![]() On Saturday, January 18, 2020, the Voorhees College Choir held a "Freedom Songs" concert at All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island. The concert lasted for an hour and brought together a large crowd of residents from the local community and surrounding areas. The church hosted the concert as part of the weekend celebration of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday and invited the Voorhees Choir to participate. Songs featured at the concert included "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the South African national anthem, and several Afro-American Spirituals. The concert was free, however a freewill offering was raised and proceeds will support students at Voorhees College. Prior to the concert, the 18 choir members along with their director, Ms. Rachel Jones, and the college chaplain, Father James Yarsiah, spent the night in the homes of All Saints' parishioners. During the visit, the church sponsored a tour for the choir to visit the Penn Center in Beaufort. The Penn Center, now a museum, was the first established institution of higher learning for African Americans in the South. At the end of the visit, choir members expressed their sincere gratitude to the rector (the Rev. Denise Trogdon) and parishioners of All Saints Episcopal Church for their generosity and hospitality. In an effort to support the mission of Voorhees College, located in the Southern Deanery of the Diocese of South Carolina, the rector and members of All Saints Episcopal Church established a special relationship with Voorhees College in 2014. This is the third time the church and their parishioners have hosted the choir for an entire weekend. In a letter to all the faithful people of the Diocese of South Carolina, the Rev. Cn. Caleb Lee, President of the Standing Committee, announced today that the Standing Committee has voted to move forward with the process that will lead to the election and consecration of the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina.
See a copy of the January 23, 2020, letter here. The text of the letter follows: "We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us." - Book of Common Prayer, p. 836 January 23, 2020 Dear Faithful People of the Diocese of South Carolina, On behalf of the Standing Committee, I write to you with some more good news. On January 7th, 2020, your Standing Committee voted unanimously to move forward with the process that will lead to the election and consecration of the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. This is a very exciting time for our Diocese. You may remember that in January of 2019, the Standing Committee began a journey of discernment around what the future form of the episcopacy in the Diocese of South Carolina might look like. We spent a great deal of time exploring various options. In June of 2019, the Standing Committee wrote to the Diocese to communicate that we were initiating a process which would lead to our calling for the election of a full-time Diocesan Bishop. This process required us to develop a search committee and hire a search consultant. As we began preparations for this effort, we were also tasked with securing a Provisional Bishop for the period of transition between Bishop Adams and our new Diocesan Bishop. A few candidates were considered for this position but none of them, in the end, was called by the Standing Committee to become a Provisional Bishop for us. It was only after all of this, at the beginning of 2020, that we explored and agreed on an arrangement with Bishop Henry N. Parsley, Jr. to join us as Visiting Bishop. For more information about this please see the Standing Committee letter of January 15, 2020. At that same meeting of the Standing Committee, we voted to continue in the process that would lead to the election of the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. We have engaged with our search consultant, The Reverend Canon Richard Callaway. He is the former Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Atlanta. Canon Callaway has extensive experience in the church and as a consultant to various dioceses who have recently been through the same process. The Chair of the Search Committee is The Reverend Dr. Philip C. Linder, Priest-in-Charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Charleston. The Search Committee will meet with Canon Callaway on January 30 to begin the process and Search Committee members will be announced soon after. While this work commences, I can also report to you that plans have begun to elect our new Bishop at the 230th Annual Convention in November 2020. Between now and then, the search committee will be working along a precise timeline to accomplish all that is necessary for the election to happen at that time. Like all Episcopal elections, this timeline will include listening sessions in each deanery and the development of a diocesan profile; followed by a period of time for nominations, interviews, and selection of qualified candidates. After the search committee announces the slate of candidates, there will be a period of time to petition additional candidates if so desired. The process will continue with walkabouts. The walkabouts are a time for the people of the Diocese to get to know the candidates. After a bishop is elected at Convention, 120 days are given to allow for a majority of the standing committees of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church and bishops with jurisdiction in the Episcopal Church to consent to the election. We expect the consecration of our new Bishop to occur in late spring or early summer of 2021. All of this has been planned in accordance with the canons of the Church and in consultation with Bishop Todd Ousley of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Pastoral Development. We, as a Diocese, have two great tasks at hand. The first task is already underway as we operate as a Diocesan family under the direction of the Standing Committee. I must say, and believe with all my heart, that the governing councils of the Church are in good hands with solid and experienced leadership from across the Diocese. We also have the support and counsel of Bishop Parsley and a dedicated and supportive staff, led by Archdeacon Callie Walpole. The second task is set before us. In the midst of this unique period of transition in our history as a diocese, we also move forward in the process of calling a bishop. This is an historic and remarkable time. The work we are called to right now will set the stage for generations to come. I am encouraged by my favorite words from A General Thanksgiving on page 836 of The Book of Common Prayer. In this prayer, we thank our Lord “for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments that satisfy and delight us.” The tasks ahead demand our very best. Your Standing Committee prays you will join us in that effort. Faithfully yours, The Reverend Canon Caleb J. Lee President of the Standing Committee ![]() In a letter to all the faithful people of the Diocese of South Carolina, the Rev. Cn. Caleb Lee, President of the Standing Committee, announced today that the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr., has been named a visiting bishop for our diocese. See a copy of the January 15, 2020 letter here. The text of the letter follows: January 15, 2020 Dear Faithful People of the Diocese of South Carolina, On behalf of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina, I write to share some very good news with you. The Standing Committee has entered into an agreement with the Right Reverend Henry N. Parsley, Jr. for him to become a visiting bishop for the Diocese of South Carolina during this time of transition as we seek our next bishop. Under the authority and provisions of Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution of the Episcopal Church, a bishop may be “requested to perform episcopal acts in another Diocese by the Ecclesiastical Authority thereof.” Bishop Parsley, who has retired to Wilmington, NC, is a native son of the Lowcountry. He is a graduate of Porter-Gaud School and spent many summers ministering at Camp St. Christopher. Many of his earlier years of ordained ministry were spent in the Diocese at parishes including St. Philip’s, Charleston, All Saints, Florence, and St. Paul’s, Summerville. He was Bishop Coadjutor and Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Alabama from 1996-2012, and served as Chancellor of Sewanee. In this part-time role Bishop Parsley will be in residence with us approximately one week a month. He will offer occasional services of confirmation and other sacramental rites. These will be jointly held, hosted by deaneries, to celebrate our common life together during this period of transition. All of these special services will be planned in coordination with the Standing Committee. Bishop Parsley will also serve as a consultant to the Standing Committee and be a pastoral presence in the diocese. Bishop Parsley has a deep understanding of South Carolina and appreciation of our history, as well as hope for our future. We are so delighted that, after all these years, he is returning to serve among us during this next season of our life together. The Standing Committee remains the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese and Archdeacon Callie Walpole will continue to serve as the pastoral point of contact for the Diocese and provide oversight of the Diocesan office. We are grateful to Bishop Parsley for his willingness to offer us his gifts of wisdom and experience during this period of transition as we seek our next bishop. More information about future plans for our Diocese will be communicated very soon. Faithfully yours, The Reverend Canon Caleb J. Lee President of the Standing Committee Late today, attorneys for our diocese were notified by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that they have denied the Motion to Stay Injunction and to Stay the Case filed last month by the disassociated diocese. We continue to await a decision on the appeal filed by the disassociated diocese in regard to Judge Gergel's September 2019 order in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, recognized by the order as the historic Diocese of South Carolina. These motions to stay were requested while we await the appeal.
![]() We are pleased to announce the call of the Reverend Courtney Davis-Shoemaker as Assistant Priest at St. Stephen's, Charleston. She will work part-time (20 hours per month) and assist the Rector in the general life and worship of the parish with particular attention to children's and youth ministry as well as outreach to families. A native of Asheville, NC, she has served parishes in North Carolina and Massachusetts, and was most recently the campus minister for Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Friends (LEAF) at Elon University. In MA, she served an urban congregation, and while in NC she served as Vicar (priest-in-charge) of a mission parish. On December 23, 2019, attorneys for the disassociated diocese, as defendants-appellants in the federal trademark infringement and false advertising case brought by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), filed a Motion to Stay the Injunction and Stay the Case with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The motion seeks to temporarily set aside the permanent injunction enacted by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel in favor of TECSC on September 19 until the appeal has been considered by the court, but also asks the court to stay the case until a ruling is made on a case TECSC attorneys maintain is unrelated.
In the September ruling, Judge Gergel recognized TECSC as the historic Diocese of South Carolina. The disassociated diocese had filed a motion to stay the injunction pending appeal with Judge Gergel, which was denied in his ruling on December 18. This new filing appeals that ruling as well. In response, on Monday, December 30, 2019, attorneys for TECSC (now also known as the Diocese of South Carolina) and The Episcopal Church filed a Response in Opposition to Appellants’ Motion to Stay Injunction and to Stay the Case. The federal case was originally filed in March 2013, and in his ruling on September 19, Judge Gergel granted the TECSC’s motion for summary judgement, and declared that the group that disassociated from The Episcopal Church in 2012 (and all affiliated churches) can no longer use the name “Diocese of South Carolina” nor use the “diocesan seal” or “Episcopal shield.” In the December 18 order, Judge Gergel added additional parameters to the injunction to make clear the history and goodwill of the Diocese of South Carolina belong solely to those who remained with the Episcopal Church. Proposed Orders Filed in State Case As requested by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson in a hearing on November 26, both sides have now filed proposed orders as to how each believes Judge Dickson should rule on a Motion for Clarification filed by the disassociated diocese in March 2018 (with a supplement filed in September 2018). The motion was seeking clarification on the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in favor of TECSC in August 2017. The judge indicated in the November hearing that he will consider both proposals in writing his order to rule on the motion. |
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