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Update on US Supreme Court matters
The U.S. Supreme Court has taken initial steps in deciding whether to hear a breakaway group’s petition on issues regarding our diocese and The Episcopal Church. On Tuesday, February 27, the court requested that The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina file a response to the petition for writ of certiorari (sometimes called a “cert petition”), which was filed February 9 by attorneys for a group that announced in 2012 it was leaving The Episcopal Church. After the response is filed, the case would come before the justices at one of their weekly conferences, in which they consider a number of cert petitions and determine which ones, if any, merit further discussion or should move forward toward a hearing before the court. According to the court’s rules, four of the nine justices must vote to accept a case. General information about the U.S. Supreme Court and its procedures can be found here: http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/supreme-1  Author John T. Edge, author of The Potlikker Papers:
A Food History of the Modern South, will speak at Grace Church Cathedral in the city of Charleston, SC this Friday at 12:30 pm. Chef Reggie Simmons will prepare lunch. All are welcome! Please RSVP to Tater Beak at [email protected]. If you plan to have lunch, please bring cash or a check (payable to Mount Zion AME Church) for the meal. The event is sponsored by the Tuesday book study group at Grace, which read the book last fall. According to Garden& Gun magazine, the book is “masterful. . .Edge expertly sieves through decades of cultural influences to explore how today’s rich culinary tradition developed.” Find out more at johntedge.com. The Episcopal Church in South Carolina will hold its annual Clergy Conference April 30-May 2 at Kanuga, the Episcopal conference center in Hendersonville, NC. This annual event offers the clergy of our diocese a time to pray with one another, share in fellowship and Sabbath time and meet and pray with Bishop Adams.
The Rev. Donnel O'Flynn will be the conference speaker, addressing the theme "The Cross as the Tree of Life." Fr. O'Flynn is the author of the book Holy Cross, Life-Giving Tree. This acclaimed book looks at the Cross as healer of division, both among followers of Jesus and among the nations; it is illustrated with Cross images from throughout the Christian world. (The book is available at the Gifts of Grace book shop at Grace Church Cathedral.) Registration information has been sent to each member of the clergy (canonically resident or licensed) in our diocese. If you did not receive it, please contact the Diocesan Office at 843-259-2016 or [email protected]. CHARLESTON – U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel has lifted a stay in a lawsuit over false-advertising and related claims against the bishop of a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012, issuing a scheduling order for the trial to begin on or after September 1.
The case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, had been set for trial in March, but the judge issued a stay in August 2017, putting the proceedings on hold while the parties entered a mediation process. Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, said TECSC and The Episcopal Church remain hopeful that mediation efforts will be productive. The lawsuit was filed in March 2013, a few months after Mark Lawrence and a breakaway group announced they were leaving The Episcopal Church. The suit involves a claim of false advertising under the federal Lanham Act. At that time, Bishop Charles vonRosenberg was the only bishop recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. By continuing to represent himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is committing false advertising, the lawsuit says. Bishop vonRosenberg retired in 2016, and his successor, Bishop Skip Adams, was added as a plaintiff in the case in 2017. The Episcopal Church joined the case as a plaintiff in August 2017. The federal case is key to resolving trademark issues that were not addressed by the state courts in the lawsuit that the breakaway group, calling itself the “Diocese of South Carolina,” filed against The Episcopal Church and its local diocese in 2013. That case went to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which ruled August 2 in favor of The Episcopal Church and its diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. On February 9, the breakaway group petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a review of the state Supreme Court’s decision. TECSC and The Episcopal Church have received the petition and are reviewing it, said the Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. Adams III, Bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. “At the same time, we continue to work and pray in the hope of unity and reconciliation," Bishop Adams said. About The Episcopal Church in South Carolina The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) is the local diocese in the eastern half of South Carolina part of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. For the latest on TECSC, visit episcopalchurchsc.org or like us on Facebook.  The Reverend Dr. Michael Shaffer
to St. Francis, Charleston Bishop Skip Adams has named the Rev. Dr. Michael Shaffer as priest in charge of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Charleston. Fr. Mike practiced law as a trial attorney for 33 years before answering the call to the priesthood. He completed his canonical studies in the Diocese of West Missouri and began his ministry in Kansas City before moving to the state of Washington. Most recently he served as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Federal Way, WA. Fr. Mike has five children and five grandchildren, including a daughter and her family who live in Charleston. He plans to move from Washington in time to be with St. Francis for Holy Week. A petition for writ of certiorari was filed on Friday afternoon, February 9 in the United States Supreme Court in connection with the South Carolina Supreme Court decision involving our diocese and The Episcopal Church.
The filings can be viewed here: Petititon for Writ of Certiorari Cert Petition Appendix Rule 12.6 Letter The Episcopal way of worship has a framework and structure that can help all kinds of people make a deeper connection to God, scholar and author Derek Olsen says. But in order to invite people to experience that, he says, we have to understand it ourselves – and our Book of Common Prayer gives us a way to do that.
More than 70 people from around eastern South Carolina spent a Saturday with Dr. Olsen in Florence on February 2, bringing their prayer books, questions and experiences to a one-day conference called “The Book of Common Prayer: A Pathway to Spirituality.” Co-sponsored by the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina and St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Florence, the conference drew people from all parts of the diocese, both Episcopalians and inquirers from other denominations. Dr. Olsen is the author of Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as a Guide to a Spiritual Life, published by Forward Movement. It’s a book that many have called essential reading for Episcopalians. How Episcopalians do liturgy is important, and it shapes how we do Christianity, Dr. Olsen told the group who gathered in St. Luke Lutheran Church for the conference. Using the prayer book for daily prayer – especially for daily Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer – helps to develop a pattern that shapes us and draws us into the mind of Christ. “It becomes our habit, a continual practice of reorienting ourselves, turning ourselves toward God,” he said. Prayer book spirituality can be especially attractive and useful for a younger generation who yearn for a way to be spiritual, but suffer from the “tyranny of choice,” with so many options that they don’t know where to begin. The prayer book offers an authentic pattern, and some structure. Noting that the Book of Psalms is the only book of the Bible completely reproduced in the BCP, Dr. Olsen said the emphasis on Psalms in daily prayer responds to St. Paul’s direction to the Ephesians to be “filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20). Second, we’re reminded in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.” For individual humans, who eat and sleep, that’s not possible, Dr. Olsen said. “The only way to pray without ceasing is to pray in community,” he said. When we pray aloud from the prayer book, we are joining our voices with Episcopalians and Anglicans who are praying with us at every hour, all the way around the world. After lunch and a Q&A session, Dr. Olsen and the Rev. Jeff Richardson, Vicar of St. Catherine’s, led an Instructed Eucharist, celebrated by Fr. Richardson and interspersed with explanations from Dr. Olsen about what happens in at each point in the liturgy. “The Eucharist connects us to everything,” Dr. Olsen said. In his sermon, Fr. Richardson said he chose the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple (February 2) for the text because of how well it relates to the theme of the conference. The presentation in the temple was the meeting of old and new, Fr. Richardson said: Old Simeon and young Jesus, the old sacrifice with the new offering of Christ. It also shows Mary and Joseph, young parents, rooting themselves in worship and community. “We are blessed in regular worship,” he said. Watch a video of his sermon here. The Episcopal Forum of South Carolina is a 501c3 nonprofit that sponsors forums and conferences on topic such as spirituality and social justice in the tradition of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Learn more about it at episcopalforum.com.  Cooks of all ages got involved at the 2017 Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper at St. Thomas, North Charleston
Find a complete listing of Shrove Tuesday events here. Volunteer cooks are preparing to grab their spatulas and grease up their griddles for the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Suppers taking place around our diocese on February 13. It's a tradition for many Episcopal churches to celebrate the final day before Lent begins with a feast of pancakes, syrup, bacon, sausage and more. Sometimes there's a Mardi Gras theme as well, with beads, masks and King Cake. Holy Communion, Charleston, skips the pancakes and celebrates with a Mardi Gras Pasta Supper. It's always fun, and a chance for fellowship for the whole family.This year, some of the suppers also are raising money for important causes. For example, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in St. Stephen, SC, is raising money for its Oasis Program. The church provides free supervised care for people suffering from mild to moderate dementia every Wednesday to give caregivers have a brief period of respite. Grace Church Cathedral's youth will be cooking pancakes this year to raise money for youth programs, including the annual Youth Mission Trip to Glory Ridge this summer. All are welcome! Visit this page to find a Pancake Supper near you. |
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November 2025
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P.O. Box 20485, Charleston, SC 29413 - 843.259.2016 - [email protected]
P.O. Box 20485, Charleston, SC 29413 - 843.259.2016 - [email protected]
- Home
-
About Us
-
Ministry
- Prayer Calendar
- Commission on Ministry
- Title IV Concerns
- Outreach
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation Commission
- Grants for Congregations
- Administrative Resources
- Clergy Resources
- Liturgy & Worship >
- Education & Formation >
- Church Connections >
- Ecumenical & Interfaith >
- Communications Resources
- Communication and Evangelism >
- News
- Giving
- Convention
- Contact Us
- St. Christopher
- Strategic Visioning