In a hearing that lasted less than 3o minutes Thursday morning at the Orangeburg County Courthouse, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson heard two motions filed by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC, also known as the Diocese of South Carolina) over the past two years seeking enforcement of the South Carolina Supreme Court judgement in favor of TECSC in August 2017.

Judge Dickson listened to attorneys for both sides in regard to TECSC’s Amended Petition for Execution and Further Relief on Declaratory Judgments of the SC Supreme Court and for the Appointment of a Special Master (filed on May 16, 2018); and a Petition for an Accounting (filed on July 11, 2018). In their arguments, attorneys for the Diocese of South Carolina (TECSC) suggested a course of action on enforcement including the appointment of a special master to help implement the higher court’s decision. In that majority decision handed down on August 2, 2017, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the diocesan property and 29 parishes belong to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church.  

Judge Dickson limited today’s hearing solely to arguments related to the above listed petitions, and declined to hear further on motions previously filed and argued by the disassociated diocese. He gave no indication as to when he would issue a ruling on any motions currently before him.

On Friday, February 21, 2020, attorneys for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC, also known as the (Episcopal) Diocese of South Carolina) filed a Petition for a Writ of Prohibition with the South Carolina Supreme Court to bar South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson from re-litigating issues already decided by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s majority decision in favor of TECSC on August 2, 2017. As stated at the conclusion of the petition: “A writ of prohibition is required to ensure that the authority of this Court’s (the South Carolina Supreme Court) ruling is preserved, that this litigation be brought to an end without further, unnecessary delay, and that the property rights this Court awarded to Petitioners be respected.”

The South Carolina Supreme Court’s majority decision in August 2017 ruled that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church. Soon after, on November 17, 2017, when the SC Supreme Court denied a Petition for Rehearing filed by the disassociated diocese, it also issued a remittitur for the lower court to enforce the majority decision. Judge Dickson was assigned the case. Since that time, he has held three hearings that focused mostly on motions filed by the opposing party and not on the Petition for Execution, Motion to Appoint a Special Master, and Petition for an Accounting that TECSC filed in support of enforcing the Supreme Court’s decision. More recently, as today’s Petition reveals, Judge Dickson has requested further information in regard to the Motion for Clarification and Further Relief filed by the disassociated diocese that seems to seek to re-litigate or reinterpret the Supreme Court’s majority decision.

In the Petition for a Writ of Prohibition, attorneys for TECSC explain that Judge Dickson’s actions over the past two years seem to indicate he is interested in ruling on a Motion for Clarification and Further Relief filed by the disassociated diocese, which TECSC attorneys contend is beyond his jurisdiction in this matter. As stated in the petition: “The Motion for Clarification asks Judge Dickson to re-litigate issues decided by this Court, and to reach a different result than the one reached by this Court.” To this end, in the Petition TECSC attorneys request the following: “To avoid this improper exercise of jurisdiction, inevitable unnecessary appeals, and further protraction of this dispute while the Other Respondents maintain possession of the trust property at issue, this Court should accordingly prohibit Judge Dickson from taking any further action with respect to the Motion for Clarification other than to deny it as beyond his jurisdiction.” 

All parties are currently scheduled for a hearing in front of Judge Dickson on Thursday, February 27, at the Orangeburg County Courthouse in Orangeburg, SC. It is not known at this time if the hearing will be rescheduled in light of these new developments.

The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council, a 43-member body tasked with enacting the policies adopted by General Convention, meets at least three times per year. Its various committees bring forth resolutions to be voted on by the full council, whose high-ranking members – including the presiding bishop and the president of the House of Deputies – also typically hear presentations on specific topics of interest to the entire church. Our own Diocesan Ministry Developer, Andrea McKellar, is a member of Executive Council.

McKellar attended the most recent session of Executive Council, February 13-15, in Salt Lake City, UT. Read below her thoughts from this most recent session:

One of my great joys of Executive Council is wrestling with the bigger themes of how to grow into the future church. Each time we meet, we have worked on the theme of Becoming Beloved Community through big events like touring the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama and small table conversations about exploring the languages used in our churches and dioceses.
 
In our recent meeting in Salt Lake City, we heard from local indigenous leaders as well as two Council members on the history of Indigenous people on this land, the atrocities created from the “Doctrine of Discovery”, and current realities. Local Episcopal leader Forrest S. Cuch, former director of Utah’s Division of Indian Affairs, shared a full history of the Ute people of which he is a member. He shared the heartbreaking history of genocide and oppression, some perpetrated by the Church. While hearing the hard truth, we also heard joyful stories of how The Episcopal Church is working in these communities today. 
 
Other great work that happened at this meeting:

• Grants approved for over $500,000 for young adult, campus, creation care, and formation ministries.
• The Diocese of Cuba was officially welcomed as the 110th diocese of The Episcopal Church after Secretary Michael Barlowe certified that they had met all canonical requirements.
• The 81st General Convention will be held in Louisville, Kentucky.

Learn more about the meeting in the posts from Episcopal New Service:

• Executive Council meeting kicks off in Salt Lake City with presentation on racism’s toll on Native Americans
• ​Executive Council approves readmission of Cuba, selects Louisville for 2024 General Convention

In an email sent late Friday, February 14, 2020, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson scheduled a hearing for Thursday, February 27, at 10 am in the Orangeburg County Courthouse in Orangeburg, SC, to hear The Episcopal Church in South Carolina’s (TECSC) Petition for Execution; Motion to Appoint a Special Master; and Petition for an Accounting. These motions were filed by TECSC (also known as the Diocese of South Carolina) following the South Carolina Supreme Court’s August 2017 majority decision to return the diocesan property and 29 parishes to the Episcopal parties. That decision was remitted to Judge Dickson in November of 2017 to be executed.  
 
Links to TECSC’s motions and supporting memoranda to be heard later this month are as follows:

• The Amended Petition for Execution and Further Relief on Declaratory Judgments of the SC Supreme Court and for the Appointment of a Special Master was filed on May 16, 2018. A Memorandum of Law in support of this petition was filed on September 24, 2018.

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• The Petition for an Accounting was filed on July 11, 2018. A Memorandum of Law in Support of the Petition for an Accounting was filed on September 24, 2018.

 

• An Omnibus Reply Brief to Plaintiff’s Opposition Briefs to Defendants’ Petition for Enforcement, Petition for an Accounting, and Motion to Dismiss the Betterment Action was filed on October 15, 2018.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina has appointed a Bishop Search Committee chaired by the Rev. Dr. Philip Linder. Over the next several months, the Search Committee will work on the search materials and the nomination process for candidates who will be considered in the vote for the Fifteenth Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina at the 230th Diocesan Convention in November 2020.
 
According to canons, the Search Committee includes two clergy and two lay persons from each of the four deaneries of the Diocese. Below is a complete list of the members of the Bishop Search Committee:
 
Pee Dee-Waccamaw Deanery
The Rev. Ryan Currie, Holy Cross Faith Memorial, Pawleys Island
The Rev. Rob Donehue, St. Anne’s, Conway
Doug Billings, Holy Cross Faith Memorial, Pawleys Island
Frances Elmore, St. Catherine’s, Florence
 
Peninsula Deanery
The Rev. Dr. Philip Linder, St. Mark’s, Charleston (chair)
The Rev. Jeff Richardson, Holy Communion, Charleston
Elsa McDowell, Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston
Pat Patrick, St. Stephen’s, Charleston
 
Southern Deanery
The Very Rev. Mark Brinkmann, All Saints, Hilton Head Island
The Rev. Roy Tripp, St. Mark’s, Port Royal
Jane Forsythe, St. Mark’s, Port Royal
Lesley Gilbert, All Saints, Hilton Head Island
 
West Charleston Deanery
The Rev. Dow Sanderson, Good Shepherd, Summerville
The Rev. Fred Thompson, The Episcopal Church on Edisto, Edisto Island
Thad Daise, The Episcopal Church on Edisto, Edisto Island
George Tupper, Good Shepherd, Summerville
 
The Search Committee met last week with the search consultant, the Rev. Canon Rick Callaway, and established the dates for the Listening Sessions throughout the Diocese.
 
The Diocese will share more information on the bishop search process as their work progresses.