The Rev. Bill Coyne is Missioner for Returning Congregations for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Contact him at [email protected] or 843-614-0679.
We are continuing to have a positive response to the three successful Open Conversations held last month in Conway, Charleston, and Bluffton. I have been following up primarily with people who have questions about the process of reconciling / returning with The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. As we await the Court setting in motion the implementation plan and timeline for the returning congregations, I have begun by listening, sharing information, and collecting contacts of those who wish to be partners in building the new future together. The first question on everyone’s heart is the timing – when will this transition take place? We do not know. We do know that our hope is that the transition be holy, dignified and peaceful in every location. We do know there are folks who who plan to continue with their churches as they return to The Episcopal Church. My role as Missioner is to work with every single returning congregation in moving beyond the recent troubles and focusing on restarting and rebuilding healthy mission-focused congregations of hope and healing. If you are part of a small group of leaders interested in restoring the relationship that goes back to the consecration of your building and goes forward into The Way of Love – Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life… let’s meet! A Prayer for the Dedication and Consecration of a Church We give you thanks, O God, for the gifts of your people, and for the work of many hands, which have beautified this place and furnished it for the celebration of your holy mysteries. Accept and bless all we have done, and grant that in these earthly things we may behold the order and beauty of things heavenly; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 573) ![]() Pictured (L-R): Trevor Strawderman (Teen Angel North Myrtle Beach HS); Dana Black (North Strand Housing Shelter); Susan Alexander (South Strand Helping Hand); Jamie Hedden (Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach); JV Mott (A Father’s Place); Richard Atkinson (Mobile Mea ls of the North Strand); Gary Olin (North Strand Helping Hand); Mike Raley (St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Men); and The Rev. Canon Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant, II, Rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Photo by Babs Raley. (St. Stephen's Episcopal Church press release)
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC – St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church has announced $15,000 in awards to seven local nonprofits who are the beneficiaries of the 2018 Rich Jacobs Memorial Pro Am Golf Tournament. On on August 9, St. Stephen’s hosted a reception in their Parish Hall to distribute the net proceeds from the 2018 Rich Jacobs Memorial Pro Am Golf Tournament, which was held at Arrowhead Country Club on June 20, 2018. We are pleased to announce the following beneficiaries:
Along with our partners, The Myrtle Beach Golf Desk, and Arrowhead Country Club, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church would like to express thanks and appreciation for the ongoing support we have received over the years from our sponsors as well as individuals and entities that donated raffle items. The tournament continues to be a success because of each and every person that has provided support, and our local community continues to benefit directly. For more information, please contact the Rev. Canon Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant II, Rector, at 843-249-1169. U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel has set March 1, 2019 as the target date for a trial in the federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church.
In an Amended Scheduling Order issued Thursday, the judge set a timetable for filing motions, identifying witnesses, and other legal steps aiming toward the March 1 date for a trial in the case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence. Prior to the order, the case had been set for trial in September. The new schedule comes after Judge Gergel allowed the expansion of the lawsuit in April, adding as defendants to the case the diocesan organization and trustees who are operating under Bishop Mark Lawrence, and the 54 parishes that followed him 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 lawsuit was filed in March 2013 by Bishop Charles vonRosenberg, who at that time was the only bishop recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. By continuing to represent himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is engaging in false advertising, the lawsuit says. Bishop vonRosenberg retired in 2016, and his successor, Bishop Gladstone B. Adams III, was added as a plaintiff in the case. The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), also joined the case as plaintiffs, alleging that the group affiliated with Bishop Lawrence is holding itself out in ways that cause similar confusion. The federal case is key to resolving trademark issues raised by the split. In a separate case, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in August 2017 that property of the diocese and 29 parishes must be returned to The Episcopal Church and TECSC. That decision resulted from a state lawsuit filed by the breakaway group in 2013 against The Episcopal Church and TECSC. St. Francis Episcopal Church, Charleston plans to return to its worship location at Stuhr’s West Ashley Chapel on Sunday, August 12 at 10 am.
The congregation has been worshiping at a nearby hospital chapel for a few weeks since heavy rain caused a partial roof failure at the chapel. Priest-in-Charge the Rev. Michael Shaffer (pictured at a service at Stuhr's) expressed gratitude to the people at Stuhr's for their care and concern throughout the process of recovering from the water damage. ![]() The Reverend Canon John Zahl has been called to serve as 13th Rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, NY, in the Diocese of New York, beginning September 1. He has served at Grace Church Cathedral for nearly 6 years, along with his wife Deirdre and their daughter Daphne. The Zahls' final Sunday at Grace will be August 19. Attorneys filed documents Thursday in response to a request from Judge Edgar W. Dickson to identify issues that need to be resolved in implementing the August 2017 state Supreme Court's decision to return diocesan and parish property to The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC).
At a scheduling conference July 26, Judge Dickson, who is Chief Administrative Judge of the 1st Judicial Circuit, asked both sides to provide a list of the issues they believe he needs to decide, in preparation for setting a schedule for the court to move forward. Attorneys agreed to do so in 1 week. On Thursday, the documents were filed separately by The Episcopal Church & TECSC, and by the breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012 and initiated the lawsuit in January 2013. |
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March 2025
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