Inspired by a letter sent by leaders and members of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Summerville last month, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley sent a letter to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster today, on the eve of another scheduled state execution, to advocate for an end to capital punishment in the Palmetto State.

With gratitude for the example set bythe people of Good Shepherd, Summerville, Bishop Ruth shared the following letter. View it in a .pdf document at this link.

October 31, 2024
​
The Honorable Henry McMaster
State House
11 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC 29201
 
Dear Governor McMaster,

I write to you today as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina to offer my full support of the letter sent to you on September 1, 2024, by members and leaders of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Summerville, South Carolina, urging you to take definitive steps to end the use of the death penalty in South Carolina. As their letter so clearly stated: “We can both protect society from violence and promote a culture that respects all human life without resorting to state-sanctioned executions.”
 
The Episcopal Church has long advocated that the death penalty should be repealed, dating back to a 1958 General Convention resolution which asserted that the “taking of such a human life falls within the province of Almighty God and not within the rights of man.” Over the years, this belief has been reaffirmed at numerous General Conventions.

In South Carolina and throughout the nation, capital punishment disproportionately affects people of color and those without the financial resources to defend themselves. Far too often, inmates who have long been on death row who are provided with the resources to present an adequate defense in the appeals process, have had their sentences overturned and their innocence proclaimed.

The life and example of Jesus enforces our belief as Christians that all people are made in the likeness and image of God. As such, our call to love God and our neighbors and constantly advocate for justice, peace, and reconciliation, demands that we reject violence of all kinds, including the act of capital punishment. In our Baptismal Covenant, we as Episcopalians are called to “respect the dignity of every human being,” yet the execution of our siblings in Christ, no matter their alleged crime, is not consistent with that core belief.

As we approach All Souls’ Day on November 2, remembering especially both the victims of crime and those who have been unjustly convicted and put to death through the act of capital punishment, I ask your consideration. Together with the beloved congregation of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Summerville, I urge you to work to end the use of the death penalty in South Carolina.

Sincerely yours,
 
The Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley
Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina            

The historic African American Episcopal Congregations of St. Stephen’s, Calvary, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Churches will join together on Sunday, November 10, 2024, for a special liturgy of Lament and Repentance for The Episcopal Church’s complicity in the slave trade. The service will begin at 10:30 am and take place at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 16 Thomas Street, in downtown Charleston.

Although all three of these parishes have historic African American roots—St. Stephen’s founded in 1822, Calvary in 1847 and St. Mark’s in 1865--this will be the first time all three parishes have worshiped together on a Sunday morning.

The Very Rev. Michael Shaffer, dean of the Peninsula Deanery and interim rector at St. Mark’s, said the joint service has been a long time coming and that he and the Rev. Adam Shoemaker, rector of St. Stephen’s and the Rev. Ricardo Bailey, rector of Calvary are hopeful that this service will be the seed for future opportunities for these congregations to worship and minister together around issues of common heritage and ongoing concern. Fr. Shaffer also said that all these congregations have been encouraged and energized by the vision and leadership of the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley and that he hopes this liturgy might be a model for future joint efforts throughout the diocese.

Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley will celebrate and preach at the service, which will be led by members of all three congregations. A special reflection regarding the importance of this work will be offered by Dr. Bernard Powers, retired professor emeritus of history at the College of Charleston and founding director of the College’s Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston. Music for this special liturgy will be provided by well know Charleston local musicians Ann Caldwell and The Magnolia Singers, as well as saxophonist Mark Sterbank.

The public is invited, and free parking will be available in the Ashley Hall school lot, located at the corner of Warren and Smith streets, one block from the church.

​Download a flyer at this link.

A message from the Rev. Dow Sanderson, priest-in-charge of Good Shepherd, Summerville

Unity & Kindness
In a world where division and discord are daily headlines, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Summerville is grateful to share a story of unity and kindness. Our Congregation began about 12 years ago, meeting first in houses and on porches, then in the Timrod Library. For a dear and memorable season, we met in a shared space in Wesley United Methodist Church, and for the last nine years in a rented "space of our own" on Luke Street. Earlier this past summer, the owner of the building (our dear friend Jan Waring Woods) let us know that her own expanding business needed to utilize the space we were occupying, and we needed to move by November 1! We have a beautiful lot on Cedar Street on which our future church will be built, but what to do until that is completed? To our great delight, two of our neighbors extended a helping hand.

First, St. Luke's Lutheran Church Pastors Nathan and Andrea Rice, their Parish Council President Kathi Peddicord, and a whole host of their parishioners extended to us the use of their beautiful and historic chapel at 208 Central Avenue. In addition to a place of worship, they have also offered us the use of a classroom for nursery and children's education. For many years, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have been in "Full Communion" (we recognize each other's ministry and theologies as essentially the same as our own). By this kind and generous action, the good people of St. Luke's have transformed a document into an action, the hypothetical into a sacramental sign of love. We could not find sufficient words to express our deep gratitude.

And if that were not already grace upon grace, we have also been invited by Fr. Rob Spainhour and his vestry and congregation, to share coffee hour and fellowship with our own Episcopalian sisters and brothers at Church of the Epiphany, right next door! In addition, Good Shepherd and Church of the Epiphany have combined our Youth Groups and have been meeting jointly since early September. Another moment of Grace in action!

This is an exciting chapter in our congregation's history. We were pleased recently to hire Christopher Karpus as our architect, and we look forward to the beginning of construction in the near future. But whatever direction that future takes us, we will never forget the kindness and generosity of these two faith communities who have responded to us so warmly in a time of need.

The Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley has called the Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker as priest-in-charge of St. Peter’s, Charleston, a church that was returned to our diocese last year and was most recently known as The Church of the Good Shepherd. Ordained to the priesthood in 2009, the Rev. Davis-Shoemaker has served for the past five years as assistant priest of St. Stephen’s, Charleston. She will begin this full-time role at St. Peter’s on November 1, 2024.  As Rev. Davis-Shoemaker explores the possibilities for ministry at this location over the coming months, it is expected that the church, located at 1393 Miles Drive in West Ashley, will reopen in early 2025.

“I could not be more thrilled that the Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker has accepted the call to serve as priest-in-charge of St. Peter’s,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “Her deep spirituality and her gifts in convening community, administration, and pastoral care, will help set St. Peter’s on a firm foundation. Additionally, both her experience in renewing church communities and her creativity will inform the early days of developing a new season in this historic parish that will serve the needs of the neighborhood and the wider community.”

Over the past few months, Bishop Woodliff-Stanley has convened several conversations with members of the West Ashley community as they imagined together the future of the church. The Rev. Davis-Shoemaker took part in some of these conversations, and she plans to continue these conversations and build on that early discernment when she begins on November 1 and prepares to reopen in the new year. “This period will also involve intentional listening to neighbors and interested parties to creatively think about ministry in West Ashley and how we can best support our community,” said Davis-Shoemaker.

The Rev. Davis-Shoemaker looks forward to creatively moving the church forward. As she noted in a message to the congregation at St. Stephen’s, Charleston, “With Bishop Woodliff- Stanley’s support, I will explore alternative times for worship and how we may best engage non-churchgoers and Episcopalians who may have left the church after the schism,” said Davis-Shoemaker. “This will be a time to experiment in how we spread the message of God’s unending love and invite people to bring their authentic selves into a new community. I do not know exactly how God will use this new space and what will come but I am excited to prayerfully explore what God may be up to in West Ashley!”

While the church building in West Ashley was constructed in the 1970s and the name eventually changed from St. Peter’s to the Church of the Good Shepherd, the origins of the congregation date back to its initial location as St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Logan Street in downtown Charleston. That building was destroyed by fire in 1861, but the cemetery remains to this day. In 1927, the congregation reorganized and merged with Christ Church on Rutledge Avenue to form a new St. Peter’s on that site. It moved to West Ashley in 1973. As our diocese looks to reopen the church, it will return to the historic name of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Davis-Shoemaker graduated from The General Theological Seminary in 2008 and was ordained a priest the following year in the Diocese of Massachusetts. She has served as the urban resident at St. Stephen's in Lynn, MA; a vicar at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Haw River, NC; Episcopal/ Lutheran chaplain at Elon University; and most recently as the assistant priest at St. Stephen's, Charleston. Having moved to Charleston in 2017 with her spouse, the Rev. Adam Shoemaker, she has also served on the Standing Committee and Commission on Ministry in the Diocese of South Carolina. Courtney and Adam have three children and their family moved to West Ashley in June 2024.

View the announcement from St. Stephen’s, Charleston, at this link.