We are a community of people who yearn to receive more and more of what God gives, believing this provides us with what we need and cannot give to ourselves.
St. Philip’s strives to be a Christian congregation, committed to showing up in order that we may remember what it means and what it takes to be God’s people. Rooted in this faithfulness, we work together to honor and support one another, staying open and grateful for what lies ahead in the life of our community
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Since 1871, St. Philip’s has been a place where people have been invited, welcomed, and shaped into being followers of Jesus who believe that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord our God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27. Our congregation consists of people who were “born into” the Episcopal Church, people new to Christianity and people in between. Our youngest member is a toddler and our oldest is over 90 years old.
SHARING GOD'S GIFTS
A CANVASS MINUTE FROM ELIZABETH McANULTY
My name is Elizabeth McAnulty, and I am so grateful to be here today and to have the opportunity to talk to you about my experience at St. Philip’s and the expanded sense of community I feel from being here.
I have been at St. Philip’s for nearly 10 years. I have attended larger Episcopal churches in the past, ever since I first started singing in the junior choir in Chapel Hill, NC. But I found my way eventually to St. Philip’s because it is the church in my town of Easthampton. I wanted to be part of this community, striving together to follow Jesus within the Easthampton community.
Precisely because it is a small church, there are so many ways to be an active part of our congregation. I find meaning in participating in choir, altar guild, compline, coffee hours (when I can), and small groups. These have all been welcome ways of personal worship and shared community that also expand to loving each of you, my neighbors in the St. Philip’s community. I am particularly grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside many of you and also ecumenically with other churches and community members with the Take and Eat ministry. This ministry serves food three weekends a month to those in Hampshire County who cannot easily provide food for themselves. This may include those who are homebound or reliant on other food services during the week. And it is provided freely, with no questions asked. St. Philip’s works with other churches (particularly Our Lady of the Valley Catholic church and Westhampton Congregational church) for the fourth weekend of every month to prepare, pack, and deliver these meals.
I am grateful for St. Philip’s ministries and actions that help to feed people who are food insecure. I am especially grateful for how these actions help us to love our neighbors by serving those in need.
As followers of Jesus, one of the things I think we all want to figure out how to do is to actually love our neighbors. It’s easy to love our family and friends and those in our St. Philip’s community. Participating together in our ministries to Easthampton and beyond, like Pioneer Valley Power Packs, the Easthampton Community Center, and Take and Eat allow us, together, to put love into action in the world outside the doors of this church.
I am so glad to be part of a small church that keeps managing to thrive mightily and move forward on behalf of our own and our greater community. It takes time, talent, and treasure to do this work of loving our neighbors. That is why I continue to pledge funds as well as time, even though my current income is less than in past years. I know how important it is to support what we do. And I welcome any of you who might be looking for a way to put love into action for our neighbors to talk to Emily Anne and me (or any of the many sitting around you who participate in this and other ministries). See you at Coffee Hour after our worship service to talk more!