Hurricane season is upon us, and as Hurricane Ian threatened a landfall in the U.S. this week, diocesan staff sent out a reminder to points of contact at all congregations in the diocese with helpful tips to remember when preparing for threatening storms. Here is the text of that email:

SUGGESTIONS FOR PREPARING
You already may have a checklist of items to prepare for the arrival of the hurricane. If not, you will find a suggested "last minute checklist" for preparing at your church here at this link. 
South Carolina Emergency Management has a hurricane guide that can be found here:
hurricane.sc/.
 
Some important points:

• Review your disaster plan.
• Locate your insurance paperwork. Please make sure, if evacuations are ordered, that your church's point-of-contact has a copy of it.
• Check in with shut-ins and other parishioners who may need assistance. Make sure they have medications and other needed supplies. Keep in touch with them about their plans as the storm approaches.
• Have a plan to communicate with your parishioners (ie. phone tree, email, group text, social media, etc.).

 
INSURANCE NEEDS
The claims team at Church Insurance Agency Corporation is closely monitoring the storm and they are available 24/7 at 1-800-223-5705 for any Church Insurance Company insured needing to report damage.
 
DIOCESAN OFFICE CONTACTS
The Diocesan Office is not making any changes to regular office hours at this time. You may reach the staff at 843-259-2016 or on their personal cell phones. You can find each staff person’s contact information here: http://www.episcopalchurchsc.org/clergy--staff.html Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of any assistance.
 
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God is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof rage and swell, and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same. There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. (Psalm 46)

Download a copy of this release at this link.
CHARLESTON, SC – (September 26, 2022) Today, September 26, 2022, the Bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (EDOSC) and the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina (ADOSC) announced their respective dioceses have reached a final settlement agreement resolving numerous outstanding legal issues between their respective dioceses. 

This settlement is the result of self-guided mediation in which the two bishops and their chancellors have engaged over the past four months. It has the unanimous support of their diocesan leadership as well as the full support of The Episcopal Church.

Both bishops agree that, though the settlement required each diocese to sacrifice things they hold dear, finalizing these issues enables them to move forward with ministry free from ongoing lawsuits over these issues. 

“Getting to this point required compromise from both sides; compromise always includes wins and losses,” said Bishop Chip Edgar of the ADOSC. “This settlement agreement allows us to invest our diocesan energy, time, focus and resources in gospel ministry rather than litigation. While the losses we have experienced, including those of St. Christopher and several of our parish buildings are painful, I am grateful that the work we have done has brought an end to litigation between our dioceses. I am grateful, too, for the willingness to work to avoid further litigation that Bishop Woodliff-Stanley showed throughout this process. These hard past few months were made easier by her kind and generous willingness to compromise to reach this settlement."

Bishop Woodliff-Stanley said, “Following Jesus entails a willingness—an eagerness, even—to engage those who have been our opponents with the goal of repairing the breach between us. From the very beginning of this process, I have been grateful for the gracious spirit of Bishop Edgar in doing just this work with us. I am grateful for his leadership and his generosity. While each diocese has had to leave things on the table to get to this moment, and while we experience pain over losses of some of the historic churches our members hold dear, even still, we have seen the Spirit at work in drawing us toward God’s redemptive way of love at every juncture. I remain hopeful that we can bring remaining parish issues to full resolution and move into a new season of ministry as two distinct dioceses working alongside each other in the same communities for the sake of the gospel.” 

While the settlement does not affect the remaining issues regarding the property rights of three parishes currently pending before the South Carolina Supreme Court or the betterments lawsuit by several parishes pending in state trial court, it does resolve all remaining issues regarding diocesan properties. 

As part of the settlement agreement, the operations of St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center will transition from the ADOSC to the EDOSC on October 1, 2022.  St. Christopher will continue to operate without interruption.

The full details of the settlement have not been released. Both dioceses will share additional information later this week.

In response to the South Carolina Supreme Court’s opinion published on August 17, the historic Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina filed a Petition for Rehearing and a Motion for Relief from Judgment on Thursday, September 1, in regard to the court’s recent decisions concerning two churches that were once part of the historic diocese—Old St. Andrew’s in Charleston, and The Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg.

In the Petition for Rehearing, attorneys for the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina note that while the Court made a “factual determination and issued a declaratory judgment” as to whether the two churches revoked the trusts they expressly created, no court “previously addressed whether these parish trusts were revocable or actually revoked based on post-2006 evidence” because it was not previously considered an issue in the case. Because it was not considered, the Episcopal Diocese did not have “reason or opportunity to introduce evidence on this issue.” The petition requests that the Court reverse or vacate the rulings on revocability or revocation involving these two churches, or allow for the introduction of additional evidence before making a final ruling.

In the Motion for Relief from Judgment, various evidence was presented to support a cause for relief from the declaratory judgement in favor of Old St Andrew’s, Charleston, and Holy Cross, Stateburg, based on the fact that the trusts were not revocable or that our diocese should be allowed to present further evidence to the Court. The motion also notes that a lack of full transparency between legal counsel on some issues constituted what is legally known as a “fraud on the court” that would be sufficient to provide relief from judgment.

Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley expressed her gratitude in this moment. “I am grateful to our chancellor and legal team for their hard work and wisdom, and pray for the Court to respond with justice and clarity that will allow us to move to full resolution of these matters,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “This represents another step on what has been a long and trying journey, but even in this moment, God is unfolding a new season before us. I look forward to discovering with you all that God has in store.”

Once the Court has published the filings on their site, they will be linked here. Until then, a copy of the Petition for Rehearing can be viewed at this link , and the Motion for Relief from Judgment can be viewed at this link. All additional exhibits will be available when shared on the Court’s website.