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ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Chief Administrative Judge of the 1st Judicial Circuit, Judge Edgar W. Dickson, met today with attorneys to begin setting a timetable for resolving how to implement the transfer of diocesan and parish property back to The Episcopal Church under an August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
After a 32-minute scheduling conference at the Orangeburg County Courthouse, the judge asked attorneys for each side to provide a list of the issues they believe he needs to decide in executing the decision the Supreme Court remitted to his court. Attorneys for both sides said they would provide the list in 1 week. No other dates were set. Judge Dickson opened the conference by acknowledging the complexity of the case, which involves 29 plaintiff parishes and all property and assets of the Diocese of South Carolina. He stressed the need to move forward with resolving it. “I don’t want this case to drag out,” he said. “I need to move this along, and you all need to get some resolution.” Chancellor Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., representing The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), suggested that the judge could give all parties a schedule for submitting briefs on outstanding issues, and then set aside one day for a hearing on all of them. “We are quite sensitive to your suggestion to terminate this whole thing as soon as possible,” he said. Nineteen attorneys appeared representing the plaintiffs of the breakaway group on the left side of the courtroom, with four for TECSC and The Episcopal Church on the right. A handful of spectators included Mark Lawrence, bishop of the group that broke away from The Episcopal Church in 2012 and initiated the lawsuit in January 2013. The Episcopal Church and TECSC have asked Judge Dickson to consider appointing a judge called a Special Master to oversee the complex process of returning property and assets. They also have petitioned for a full accounting of all assets held by the breakaway group. Another issue for the court is a second lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs in November 2017 under a South Carolina law known as the “betterments statute,” seeking compensation for improvements to properties. The Episcopal Church and TECSC have filed a motion to dismiss that case. Another pending motion from the plaintiffs is to have the case designated as “complex.” Plaintiff’s attorney Alan Runyan told the judge the intent of seeking “complex” designation is to be sure the same judge handles both the Supreme Court decision and the betterments case. “I don’t think anybody’s going to jump into this," Judge Dickson said, laughing, "but if somebody calls me, I’ll let you know."
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 St. Francis Episcopal Church in Charleston was forced to cancel services on July 22 after a roof failure and flooding at their worship space, Stuhr's Chapel in West Ashley. Initially it was thought that St. Francis might be displaced for up to eight weeks, but ongoing assessment has church leaders hopeful they can return on August 12.
For the next two Sundays St. Francis will be worshiping at a local chapel graciously offered by a Christian corporate neighbor. The Rev. Michael Shaffer, Priest-in-Charge, said he is grateful for the outpouring of support extended during the past week. For information visit the St. Francis Facebook page or contact Fr. Shaffer at 843-830-1220. "Within 60 minutes of my email notification to the vestry last Friday of the flooding at Stuhrs, over 15 parishioners and friends of St. Francis arrived at Stuhrs with boxes and vans to help remove and store vestments, liturgical hardware and other important personal property items owned by St. Francis, so as to keep these items safe from further damage," Fr. Shaffer says. Volunteer assistance, offers of help and prayers also came from former St. Francis members, friends at St. Stephen's, Charleston, as well Bishop Skip Adams and Archdeacon Calhoun Walpole. "This is what I refer to in my weekly blessing when I pray we might see the face of Jesus in everyone we meet,” Fr. Shaffer says.  A youth team from our diocese is traveling to Atlanta today for the Province IV Youth Event, "PYE 2018: For Peace". For the next 4 days they will join together with youth from the other 19 Episcopal dioceses of Province IV to experience the presence of God in the world and to serve and be served by God's people.
Follow their adventures on the new Diocesan Youth Instagram account, @tecscyouth. During the day, the seven youth and adult leader Andrea McKellar will be taking part in outreach work at sites around the city. At night, the youth will stay at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Midtown Atlanta, and spend part of each evening reflecting on their experiences. They'll also be enjoying the All Saints' youth space, which includes a basketball court, movie screen, pool tables, ping pong and more. Service partners the youth will be working with include:
PYE 2018 also will participate in Posts for Peace, sharing ideas of how participants can be instruments of peace within Atlanta, at home, and the world. Using 6-foot posts, they will create works of art that will be displayed across the country in an effort to raise awareness and stimulate conversation leading to peace and resolving injustice. You can find more information at postsforpeaceandjustice.org.  The Rev. Matt McCormick Bishop Adams and the wardens and vestry of Calvary Episcopal Church in Charleston have announced that the Rev. Matthew McCormick will be Calvary's new priest-in-charge effective in August.
Ordained in 2008, Fr. McCormick is a graduate of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania; he has received a Masters of Theology degree from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, and is currently working on a doctorate. Fr. McCormick, along with his wife Lisa and their young son, has returned to Charleston after having served as rector of Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Bishop Adams speaks in Bluffton.
Three “Open Conversations” in Conway, Charleston and Bluffton this week brought together hundreds of Episcopalians and Anglicans to join in the “holy work” of reconciliation in the diocese and the churches of eastern South Carolina.
The Rev. William Coyne, Missioner for Returning Congregations for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, reported on Thursday to the Diocesan Council about the three events, which drew 80 people in Conway on Monday, 211 in Charleston on Tuesday and 154 in Bluffton on Wednesday. “As we await the court setting in motion the implementation plan and timeline for returning congregations, we began by listening, sharing information, and collecting contacts of those who wish to be partners in building the new future together,” Fr. Coyne told the Council. The Conversations were an important step on the road toward reconciliation, according to Bishop Skip Adams. “We’ve said all along the way that we’ve wanted to have the opportunity to talk to people in the pews,” the Bishop told Diocesan Council members. At each meeting, a majority of those who came are attending churches that are now part of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, but a significant number also identified themselves as members of the 29 churches that will be returning to The Episcopal Church under the August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court. In keeping with the Open Conversation theme, participants were not required to identify themselves or their churches, but many chose to do so. Each evening opened with an introduction from Fr. Coyne, who talked about the work that already has begun toward an orderly return of the congregations to the Episcopal Church, and invited everyone to participate in it. “We have holy work to do,” he told the participants. Bishop Adams began with Scripture (Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always…”) and with prayer, inviting people to join in one of his favorites from the Book of Common Prayer’s ordination and Good Friday liturgies: O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry sent his greetings via a video, filmed during The Episcopal Church’s General Convention July 5-13 in Austin Texas, offering with his prayers and encouragement to all who are coming together to work toward reconciliation.
A video message from the Presiding Bishop, delivered at the three Open Conversations July 16-18.
 Fr. Bill Coyne, center, listens during the Open Conversation in Charleston on July 17.
Bishop Adams closed his remarks with two quotations from the Rt. Rev. Gray Temple (1914-1999), who served from 1961-1982 as the 11th Bishop of our diocese: “It is not we who can heal the wounds in his Body…It is only by coming closer to him that we can come nearer to one another. And we cannot by ourselves come closer to him.” And: “Let individuals or groups within the body contend vehemently for the truth as they see it; that is their contribution to the life of the body; but let them not rend or break the body itself, and let the body rejoice in them all.” Later, the program moved into four “table conversations” around the room, each staffed by clergy and lay leaders of TECSC. Topics for the tables were an introduction for returning congregations; worship and faith, practical matters, and communication. People circulated freely among the tables for about 75 minutes. Table leaders were focused on listening and hearing concerns and questions, including points of difference and disagreement. While the conversations at times were difficult, “everyone remained respectful,” Bishop Adams told the Diocesan Council. People frequently were seen hugging or shaking hands as they wrapped up their conversations. 
Many who attended from TECSC congregations came to show support for people who are concerned about the future of their church homes. They also had questions, particularly about ways to connect with people in the disaffiliated churches who are seeking more information. Some participants from disaffiliated churches said their leaders had discouraged members from attending.
Copies of a newly updated FAQ document were available for everyone, with extra copies to take home. The FAQ, available here, offers answers to many of the questions that came up at the Open Conversations. Not knowing how many people to expect, the diocese chose venues in community buildings that would accommodate 140-180 people, so the large turnout meant space was tight and, in Bluffton, overflowing. Once conversations began around the room, it was sometimes difficult to hear at the tables, participants said. Diocesan leaders are encouraging people who still have questions or concerns to contact Fr. Coyne directly: [email protected] or (843) 614-0679. “This was a beginning,” Bishop Adams told the Diocesan Council. “We wanted to try this and see, and we will be learning from them.” A Prayer of Sir Francis Drake
Fr. Bill Coyne offered this prayer during each of the Open Conversations:
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim. Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, To venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
'Our Future Work Together'
Read 'Our Future Work Together,' a handout with information from Missioner Bill Coyne.
The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) have petitioned the 1st Circuit Court of Common Pleas to order a full accounting of all assets held by a group that broke away from the church in 2012.
The petition, filed July 10 with the Court of Common Pleas in the 1st Judicial Circuit, would affect the diocesan organizations and 29 parishes that the South Carolina Supreme Court decided in August 2017 must be returned to The Episcopal Church. All were plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in 2013 against The Episcopal Church and TECSC by the breakaway group led by Mark Lawrence. The accounting would "allow this Court to equitably proceed in this matter" to restore property to The Episcopal Church and TECSC and compensate them for any loss in value of property since the split occurred in October 2012. The case has been remitted to the 1st Circuit court so that the state Supreme Court's decision can be executed. In May, The Episcopal Church and TECSC petitioned the court to implement the decision and appoint a judge called a “special master” to oversee the complex process of returning the property and assets. The Chief Administrative Judge of the circuit, Judge Edgar Dickson, has scheduled a status conference for July 26. Such conferences typically are held to set a schedule for disposing of the case. The new Petition for an Accounting asks the court to order a report on the identity and value of all assets that must be turned over in accordance with the SC Supreme Court order. It also asks for an accounting of all assets that were held by the plaintiffs as of October 2008, and what has been their disposition since then. The petition asks the court to appoint the Charleston accounting firm of Dixon, Hughes and Goodman LLP, to conduct the accounting. Reports would be required from the Trustees of the Diocese of South Carolina, the corporation of "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina,” Camp St. Christopher, and each of the 29 parishes that the SC Supreme Court declared are to be returned. The petition seeks all audit reports, audited financial statements and managed investment accounts, bank statements, budgets, data on fund transfers, and information on legal fees and related expenses from January 1, 2008 onward. It also asks for all documents that establish restrictions on the use of funds.  The Episcopal Church in South Carolina is inviting everyone to attend three Open Conversations being held around the diocese on July 16, 17 and 18. Do you know someone who might be interested in attending? Click below to find a flyer (PDF file) that you can download, print, or email as an attachment.
TECSC Open Conversation Flyer Each Open Conversation will be a listening and information session, a time to hear concerns and to engage in an open dialogue about the life and ministry of our diocese. Thanks to everyone who is helping to spread the word! |
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P.O. Box 20485, Charleston, SC 29413 - 843.259.2016 - [email protected]
- Home
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About Us
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Ministry
- Prayer Calendar
- Commission on Ministry
- Title IV Concerns
- Outreach
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation Commission
- Grants for Congregations
- Administrative Resources
- Clergy Resources
- Liturgy & Worship >
- Education & Formation >
- Church Connections >
- Ecumenical & Interfaith >
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