On Tuesday, October 27, U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel issued an Order and Opinion granting in part the Second Motion to Enforce the Injunction filed by the Diocese of South Carolina on September 10 of this year, in which the historic diocese and The Episcopal Church alleged 27 violations of the Court’s previous order. The Court found the disassociated diocese in civil contempt for their use of the mark “Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina” to apply for and obtain a federal loan from the Small Business Administration.
In his order, Judge Gergel noted that the defendants attempted to argue that the recent ruling by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson in June 2020, addressing the South Carolina Supreme Court final judgment from August 2017, made this usage permissible. However, Judge Gergel ruled that the recent “decision does no such thing, stating in relevant part that ‘the Federal Court has exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the trademarks, service marks, and intellectual property.’” With this basis, Judge Gergel found that this usage did violate the Court’s order and that the “Defendants continue to attempt to claim the goodwill and history of the TECSC’s organization.” As for the other violations, the Defendants (the disassociated diocese), responded to the motion in September by admitting to and correcting 25 of the violations, involving the usage of “Diocese of South Carolina” or “Diocese of SC”; “1785”; “14th Bishop” or “XIV Bishop”; and the “Diocesan Shield” or the “Episcopal Shield” on the disassociated diocese’s website and those of member congregations. Judge Gergel, therefore, “denied as moot” those allegations. As to the usage of the terms “2009 Convention” and “2008 Consecration” which the defendants have used on their website to describe their current bishop as being “consecrated the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina on January 26, 2008” (four years prior to the founding of their organization), the Court found these usages do not violate the Injunction. Judge Gergel noted that since the Diocese of South Carolina and The Episcopal Church have not requested sanctions or identified any financial impact, “the Court will enforce its finding of civil contempt through an order enjoining the noncompliant act described” in the Order. ![]() Diocesan Ministry Developer Andrea McKellar, who also services on the Executive Council for The Episcopal Church, virtually attended the group's latest meeting over the weekend. She shared the following update on this most recent gathering: This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my seventh Executive Council meeting. The meeting, originally scheduled to take place at the Maritime Center in Baltimore, MD, was conducted on Zoom from October 8-12. Executive Council is the body that administers the program and policies adopted by the General Convention. The group is composed of bishops, clergy, and lay persons from across The Episcopal Church that are elected at General Convention or by their province. At this fall’s meeting, we addressed a number of issues including COVID-19’s effect on the church, alcohol and substance abuse, a revised parochial report for 2020, and the 2021 budget. We also approved a large number of grants for Becoming Beloved Community, UTO, and new Episcopal Communities. On Monday, we had a worship service in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and took time to explore the lands where we live and the native peoples that reside or resided there. While many tribes of South Carolina are now extinct, the Catawba, Pee Dee, Chicora, Edisto, Santee, Yamassee, and Chicora-Waccamaw tribes all have descendants of the original tribes still organized today (source: sciway.net). Find a full summary of the meeting on Episcopal News Service at this link. Read the opening remarks shared by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at this link, and those offered by the President of the House of Deputies, Gay Clark Jennings (who recognized the 50th anniversary of women serving in the House of Deputies), at this link. ![]() Pentecost XVIV Dear Friends in Christ, This has turned out to be a most unusual time to be a “visiting” bishop. I am keenly aware that have not had many opportunities to visit the diocese in person since March. The pandemic has upended many plans. Zoom has been well used and immensely valuable, but I want to write to you on occasion in order to keep in touch, until we can be together again. This is a stressful time for all of us. It was in early March that I first recall bumping elbows. Then most of us imagined that the emerging pandemic would be likely to last a matter of months, perhaps through summer. Now autumn leaves are beginning to fall and it appears that we still have a long way to go. What the media calls “virus fatigue” is setting in. We yearn to hug our friends, get out of the house, be in church, be off Zoom, and not be anxious 24/7. We have been recently jolted again by the president and staff’s Covid diagnosis. This should remind us all of our common vulnerability and be yet another wake up call to be careful, wear our masks, and look out for those around us. Mask wearing when we are out and about and with others is not a sign of weakness - much less some kind of political statement. It is a sign of strength and one of the best ways that we can love one other during these challenging days. In reflecting on all this, I have felt drawn to a favorite portion of the New Testament, II Corinthians, chapter 4, where Paul is especially transparent as he writes about the meaning of faith. He admits that it is difficult. He has just wonderfully stated the gospel assurance that we are being transformed into the image of Christ “from one degree of glory to another” [3:16]. Then he has to step back and confess that it is not all sweetness and light. The shadows and struggles of the world are always there. Life is fragile. We have the gospel treasure only “in earthen vessels.” To be a disciple involves sometimes being “afflicted, perplexed, struck down…always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,” he says. That’s reality. Nevertheless, Paul twice declares, “we do not lose heart.” Because the Christ light is unvanquished. Because “even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day.” It is a matter of how we see things. People of faith are able to persevere even in the toughest of times because we “look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” He urges us to look beyond any temporal circumstance to the far horizons of hope. What is seen can be pretty daunting at times. But what is eternal gives us unshakeable confidence. As the Little Prince liked to say, what is essential is invisible to the eye. Paul is not naive. As someone once said, Christian faith never sings of rainbows without first riding out the storm. The Corinthians, to whom he is writing, had a charismatic, triumphal attitude that caused them to diminish the cross. It made them inflated and cocky, more-spiritual-than-thou. He reminds them that life in faith inevitably traverses the fragility and hardships of human existence, even as Christ had to walk the way of the cross. There is no detour to Easter. Van Gogh once painted a person walking a long, twisting road. He has the artist’s distinctive big boots on his feet and a lantern in his hand. The sky is dark and spiky trees overhang. In the far distance is a farmhouse with a single candle burning in the window. It is only a sketch but it seems to me an evocative image of our faith journey. We may walk under threatening skies but we have the lantern of Christ beside us, long distance boots, and the glory ahead. The sketch reminds me of the great Epiphany collect which prays “that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ.” That is a good prayer for these days. As we grow weary in the midst of this pandemic, we need to take Paul’s counsel and not lose heart. It is difficult, yes, and will take a while. But, as good Dr. Fauci reminded your bishops on Zoom several weeks ago, the pandemic will end. We will get through it — as we journey in faith, care for one another, and remember the eternal things that shall endure. A prison meditation by Dietrich Bonhoeffer includes these words, eloquently expressed in our hymn 695: By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered, and confidently waiting come what may, we know that God is with us night and morning, and never fails to get us each new day. …when again in this same world you give us the joy we had, the brightness of your Sun, we shall remember all the days we lived through, and our whole life shall then be yours alone. Keep the faith, dear friends, and may God bless you. The Right Rev. Henry Nutt Parsley, Jr. ![]() The Right Reverend Charles Farmer Duvall, retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, who began his ordained ministry in the Diocese of South Carolina, died on Thursday, October 8, 2020, in Columbia, SC. Born in Cheraw, SC, Bishop Duvall was a child of the Diocese of South Carolina and St. David's, Cheraw. Upon graduating with a Master of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1960, Bishop Duvall served three churches from then until 1962: Holy Trinity, Grahamville; Church of the Cross, Bluffton; and a small mission on Hilton Head Island. He became the Rector of St. James, Charleston in 1962 before being called to serve Holy Trinity Church in Fayetteville, NC in 1970. In November 1980, he was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, where he served until his retirement in 2001. Bishop Duvall had a lifelong connection to the Kanuga Episcopal Camp and Conference Center, from attending camp as a child to serving on the Board of Visitors and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Kanuga Conference, Retreat, and Camp Center in Hendersonville, NC (www.kanuga.org/giving) or Harvest Hope Food Bank of Columbia, SC. Due to COVID-19 restrictions on indoor services, a graveside burial service will be held at Old St. David's in Cheraw on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, at 11 am. Bishop Duvall is survived by his wife of 63 years, Nancy, as well as a daughter, two sons, and six grandchildren. Read more in his obituary at this link. Rest eternal grant him, O Lord; let light perpetual shine upon him. ![]() The first of three pre-convention deanery meetings was held on Saturday, September 26 online through Zoom. Approximately 50 people attended this first opportunity to find out about what to expect at the 230th Diocesan Convention, including proposed resolutions and the 2021 budget, as well as introductions of nominees for diocesan offices. These meetings are held each year prior to Convention, and include all clergy, delegates, and alternates for the Convention. Though usually held by deaneries, this year since they are all online, you are welcome to attend the time and day that is most convenient for you. If you missed this first one, you are welcome to sign up for one of the two remaining opportunities on the following dates:
To receive the zoom link for the meeting, please register at this link. Everyone is welcome. Prior to the meeting, all are encouraged to review the documents on the 230th Diocesan Convention website (at this link), including the Proposed 2021 Budget and the Nominations Report. Need Tech Support? The convention planning team would like to make sure all participants are comfortable with the technology that we are using for the pre-convention meetings as well as convention. If you would like additional help with the technology, please sign up for a practice session here. You can also reach out to Andrea McKellar for technical support during the meetings by emailing her at [email protected] or calling 843-412-2411. |
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