Sweet Tea And God's Graces ...

“You can get by on sweet tea and God’s graces ….”

     “Sweet Tea and God’s Graces”

              ~ Taylor Swift

                  ~ 2004-2005 demo cd

The Church of the Cross is bathed in morning glory on a beautiful late October day on the bluff at the end of Calhoun Street in Old Town Bluffton in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

The historic church pre-dates the Civil War, or the War Between the States.

Formal worship in the Bluffton area traces its roots to the establishment in 1767 of St. Luke’s Parish, where a church was built near Pritchardville in 1787. Services on “The Bluff” of the May River first took place in the early 1830s. The young town of Bluffton was a summer resort for area and inland planters and a stop on the ferry route between Savannah and Beaufort. By 1842, a chapel was built near the current location of The Church of the Cross.

In July of 1854, construction of the present building began. Architect E. B. White designed a structure described then as a “handsome cruciform Gothic building,” which indeed it remains today. Fanned arches with a look of palmettos top its mullioned windows that are framed by latticed shutters. The builders sent to England for the rose-colored glass in the windows. Inside, soft-pink scored plaster enhances the warm light. Exposed pine timbers evoke power and stability.

In 1863, Federal troops marched into Bluffton during the Civil War, burning most of the town. Although the church was spared, its congregation fled. Services on The Bluff resumed in 1870, when the Rev. E. E. Bellinger arrived and oversaw repairs.

The National Register of Historic Places has listed The Church of the Cross since 1975. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004.

The Church of the Cross has seen much during the century and a half plus it has graced the May River bluff. It is part of the Diocese of South Carolina and the Anglican Church in North America.

Calhoun Street is named for John Calhoun, (1782-1850), an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina and the seventh Vice President of the United States from 1825-1832. His beliefs and warnings heavily influenced the South’s secession from the Union in 1860-1861.

A Southern Soar ...

“I stood face to face with the moon and the ocean and the future that spread out with all its bewildering immensity before me.”

                     ~ Pat Conroy

                           ~ 1945-2016

A seagull soars over the Atlantic Ocean at Folly Field Beach Park, Hilton Head Island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina on a beautiful late October morning.

Semper Fi ...

“Some people live their whole lives and wonder if they made a difference. Marines don’t have that problem.”

       ~ Ronald Reagan

        ~ 1911-2004

 ~ 40^th President of the United States of America

           ~ 1981-1989

An image from the United States Marines Graduation Ceremony of Delta Company at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina on the morning of October 28, 2016. Members of the band can be seen reflected in the tuba.

It was a stirring sight to see the ceremony

graduating Marines who will serve and defend the United States of America. Semper Fi!

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an 8,095-acre military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately five miles south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines. But this slice of paradise is nothing like the neighboring resorts of Kiawah or Hilton Head Island.

This is Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, where Marines are made.

Each year, 20,000 young men and women come to the base to endure one of the most rigorous and challenging military training programs in the world. It is a methodical and time-tested 12-week process with one single purpose — to create a hardened Marine prepared for combat. 

Made famous in the Stanley Kubrick film “Full Metal Jacket,” Parris Island has become an iconic symbol of America’s elite fighting force. Tens of thousands of people visit the base annually, lured by the mystique of the legendary Leatherneck.

Although access is limited, the public is welcome to take a self-guided tour of the 3,000-acre training center, play golf on the Legends of Parris Island, watch recruits train in non-restricted areas and visit the Parris Island Museum.

But it’s the Friday graduations — held 40 of 52 weeks each year — that draw most visitors to the island. Family and friends of graduating Marines are extended a special invitation to attend the formal ceremony and parade and participate in Family Day, held the Thursday before graduation.

Semper Fidelis is a Latin phrase that means “always faithful” or “always loyal.” It is the motto of the United States Marine Corps, always in upper case and usually shortened to Semper Fi.