231st Diocesan Convention, First Business Session Recap

The 231st Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was called to order on Friday, November 12 at 6:30 pm by the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley who was consecrated in October 2021 as the XV Bishop of the historic diocese.

The Rev. Tom Wilson, chair of the Clergy Credentials Committee, offered the first report of his committee to begin the session, reporting that there were 28 clergy and 49 lay delegates present. After the appointment of the Parliamentarian and Convention Committees, attendees voted to adopt the agenda. The Credentials Committee then presented their report and quorum was established. The Reverend Rob Donehue, as President of the Standing Committee, nominated Diane Wilson (St. George's, Summerville) to serve as Secretary of Convention, a one-year term, and she was duly elected by convention delegates.

Bishop Woodliff-Stanley then announced that the following individuals have been nominated to serve on the Commission on Ministry (COM) of the Diocese of South Carolina: The Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker (chair), the Rev. Deacon Marionette Bennett, Mr. Chris Hayes, the Very Rev. Wil Keith, Ms. Jane Hart Lewis, the Rev. Rick Lindsey, Ms. Mary Joe Roberts, the Rev. Dow Sanderson, Ms. Jeanette Spencer, and the Rev. Cn. Callie Walpole.

After appointing the current deans to another year of service, the bishop declared the convention was duly organized for business. 

The bishop then took a few moments for a special recognition of the Rev. Cn. Callie Walpole for her many years of service to the diocese. You may read her full remarks at this link. As many know of Cn. Walpole's love of gardening and Voorhees College, the bishop announced that she has consulted with Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, president of Voorhees College, and has made plans for the diocese to fund a portion of the Elizabeth Evelyn Wright Memorial garden at Voorhees and designate it in honor of Cn. Walpole.  A plaque will be placed in the garden, recognizing the service of Cn. Walpole who has "tended this Diocese well," alongside the plants donated in her honor. Cn. Walpole has also served on the Board of Trustees at Voorhees College. 

The bishop presented Cn. Walpole with a sasanqua camellia similar to those that will be planted in her honor, and also with a engraved glass award bearing the words that will be on the plaque in the garden at Voorhees. The convention recognized Cn. Walpole with a standing ovation.

Following this recognition, the bishop led the Convention into a time of formation with small groups, to consider the theme of convention, "abide." To this end, she shared a few words about abiding, and how she sees this relating to the past and future of the diocese of South Carolina. Read her full remarks at this link. The convention then watched this video, before leading into a time of group sessions to discuss together the question: "How has your faith community been an abiding place for you in your life?"

After a period of group discussion, everyone reconvened and shared the findings from each particular group, focusing on key words and phrases that recurred in the conversations. The word map below shows the words that were shared by the group, with the largest words being those that were shared the most often:

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After this formation session, the Convention was led in a service of Compline by three youth and young adult leaders from the diocese: George Dowis, Nick Kohlman, and Joe Lenhard. At the end of Compline, in person attendees were invited outdoors for dessert before leaving for the evening.

View the recap for the Second Business Session at this link.