​The Episcopal Church on Edisto (Edisto Island) has called the Rev. Robert “Bob” Blackwell​ as their interim priest-in-charge. Father Blackwell will start at Edisto on June 14. He and his wife, Kay, come to our diocese from Alabama, where he currently serves at Holy Trinity Church in Auburn. The Blackwells will reside on Edisto Island during the interim period.

The Rev. Fred Thompson served the Episcopal Church on Edisto for two years, finishing his time there on May 9. The congregation and diocese are thankful for his ministry and look forward to welcoming the Blackwells.

​In a letter to the diocese, the Reverend Canon Caleb J. Lee, as President of the Standing Committee, has announced that our Visiting Bishop, the Right Reverend Henry N. Parsley, Jr., will conclude his time with our diocese effective June 1, 2021.

Read the letter at this link, or read the text below:

Ascensiontide 2021

Dear Faithful People of the Diocese of South Carolina,

In January of 2020, your Standing Committee entered into an agreement with The Right Reverend Henry Parsley for him to become our visiting bishop during our time of transition as we sought to elect a diocesan bishop.

I write to inform you that our visiting bishop, The Right Reverend Henry Parsley, will be concluding his time with us effective June 1, 2021. This was mutually agreed upon by Bishop Parsley and the Standing Committee and is in good order as Bishop-elect Ruth Woodliff-Stanley transitions into our diocese.

Bishop Parsley has a deep understanding of South Carolina and appreciation of our history, as well as hope for our future. We are most appreciative of his willingness to offer the gifts of wisdom and experience during this season of transition and pandemic. As a visiting bishop, Bishop Parsley ordained two deacons in the Southern Deanery as well as one priest, uniquely, at Bowen’s Island in Folly Beach. He has also issued pastoral letters, meditations, and homilies during important times in our common life. His most recent meditation at the Special Convention for the Election of a Bishop was particularly poignant.

He has been a steadfast advisor and help to diocesan leadership. In particular, he has been a tremendous asset as guide and consultant to the Standing Committee. He has also represented the Diocese of South Carolina in the House of Bishops, keeping us connected not only to Province IV but also the entire Episcopal Church.

We are grateful to Bishop Parsley for his ministry among us during this historic time and we wish him and Becky all the best as they continue to live into retirement in Wilmington, NC.

Yours in Christ,

The Reverend Canon Caleb J. Lee
President of the Standing Committee

The Reverend Canon Ruth M. Woodliff-Stanley was elected today to be the fifteenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina during a Special Meeting of Convention held for the purposes of the election. Once consecrated in October, Bishop-elect Woodliff-Stanley will be the first female to serve as bishop in the more than 200-year history of the historic diocese. 

Woodliff-Stanley, who currently serves as Canon for Strategic Change for the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania & Western New York, and the Senior Vice President for Strategic Change with the Episcopal Church Building Fund, was elected on the second ballot in an election that was fully conducted on Zoom due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There were five candidates on the slate for this election, and on the second ballot Woodliff-Stanley received 26 of 34 clergy votes and 13 of the 19.5 votes from the lay order representing the parishes and missions of the diocese. To win the election, a candidate needed to carry the required majority in both the Lay and Clergy Orders on the same ballot.

Bishop-elect Woodliff-Stanley joined the Convention on Zoom to address the delegates and all of the diocese just after the election results were announced. “You have given a vision of what is possible,” the Bishop-elect shared with those attending the Electing Convention virtually, adding “It’s a vision I hope I can honor.” She went on to say: “Ours is the call to see the hearts of all the people of the world, beginning with one another.”

Raised and ordained in Mississippi, Woodliff-Stanley has served as rector of a parish, as canon on the staffs of two bishops of The Episcopal Church, and also in church-wide ministry focused on stewardship of finances and property. She is married to Nathan Woodliff-Stanley and they have two adult sons. In closing her remarks to the Convention, the bishop-elect expressed her pure joy in being elected to lead the Diocese of South Carolina. “This is a moment of pure, unabashed joy. I cannot wait to be with you!”

Woodliff-Stanley, who is scheduled to be consecrated as the XV Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina on Saturday, October 2 of this year, will be the first full-time diocesan bishop of the diocese since 2012. During that time, the diocese has been led by two part-time provisional bishops, with the second retiring in December 2019. The search for the XV Bishop began in earnest in January 2020, though was paused briefly at the beginning of the pandemic.

As diocesan bishop, Woodliff-Stanley will lead 31 churches (including parishes, missions, and worshiping communities) affiliated with The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in the eastern half of the state of South Carolina. The diocese represents more than 7,500 members, more than 100 priests and 15 deacons who are either canonically resident, or licensed to serve, in our diocese.

The other candidates on the slate were:

• The Reverend Geoffrey M. St. John Hoare, rector, St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.
• The Reverend Kevin Allen Johnson, rector, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Texas
• The Reverend Canon Terence Alexander Lee, rector, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, New York, New York
• The Venerable Calhoun Walpole, archdeacon, Diocese of South Carolina; vicar and subdean, Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston, South Carolina

The Diocese of South Carolina announced the beginning of a process that would lead to the election and consecration of the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina on January 23, 2020. The process was briefly paused at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in August 2020. Learn more about the search for the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina at www.scbishopsearch.org.