The Rev. Mary Finklea, Lutheran pastor and speaker at the Daughters of the King Spring Retreat, weaves her prayer to add to the prayers of others.

The Daughters of the King South Carolina Assembly held its Spring Retreat at Camp St. Christopher, April 13-15. The Order is an international sisterhood of believers and has lay women and clergy as members, with chapters at several of the churches of our diocese.

The Rev. Mary Finklea, a Lutheran pastor from Florence, SC, was the speaker for the weekend retreat and addressed the topic, "Being a Member of the Royal Priesthood", from 1 Peter 2:9. Pastor Mary said that as followers of Christ, Christians are members of the Royal Priesthood and need to feed, bless, receive, and give to others, as Christ modeled in His life.

Learning to do this is a continuous process of developing and maturing as Christians. Daughters of the King take vows of prayer, service, and evangelism, so learning more about the Royal Priesthood was very helpful and inspiring, according to Kathy House, President of the SCDOK Assembly.

Pastor Mary used the analogy of remodeling a house, comparing it to the journey Christians travel each day – from "Dreaming" about the person God created you to be, to "Demolishing" old habits, and finding a few "Disasters" as the rebuilding is done. Finally, there is "Delight" as progress is made toward the goal of being more like Christ, realizing that it is His love, guidance, and blessing that make it possible.

If you are interested in learning more about Daughters of the King, please visit the DOK national website: www.doknational.org.

St. George?s Episcopal Church in Summerville has named the Rev. Jeff Wallace as Associate Rector effective April 16. Along with sharing in teaching and preaching responsibilities, Fr. Jeff?s chief areas will be development and oversight of small group ministry and pastoral oversight. Working with St.George?s on a supply basis since January of 2018, Fr. Jeff has assisted the rector, the Very Rev. Chris Huff, with four services on Sundays and in various pastoral situations.

?Jeff has been a godsend to our very active parish," Dean Huff says. "He has vast experience and is a very good preacher. He has already endeared himself in his currently limited capacity to the staff and laity here. We welcome him and wife, Stephanie, into the further work of the Gospel here in Summerville."

Fr. Jeff also serves as Chaplain with Agape Hospice of Charleston. He was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1984 after receiving his Master of Divinity degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia South Carolina, and has served several parishes throughout the southeast. Ordained in 2007, he served at All Saints, Waccamaw (later Christ the King, Waccamaw) Episcopal Church as associate rector alongside Fr. Ed Kelaher.​

Warden Hector Joyner presents Pamela Guess with the 2018 Volunteer of the Year award on April 4 at the Estill Federal Correctional Institution in Estill, South Carolina.
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Pamela Guess, a member of Christ Church Denmark and coordinator of the Changing Hearts and Minds Ministry of the Southern Deanery, was honored as Volunteer of the Year at the Estill Federal Correctional Institution on April 4, 2018.

Estill FCI is a medium security federal correctional institution with an adjacent minimum security satellite campus, with a total of more than 1,200 residents. The Southern Deanery began a ministry there in 2014 with four volunteers and 25 inmate residents attending a Good Friday service.

Since then, it has grown to include Bible studies offered by volunteers, and new opportunities for worship. This year’s Good Friday service saw 60 residents participating. On April 8, the Very Rev. Richard Lindsey of All Saints, Hilton Head, celebrated the ministry’s first Holy Eucharist at Estill with 95 residents and lay leaders Carol Grish, Barney Forsythe, and Ken Kraft. The ministry hopes to offer Eucharist more regularly in the coming year.

According to Pam, the Changing Hearts and Minds Ministry is responding to the spiritual call for the transforming power of Jesus Christ to enter the lives of the imprisoned Christian residents.   

In addition to Pam and the team who went to Estill on April 8, the ministry team includes Bishop Skip Adams, the Rev. George Moyser, the Rev. Jonathan Coffey, the Rev. Patricia Turk, and the Rev. Dr. James Yarsiah, Mike Seymour, Scott Bester, Linda Jones, and Susan Meehan. They represent churches in the deanery in the southern part of our diocese.

The ministry began in 2014 when Pam and Bishop Charles vonRosenberg joined the Rev. Sandy Grant and Artie Tison from the deanery to conduct the first Good Friday service. In 2016 a volunteer team began a scripture study based on the African Bible Study Method and Centering Prayer, with 20 residents receiving certificates of completion. A 2017 study of Mark for Everyone by N.T. Wright resulted in 17 residents receiving certificates.

This year, volunteers will offer The Gospel of Matthew: God With Us by the Kerygma Program, presented to the residents during two 8-week sessions beginning this month and ending in December. 

To learn more about Changing Hearts and Minds Ministry, contact Pam at [email protected].