![]() As of August 1, St. David’s Church in Cheraw will return to The Diocese of South Carolina and The Episcopal Church. St. David’s Episcopal Church will reopen for weekly Sunday services beginning on Sunday, August 7. The Rev. Michael Bye, who has been serving The Episcopal Worship Group of Cheraw, will lead the congregation as interim priest-in-charge. The church plans to reopen St. David’s School as part of St. David’s Episcopal Church on August 15. A more detailed announcement will be made by the first of next week. Your prayers are requested for all involved through this transition. ![]() Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley arrived in England earlier this week for the 15th Lambeth Conference, a gathering of bishops from across the Anglican Communion for prayer and reflection, fellowship, and dialogue on church and world affairs. The theme for this year’s convention is “God’s Church for God’s World – walking, listening, and witnessing together.” It will be held from July 26 to August 8. Check out this photo album on our Facebook page for photos from the bishop's time at Lambeth. We will continue to add to this album during her time there. For this Lambeth Conference, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (who calls the bishops to the event) instituted a “Lambeth Calls” process in place of resolutions, which as reported by the Episcopal News Service (in this article) was “partly in recognition that the Lambeth Conference is not a legislative body and has no jurisdiction over The Episcopal Church and the other autonomous Anglican provinces.” Lambeth planners have described the calls as “short written statements that include declarations, affirmations and common ‘calls’ to the church and the world that the bishops want to make.” Each call was developed by a drafting group from bishops around the Anglican Communion on 10 subject areas including discipleship, the environment, reconciliation, and “safe church” principles. When the study guide and drafts were shared on July 18, the Lambeth Call on Human Dignity generated deep concern from Episcopal bishops over language that seeks to affirm a 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution opposing same-sex marriage. Reflecting on the initial call about human dignity, our own diocesan bishop, the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, said “I am profoundly concerned that imbedded in this call is a statement from 1998 that does not reflect The Episcopal Church’s understanding of marriage and is an affront to our LGBTQ+ members. I am disturbed as I absorb the reality that we are being set up for painful division instead of substantive engagement across our differences.” As a result of the response from bishops from several Primates and Provinces of the Anglican Communion, including The Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, the Lambeth Conference issued a public statement on July 25 acknowledging the concerns about the Human Dignity Call and reporting that the drafting group would be “making some revisions,” noting also that bishops would be offered a third option in responding to the call: “This Call does not speak for me.” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who is attending his first Lambeth Conference as presiding bishop, alluded to the “rapidly changing” situation in a July 25 news release. After arriving in Canterbury, bishops from The Episcopal Church, came together on July 27 in the spirit of beloved community to listen to each other, share feelings, pray, and reflect together in light of the original and revised Lambeth Call on Human Dignity. Acknowledging the disagreement from many of the participating bishops, planners of the Lambeth Conference significantly rewrote part of the preparatory “Lambeth Calls” document, eliminating language from an earlier draft that had affirmed a 24-year-old resolution opposing same-sex marriage. Read more on the Episcopal News Service at this link. After the revised call was shared, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley expressed hope. “I am grateful for the revision as I believe it’s a more accurate depiction of the theological diversity on this issue across the Anglican Communion,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “I am hopeful that our time together will be spent engaging one another on the immense challenges and possibilities facing our world.” Bishop Woodliff-Stanley also shared her thoughts about her first day at the Lambeth Conference. “My first day at Lambeth has included meeting people from several provinces, and spending time in a small group, listening, and learning from the experience of bishops from contexts that are very different from my own,” said the bishop. “My husband, Nate, and I also joyfully participated in a march organized by the LGBTQ community of the University of Kent, and enjoyed a wonderful evening of international food and fellowship.” Learn more about the Lambeth Conference on the internet at www.lambethconference.org/. And follow The Episcopal News Service at www.episcopalnewsservice.org for the latest news from Lambeth involving The Episcopal Church. ![]() The Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley has called the Rev. Furman L. Buchanan as priest-in-charge of Christ Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant, which will likely be the second church returning to the Diocese of South Carolina and The Episcopal Church as a result of the SC Supreme Court decision in April 2022. Fr. Buchanan will lead the first services reopening Christ Episcopal Church, currently planned for mid-September. Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley looks forward to introducing Fr. Buchanan to the Lowcountry. “I’m delighted to welcome Father Buchanan and his family to our Diocese,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “Furman brings strong skills in church growth rooted in a deep faith. He is a reconciler and a gifted leader. I look forward with joyful anticipation to an exciting new season at Christ Church.” Ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina in 2007, Fr. Buchanan has served as rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, SC, since 2010, and previously served as both associate rector and priest-in-charge at St. Martin’s in the Fields Episcopal Church in Columbia, SC. A native of Barnwell, SC, and a published author, Fr. Buchanan is passionate about leadership, preaching, liturgy, church growth, teaching, and pastoral care, and he is looking forward to the opportunity to reopen Christ Episcopal Church in the heart of Mt. Pleasant, one of the largest cities in the state. “For the past 16 years I have been blessed to work alongside parishes which are healthy and willing to take risks and make sacrifices in order to grow spiritually and numerically,” said Fr. Buchanan. “When congregations and their clergy are willing to follow Jesus’ way of love, miracles of compassion happen regularly and the Holy Spirit’s fruitfulness is evident all around. My 12 years of experience with St. Peter’s, Greenville, has clearly revealed to me what a healthy and vibrant congregation looks like; and I will be sharing this same hopeful vision with the people of Mt. Pleasant.” Fr. Buchanan and his wife, Kim, have three adult daughters. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Wofford College in 1989 and worked for a public relations firm in Columbia, SC, for 13 years before discerning a call to ordained ministry. He received his Master of Divinity from the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee) in 2006. Details are still being finalized on Fr. Buchanan’s first Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church, Mt. Pleasant, and will be shared as soon as possible. Originally built in 1708, the historic Christ Church Parish was one of the first churches in the Diocese of South Carolina. In addition to the smaller, historic church building, the 26-acre campus includes a larger and more modern sanctuary, dedicated in 1996. Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant, is located at 2304 Highway 17 North. The Rev. Cn. Callie Walpole led two services of worship on Sunday, July 17 to reopen St. John's Episcopal Church on Johns Island as part of The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina once again. More than 200 people attended the two services in total, at 8 am and 10:30 am. A few dozen also attended a 9 am service at Grace Chapel, a chapel of ease for St. John's, in Rockville on Wadmalaw Island. That service was led by The Rev. Rob Dewey. The 10:30 am service was also livestreamed on the church's Facebook page and can be viewed at this link.
Services will continue each week at the same times, and all are welcome and encouraged to attend. St. John's is located at 3673 Maybank Highway, near the intersection with Main Road. The church is building a new website and it can be found at this link: www.stjohnsepiscopalchurchsc.org. View photos from the Sunday's services on our Facebook page at this link. ![]() The Episcopal Church on Edisto has called the Rev. William Coyne to serve as interim priest-in-charge beginning Sunday, July 17, 2022, through December while the church engages in the search process for a full-time priest. The Rev. Coyne has previously served as supply clergy for numerous churches in our diocese, as well as interim rector of St. Stephen’s, Charleston, and interim priest-in-charge of East Cooper Episcopal Church, Mt. Pleasant. He also served our diocese as missioner for returning congregations. He and wife, Janet, live in Mt. Pleasant. To learn more about The Episcopal Church on Edisto's search for a full-time priest-in-charge, see the announcement from earlier this month at this link. ![]() On Tuesday, July 19, youth from churches in Florida and North Carolina joined with youth of our diocese for a Slavery to Civil Rights Pilgrimage through the city of Charleston. Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley met the group as they began their pilgrimage at Waterfront Park, where she spoke about our city's difficult past as the port of entry for more than 40 percent of the enslaved people brought to our country against their will as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Before sending them on their way, she led the group in prayer. After a tour of various sites, the group gathered at Grace Church Cathedral for supper and "hootenanny." Good Shepherd, Summerville, shared photos from the day on their Facebook page at this link, and a fun video of a glimpse into the "hootenanny" at this link. ![]() The Episcopal Church on Edisto is now receiving names for a full-time priest-in-charge. The Search Committee has stated, “We are searching for a priest who will complete our transition from mission to parish status. We desire a priest skilled in church planning, with skills in overseeing capital campaigns." The committee hopes that their next priest will have the gifts of: “compassion, courage, caring, creativity, generosity and commitment.” Interested candidates should contact the Rev. Canon Philip Linder, Canon to the Ordinary, at 859-940-1601. You may as well send a cover letter, resume and OTM profile to [email protected]. View the congregational profile at this link. Transitions In other transition news, Calvary, Charleston, continues to receive names in their search for a full-time rector. Find more information about transitions in our diocese on our website at this link: www.episcopalchurchsc.org/clergy-and-transition-ministries. |
News BlogThe Diocese of SC Archives
March 2025
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