Lifelong

“I have kind of a boring story,” declares Sherri Miller. “I’ve been Lutheran my whole life; there’s not much exciting about that.” As a child in Michigan, she remembers filling a multi-generational pew at her home church, sitting on her grandma’s lap during worship.

So, of course, when Sherri moved to the Grand Strand, she found a Lutheran church to join. Immediately, she jumped in, joining committees, serving in various ways, and even becoming Council President. “But,” Sherri adds, “sometimes things change.” She reflects on how the congregation navigated issues and came out the other side, but things just felt different for her faith.

“I wasn’t being spiritually fed anymore,” she notes. This was painful to admit for a lifelong Lutheran. “I need worship and a message that enriches my faith and takes it one more step.” After opening up to a friend about how she was feeling, she was encouraged to seek out a place where her faith could continue to grow. That search eventually led her to St. Philip.

“When I walked in, it brought me right back to my church in Michigan,” Sherri says. “It felt like home.” She particularly highlights the young families and youth involvement. “There is joy in worship, and people want to be here. I am fed by the worship and message each week.”

Sherri says she can feel the Holy Spirit at work in the worship life and ministries of St. Philip. “I see it in the way we welcome everyone and support one another. It gives me strength to live out my faith, when it’s easy and not so easy.”

Having recently retired, Sherri looks forward to becoming even more involved at St. Philip. “There are ample opportunities to contribute,” she says.

For someone who thought her story was “kind of boring,” Sherri has discovered something meaningful: that a lifelong Lutheran can once again find themselves in a place that feels like home, much like that multigenerational pew in Michigan years ago.

Thank you for making St. Philip a place where people of all generations can grow in faith, find belonging, and be spiritually fed.