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. ![]() The Reverend Canon John Coming Ball, Jr., 95, died April 26 at the Bishop Gadsden retirement community. Born in Summerville on April 26, 1923, Canon Ball was ordained in 1958 by Bishop Thomas N.Carruthers, and served at Christ Church, Denmark; St. Alban's, Blackville; and Holy Apostles, Barnwell. He also served in the Diocese of Atlanta from 1961-1976 and the Diocese of West Texas from 1976-1979. He was a member of the diocesan councils of both the South Carolina and Atlanta dioceses. A graduate of the University of the South, he served as a Sewanee trustee in the 1960s. He also served as interim dean of the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul in the 1980s. He retired in 1988, but went on to be appointed Canon Pastor of the Diocese, serving pastorally at hospitals and nursing homes. He retired again in 2008 and resided at Bishop Gadsden. He and his wife, the late Helen "Nell" Ingle Ball, were the parents of four daughters. UPDATED 5/1/2018: A memorial service will be held on Friday, May 4 at 4:00 p.m. in the Chapel at Bishop Gadsden, 1 Bishop Gadsden Way, Charleston. The Burial Office and interment will be on Tuesday, May 8 at 3:00 p.m. the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, 126 Coming St., Charleston. Read the full obituary here. U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel has granted motions to expand a federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against the bishop of a group that left The Episcopal Church, adding as defendants the breakaway organization and parishes that followed Bishop Mark Lawrence in separating from The Episcopal Church.
The 12-page order and opinion in the case known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence adds as defendants to the case the diocesan organization operating under Bishop Lawrence, diocesan trustees that are also operating under Bishop Lawrence, and 54 parishes that followed Bishop Lawrence after the 2012 split. Those groups have been operating under the name "Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina," and the confusion created by that is one facet of the trademark and false-advertising claims. "The Court therefore grants Plaintiffs' motions insofar as they seek to assert trademark infringement and false advertising claims against the Lawrence Diocese, parishes associated with the Lawrence Diocese, and the Trustees Corporation," the order says. The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) and The Episcopal Church (TEC) sought the expansion in hopes that federal court could help bring a final resolution to more than five years of legal proceedings, and allow all parties to begin working together to heal the divided diocese and restore unity to its people and parishes. The lawsuit initially was filed in 2013 by the Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg, who was then Bishop of TECSC. His successor, The Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. Adams III, was later added as a plaintiff. The Episcopal Church was allowed to join as a plaintiff in 2017, and today's order allows the local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, to intervene as well. In the same order, the judge denied motions by the Episcopal parties asking the federal court to take jurisdiction over trust issues raised by the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling of August 2, 2017 regarding 28 parishes. TEC and TECSC had asked the judge to remove vestry members who could not demonstrate to the court's satisfaction that they are "capable of and willing to carry out their fiduciary obligations to The Episcopal Church" and replace them with others who could do so. The judge wrote that accepting jurisdiction over the trust issues would "foster an excessive judicial entanglement with religion." "The better solution to the problem might be for TEC to take possession of the properties, rather than asking a federal court to assist the management of the properties," he wrote. "And the better forum for enforcement of the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision concerning TEC's real property rights is ... the Dorchester County Court of Common Pleas, where these issues have been litigated for over five years." The state Supreme Court "remitted" the case to the Dorchester County court, meaning it is responsible for seeing that its final order of August 2, 2017 is carried out. One argument the breakaway group made against expanding the case was that the U.S. District Court should not consider any issues raised by the petition they filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. "That argument is without merit," Judge Gergel wrote. "The judgment of the South Carolina Supreme Court is a final judgment and is the law of that case. The losing parties' decision to petition for a writ of certiorari does not place the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision into abeyance. Nor does it provide any reason for this Court to abstain from hearing any issue properly before this Court," the judge wrote. TECSC and TEC currently are preparing their formal response to the breakaway group's petition for a writ of certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court generally grants a hearing in only a small fraction of such cases. ![]() 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. 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]. |
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March 2025
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