During a call on Tuesday with clergy actively serving our diocese, and again echoed in a letter to the diocese linked below, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley is inviting congregations to continue to support the people of Ukraine through prayer and special offerings for Episcopal Relief & Development. Read the full letter at this link. 

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the country has endured daily attacks throughout their nation since that day. The Episcopal Church and its leaders have been openly supportive of Ukraine and of taking steps that will bring about peace. Learn more about the efforts of Episcopal Relief & Development to support the people of Ukraine and how you can assist in those efforts, visit their website at this link.

​On Thursday, April 21, the day after the South Carolina Supreme Court handed down their latest ruling, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley reached out to the leader on the other side of the dispute, the Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar, to engage in conversation about how our dioceses can move forward for the benefit of the people of South Carolina. Both bishops have expressed a desire to move forward in a way that is different than what may have occurred in the past. “We really have an appetite to move into a new season marked by a different tone and tenor between our two communities, focused on the Gospel of Jesus and helping the people of this state,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley.
 
Both bishops are relative newcomers to the dispute that has lasted nearly a decade. Bishop Woodliff-Stanley took the helm of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina with her ordination in October 2021, and Bishop Edgar was ordained in March of this year as the second bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, which is aligned with ACNA, the Anglican Church of North America.
 
The Court’s decision will return 14 parishes to the historic diocese that left The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in 2012, along with all diocesan property, while 15 breakaway churches will remain with the new ACNA diocese. The justices of the state’s highest court found that the 14 parishes did create a trust in favor of The Episcopal Church and its diocese, while the other 15 churches did not. Additionally, the Court found that all real and personal property held in trust by the Trustees of the diocese belong to the “Associated Diocese” – the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. These properties would include St. Christopher Camp & Conference Center on Seabrook Island. While the immediate next steps in the process are not yet clear, the two bishops hope that their prompt meeting will set a new tone for the relationship between the two dioceses moving forward.
 
For her part, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley says her focus is the same, regardless of this legal decision. “We remain focused on where God is calling us to be and this includes reconciliation across all sorts of divides; the important work of justice – primarily race justice, LGBTQ justice, and economic justice; and building the church of the future,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “Regardless of property issues, our vision and our common mission as a diocese will continue – the Gospel is bigger than all of the controversy and we will continue forward on the mission God is calling us to lead.”
 
The two bishops met with a reporter from the Charleston-based Post & Courier on Friday, April 22, and the publication shared an article at this link.

Download this release at this link.

On Wednesday, April 20, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that 14 South Carolina churches that were once part of The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina shall be returned, along with all real and personal property held in trust for the diocese, including the St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center on Seabrook Island. The churches left the diocese in 2012 and later joined the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and yesterday’s news marks another milestone in a nearly decade-long legal journey that included a lower court decision in 2014 which was largely overturned by the state’s high court in 2017 and then further clarified with the decision yesterday.

Of the decision, the Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, said: “Their decisions will no doubt bring joy to many in our diocese, but for others, there will be grief in the possible finality of a loss they have been feeling for nearly 10 years.” She also added a hope for the future of the reconciled diocese: “…we now walk into a bright future, one in which we will focus on the reconciling power of the Gospel to transform injustice, to heal the brokenhearted, and to build God’s beloved community.”

The South Carolina Supreme Court, using a variety of determining factors, decided that 14 parishes (of the 29 previously named) did create an “irrevocable trust in favor of the National Church and its diocese” (the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina – the “Associated Diocese”). These 14 parishes are as follows: Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant; Good Shepherd, Charleston; Holy Comforter, Sumter; Holy Cross, Stateburg; Holy Trinity, Charleston; St. Bartholomew’s, Hartsville; St. David’s, Cheraw; St. Luke’s, Hilton Head; St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte; St. James, Charleston; St. John’s, Johns Island; St. Jude’s, Walterboro; Trinity, Myrtle Beach; and Old St. Andrew’s, Charleston.

Conversely, the Court found that 15 of the 29 parishes “did not create a trust in favor of the National Church or its diocese, and thus those 15 Parishes retain title to their real estate.” These parishes are as follows: All Saints, Florence; Church of our Saviour, John’s Island; Church of the Cross, Bluffton; Christ-St. Paul’s, Yonges Island; Epiphany, Eutawville; Redeemer, Orangeburg; Resurrection, Surfside/Myrtle Beach; St. Helena’s, Beaufort; St. Paul’s, Bennettsville; St. Paul’s, Summerville; St. Philip’s, Charleston; St. Luke & St. Paul, Charleston; St. Michael’s, Charleston; Trinity, Edisto; and Trinity, Pinopolis. 

The South Carolina Supreme Court has decided that all real and personal property, including the St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, have been held “in trust for the benefit of the National Church [The Episcopal Church] and the Associated Diocese,” meaning the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. The ruling further concluded that “The real and personal property held in trust by the Trustees is now held for the benefit of the Associated Diocese.”

On all matters and questions relating to “names, styles, emblems, and service marks,” the Court deferred to the federal court.  The U.S. District Court previously ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (also recognized as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina) in September 2019. This decision has been appealed, but any future rulings were stayed pending the outcome of this state case.

In her pastoral letter to the diocese sent hours after receiving the opinion, Bishop Woodilff-Stanley discussed the next steps for the diocese. “We are still working to understand the immediate path forward and promise to be in communication with you as our legal team helps us determine what comes next,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “May we focus together on reconciliation and the way of love as we journey together on the road ahead, centered in Christ’s love for all of us.”

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was one of the nine original dioceses that formed The Episcopal Church in 1785. The Episcopal Church, which encompasses 111 dioceses and regional areas in 17 nations of the world, remains the only denomination in the United States affiliated with the worldwide Anglican Communion. 

On Tuesday, April 5, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley and Diocesan Staff toured the grounds of McLeod Plantation on James Island where enslaved people were brought from Africa through Charleston harbor in the mid-1800s. The historic site, a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, offers an honest look at life on the plantation through the eyes of the enslaved people who were brought there without their consent, and through whom the fabric of our history and our culture was woven.

The tour was led by Toby Smith and John Gardner (who serves on the Diocesan Commission for Racial Justice and Reconciliation), who shared the stories of the enslaved people who lived on this sacred ground, how they were brought there against their will, forced to labor for the cultivation and processing of sea island cotton, endured unspeakable conditions and inhumane treatment, and yet through it all, maintained and embraced their Gullah/Geechee culture and persevered. The visit also included a close look at a cemetery on the grounds where untold numbers of enslaved people are buried. Efforts are currently underway to identify and properly memorialize this sacred area. Bishop Ruth offered a prayer alongside the cemetery for the bodies of the blessed souls laid to rest there. The visit to McLeod was an opportunity to continue to understand the history of our country and our state as we continue on a path toward reconciliation.

Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley said of the visit: "It was a profoundly impactful morning for me. I was so moved to learn that, as constituent member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, McLeod centers its work on the lives of those who were enslaved on the land. The time we spent at McLeod with John Gardner and Toby Smith deepened my commitment to our collective work of justice.”

On Monday, April 4, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley joined a large group of Citadel cadets for the weekly Citadel Episcopal Fellowship on the campus of The Military College of South Carolina located along the Ashley River in Charleston. Following worship and communion, the group enjoyed a meal together and some time for fellowship.

The Citadel Episcopal Fellowship meets each week for worship, food, and fellowship, with the meals being provided by local churches and organizations who lovingly fill this need. This important ministry is led by a number of devoted volunteers including Lester and Clare Pittman, Taylor and Nancy Skardon, and Nick Kohlmann. 

​The Very Rev. Mark Brinkmann, Senior Associate at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island announced recently that he will retire on January 1, 2023. He was called to All Saints’ in 2007. In addition to a broad range of parish duties, he is on the diocesan Board of Trustees and Liturgical Commission as well as being the Dean of the Southern Deanery.
 
In a letter to the congregation Rev. Brinkmann shared “As this time of transition unfolds, I look forward to having the opportunity to say our goodbyes as well as being with you as we continue to celebrate and extend God’s unconditional love.”

​The Rev. Dr. John Sorensen has been named by Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley as the priest-in-charge of Church of the Messiah, Myrtle Beach. He will be serving the congregation two Sundays per month, as well as fulfilling other church and pastoral needs while they search for their next priest.

Father Sorensen retired to South Carolina in 2019 after serving congregations in Pennsylvania and New York.