself back home after graduating from Columbia Theological Seminary in May 2020. She resides in Mt. Pleasant with her husband Will, a fourth-year medical student at MUSC. She is a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA and is currently serving as a Chaplain Resident at Roper Hospital.
Margaret will be preaching at Second Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 21, 2021 and we are excited to host her ordination service on April 18, 2021.