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.

​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.