Sunday Bulletin - June 26

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 - 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

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

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.

 
 

Watch Second Presbyterian services and videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

Demons

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m. in-person, following CDC guidelines, and live streamed here.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, June 26, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ –

On Sunday we engage the Lukan text known as the Gerasene demoniac. Jesus is crossing the Sea of Galilee to the land of the Gerasenes, which means that he’s not just crossing the sea, he’s also crossing boundaries -- the land of the Gerasenes is the land of Gentiles, and no self-respecting Jewish rabbi would be taking his followers there.

They land and are confronted by a man possessed. Actually, more than possessed, he’s occupied. Jesus asks his name and the answer given is uttered through the man by the spirits that possess him. He has no name, no identity left, except for what he is captive to. His story is tragic -- he’s alone, he wanders the tombs, a danger to himself and to others. But Jesus looks on him with compassion.

What if Jesus pulled into Shem Creek? What if he were to ask our name? Would what we say match who we are? Or does what we do speak more clearly for us.

The good news is this: God’s grace and ubiquitous love for the Gerasene man is the same for us. An encounter with the living God will heal us too!

Come worship on Sunday as we set sail with new officers and worship the God who casts out demons and casts his love on us.

In great anticipation –

 

Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information and dates for upcoming new members classes.


Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Source: sermons

Sunday Bulletin - June 19

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 - 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

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

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.

 
 
 

Watch Second Presbyterian services and videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

Prodigality

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m. in-person, following CDC guidelines, and live streamed here.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, June 19, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ –

This Sunday we celebrate Father’s Day.

This Sunday we recognize the end of slavery in the United States with the delivery of the news to Texas.

This Sunday we revisit a beloved parable sometimes known as the prodigal son, or the prodigal father, or the bitter brother.

But I think each of these "takes" seen through the lens of Jesus’ love and compassion arrives at the nature of our God, a God of prodigality. (really?) yep! God’s excess…sive love!

See you Sunday!

 

Please worship from home if you are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms, are aware of an exposure, or have been asked by a school or other institution to quarantine or isolate.

Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information and dates for upcoming new members classes.


Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Source: sermons

An Evening Honoring the Legacy of Denmark Vesey

An Evening Honoring the Legacy of Denmark Vesey

June 25 at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary

Presented by Second Presbyterian Church in partnership with the Charleston Gospel Choir

Second Presbyterian Church and Charleston Gospel Choir will honor the legacy of Denmark Vesey with an event featuring special narration and music provided by the Charleston Gospel Choir on June 25th at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary.

This event is free and open to the public and will pay homage to the extraordinary 200-year legacy and life of Denmark Vesey, a self-educated Black man who planned the most extensive slave rebellion in U.S. history in Charleston, 1822. The Charleston Gospel Choir will perform moving spirituals and gospel standards including “Lawd, How Come Me Heah,” “Heaven Help Us All,” and “To Be Young Gifted and Black.”

In a city-wide collaboration, Second Presbyterian Church, IAAM, the Gaillard, and Mother Emanuel A.M.E. are engaging the narrative of Denmark Vesey with events throughout June and July.

Sunday Bulletin - June 12

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 - 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

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

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.

 
 
 

Watch Second Presbyterian services and videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

It Takes What It Takes

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m. in-person, following CDC guidelines, and live streamed here.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, June 12, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ –

Trinity Sunday – here we are! Christ is risen. The Spirit has blown in (again) on creation and before the lectionary turns to an extended season of ‘ordinary time’ we are given the chance to engage a bit of doctrine. We have the wonderful and welcome opportunity to move beyond 4th century metaphysics and consider the reality of our God experienced at Pentecost, and each day we live in grace and justification. Creator. Incarnate redeemer. Breath of life. All facets of the one God we know, proclaim, and experience.

This Sunday we marvel at the diversity and completeness of the God who loves us in so many ways.

Anna and Walt will be baptized.

Alex Treyz will be received in membership.

We will experience God in wonder.

 

Please worship from home if you are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms, are aware of an exposure, or have been asked by a school or other institution to quarantine or isolate.

Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information and dates for upcoming new members classes.


Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Source: sermons

Sunday Bulletin - June 5

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 - 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

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

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. 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.

 
 
 

Watch Second Presbyterian services and videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

The Rush

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m. in-person, following CDC guidelines, and live streamed here.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, June 5, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ –

This weekend is usually one of celebration for many people and many reasons.

  • The Jewish community celebrates the festival of the harvest – Pentecost – fifty days after Passover.

  • The Christian community celebrates the wholescale appearance of God’s Spirit.

  • Across the nation school is out and camp is in.

  • Here in Charleston, the Spoleto Festival is in full swing, and

  • Our "Seconds Please" Tea Room has just wrapped up! But this year is different…

It’s been two years since a deadly virus assaulted our world and has disrupted our lives. Our work, our relationships, our leisure, our worship has all changed, and will never be the same. And it seems that every other day there is a mass shooting at a school, a grocery store, a synagogue, a sanctuary, a hospital….

2,000 years ago, at a particular moment in time, we are told the Holy Spirit of God swept in and transformed the world. Theologian and journalist Phylis Tickle posits that every 500 years since Jesus walked the earth the church has undergone massive transformation. It’s been 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his theses to the church door at Wittenberg.

Hold on!

In anticipation and excitement for the Spirit’s leading –

 

Please worship from home if you are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms, are aware of an exposure, or have been asked by a school or other institution to quarantine or isolate.

Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information and dates for upcoming new members classes.


Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Source: sermons

Sunday Bulletin - May 29

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 - 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

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

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. 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.

 
 
 

Watch Second Presbyterian services and videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.

How Long?

Sunday morning worship at 10:30 a.m. in-person, following CDC guidelines, and live streamed here.

Find upcoming events and announcements here.

SERMON SNAPSHOT: Sunday, May 29, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ –

For 154 years a day has been set aside to honor those who have fallen in defense of our nation. This year is no exception. But this year for the first time in decades our nation is not engaged in an overt war though across the globe women and men serve in advisory positions and train national forces to care for themselves.

How strange and how tragic to find ourselves in deadly domestic battles of ideology that play out in destructive ways resulting in death of innocents. When seeds of hate find fertile ground on media platforms that don’t demand responsibility nor truth and evade culpability, life itself and our way of living is compromised.

The prophet Habakkuk asked, “How long, Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen?”

It may feel like that now. Feelings are real, but not necessarily based on what we know be true. Our watchful God is present each moment and attentive to our needs.

On this Memorial Day, let us honor those who have fallen in defense of our nation, and those who have fallen through no fault of their own trusting that the God of the cosmos is the God of each moment and the lover of each of us.

As we look through a dimly lit mirror, let us access the clarity of God’s illimitable grace together.

 

Please worship from home if you are exhibiting any COVID-like symptoms, are aware of an exposure, or have been asked by a school or other institution to quarantine or isolate.

Interested in becoming a member of Second Presbyterian? Email Cress for more information and dates for upcoming new members classes.


Listen to sermon podcasts here. Click here to view all Second Presbyterian Church videos. Find upcoming events and announcements here.

Source: sermons

Keeping the word after Uvalde

A vigil this week at the Princeton Theological Seminary reunion.

“Lord, how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you, “Violence!” and will you not save?" – Habakkuk 1:2

The words of the prophet Habakkuk resonate throughout our communities and our country. As I write, my mind defaults to us/them – no matter which side… and I’m sick of it.

Why is it that we aren’t willing to act? We’re in paralysis. We’re concretized in our self-righteousness. We’re stuck in a stalemate. They see it. We do too. Yet neither is willing to blink… and children die.

Pointing fingers won’t break the impasse. Thoughts and prayers offer little comfort. Jesus said “If you keep my words, you love me. If you don’t keep my words, you don’t love me.”

Just because we don’t know the answer doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Love is a verb. Let us keep the word. May we be fierce, resolute, and unafraid.

 

Here are some direct links to resources from the PC(USA) Office of Christian Formation shared by the presbytery that might be helpful.

Source: sermons

Sunday Bulletin - May 22

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 - 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

Are you looking for a church home where you can make a difference for the God we serve? Where you belong and you will be known, nurtured, challenged?  We welcome you and invite you to spend some time with us.

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. 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.

 
 
 

Watch Second Presbyterian services and videos on YouTube, like Second on Facebook, and stay connected by signing up for our emails which offer a snapshot of upcoming church and missions events and announcements.