Good Shepherd Talks, a series of conversations on Zoom offered by the Church of the Good Shepherd in Sumter, returns this Sunday, December 20, with an Advent celebration of the Nativity. Harriett Green, director of visual arts for the South Carolina Arts Commission, will present The Nativity. 
 
The birth of Christ is one of the most celebrated events of the year.  The most iconic visual representation of this Christian celebration is the Nativity scene displayed in the homes of many Christians, in public spaces, museums, places of worship, tableaux vivants and live Nativity re-enactments.
 
St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the founder of the Franciscan Order, is credited as the founder of the Christmas tradition of Nativity scenes. In 1223, St. Francis staged a re-enactment of the birth of Christ in a manger in Bethlehem. His live Nativity featured a waxed sculpture of the baby Jesus, live costumed locals portraying Mary and Joseph, and a donkey and ox he borrowed from a friend.  As the Nativity grew in popularity as a tableau at Christmas it also became the subject for painters and sculptors by many leading artists throughout the ages.
 
Just as the Nativity became a popular subject, the addition of other figures as described in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew - the only two books in the New Testament that mention Jesus as an infant - became common practice. Angels, shepherds, sheep, camels, and the three wise men became integral figures in pictorial, sculptural and theatrical presentations of the Nativity.
 
Green will present and discuss humble and majestic images of paintings and famous crèches as well as crèches found in the homes of Good Shepherd church members, friends, antique shops, and places of worship.
 
All are welcome and invited to join the church's Morning Prayer Service on Sunday, December 20 on Zoom at 9:30 am. The Nativity talk will follow at 10:15 am. If you are interested in attending virtually, please contact Harriett Green at [email protected].

On Sunday, December 6, churches throughout our diocese celebrated the Second Sunday of Advent with online services of worship, as many of them have not resumed in-person worship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here for the lessons appointed for use on the Second Sunday of Advent.

Find the links to the services below:

All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island
Watch the Sunday service at this link. Click this link for the bulletin.
 
 The Episcopal Church in Okatie, Ridgeland
Watch the Sunday service at this link.
 
The Episcopal Church on Edisto, Edisto Island
Watch the Sunday service at this link.
 
The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Summerville
Watch the Sunday service at this link.
 
​Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston
Watch the Sunday Family Eucharist (9 am) at this link, and the 11 am Choral Eucharist at this link. Click this link for the bulletin.
 
​Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church, Pawleys Island
Watch the Sunday service at this link. Click this link for the bulletin. 
 
Church of the Holy Communion, Charleston
Watch the Said High Mass from Sunday at this link.
 
Church of the Messiah, Myrtle Beach
This week, Messiah offered a special service of Advent Lessons & Carols. Watch it at this link. Click this link for the bulletin.
 
​St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Conway
Watch the Sunday service at this link. Follow along with the bulletin at this link.
 
St. Catherine’s, Florence
The congregation gathered together on Zoom for Sunday’s service. Watch from Facebook at this link.
 
St. Francis Episcopal Church, Charleston
The congregation gathers on Zoom each Sunday. The service was shared on Facebook at this link.
 
St. George’s Episcopal Church, Summerville
Watch the Sunday service at this link. Click this link for the bulletin.
 
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Port Royal
Watch the Sunday service at this link. Click this link for the bulletin.
​
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Charleston
Watch the Sunday service at this link. Click this link for the bulletin.
 
​St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, North Myrtle Beach
St. Stephen’s offers two drive-up services each Sunday at 8 am and 10 am. Watch the 8 am Sunday service at this link.

While Diocesan staff are not regularly working in the office due to the pandemic, the staff continue to work regularly. The office phone is forwarded to the cell phone of staff members, and voicemails and emails are monitored as staff members maintain regular working hours while working remotely. In an effort to provide an additional opportunity for "face time with staff," we will continue to offer online "Office Hours" on Wednesdays from 1-2 pm for those who have year-end questions. In December, the sessions will be open to any and all topics; in January, there will be a specific focus for each session.
 
Open Office Hours: December 9, December 16, and January 13 at 1 pm.
 
Focused Office Hours Sessions
January 6 - Holding an Online Annual Meeting: The Diocesan Staff learned a lot about online meetings in preparation for convention. If you have questions about how to do a virtual annual meeting including technology options, voting online, and much more, please join us on January 6.
 
January 13 - The 2020 Parochial Report: An important discussion for clergy, wardens, and treasurers about what is different in this year’s parochial report, how to fill it out online, and any other questions you may have. If you are an experienced parochial report submitter, please join us to share your knowledge with others!
 
You can join any of these meeting through this Zoom link. If you need the full Zoom invitation with the meeting ID and phone numbers, please email Andrea McKellar at [email protected]. Staff members are also available weekdays as needed during normal business hours, and will also respond promptly to any emails and phone calls outside of those hours as soon as possible. Find the contact information for all staff at this link: www.episcopalchurchsc.org/contact.

Today, the President of the Standing Committee and the Archdeacon sent a letter to the congregations of the Diocese on Advent, Stewardship, and Appreciation. Click this link to view the letter.

The text of the letter is below:

 Advent 2020
 
People, look East. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year. . .
Furrows, be glad.  Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish. . .
       -Eleanor Farjeon, “People look East”
 
Dear Clergy and People of the Diocese of South Carolina,

Thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your steadfast selflessness and sacrifice in our shared mission of building up and rebuilding of one another, the congregations of the Diocese of South Carolina. It is a wonder to behold how your faces have been set like flint in your commitment to one another and in deep faith that the seeds you are now planting and nourishing will flower and flourish in ways more wonderful than we can even ask for or imagine. You know that your strength comes from God. Thank you for being such a witness during times that demand our best efforts. This of course is nothing new for you.

With regard to congregational stewardship, in the Diocese of South Carolina we intentionally do not use the language of assessment. We are not a secular organization or club in which specific dues or fees are ordered. We are a collection of congregations and people who, together, are the Diocese of South Carolina. We are members of the Body of Christ. We know that we follow a Risen Lord who actually demands our all, our souls and bodies.  And so we ask for a pledge of your gifts, knowing that “the Church is the only society that exists,” as Archbishop William Temple once said, “for those who are not its members.” Many of you are already either giving or working towards a 10% gift. For this we thank you. The opportunities for mission and ministry in our diocese will only increase in the months and years to come.  For this we are immensely thankful, because we eagerly look forward to new growth and new opportunities for service. 

This Advent, as we wait, we hope. We expect our Lord to be born in us anew through God’s great mystery of the incarnation—in all its fullness— God in Christ, and Christ in us.  Like the gifts the Magi brought to the Christ Child at Bethlehem, so we too bring our own gifts before the Lord. “What can I give him, poor as I am?. . .Yet what can I give him: give my heart.”

People, look East.  The time is near…
 
God bless you. 

Faithfully yours in Christ,
    
The Venerable Calhoun Walpole                        The Reverend Canon Caleb J. Lee 
Archdeacon                                                             President, Standing Committee

Standing Committee Names Bishop Search Transition Committee
 
The Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina recently announced the formation of the Transition Committee that will serve in the search for the Diocese’s XV Bishop. According to Canons of the Diocese of South Carolina, the Transition Committee shall consist of two clergy and two lay persons from each of the deaneries with not more than one lay or clergy member from the same parish or mission. The President of the Standing Committee (or another member designated by the Standing Committee) serves ex-officio as a member, as well as the Chancellor or assistant Chancellor. 
 
The following are the members of the Transition Committee.
 
Pee Dee/Waccamaw Deanery
The Very Reverend Wil Keith, Holy Cross Faith Memorial, Pawley's Island
The Reverend Rob Donehue, St. Anne's, Conway
Rick Stall (Co-Chair), Messiah, Myrtle Beach
Matt Robertson, St. Catherine's, Florence
 
Peninsula Deanery
The Very Reverend Dr. Adam Shoemaker, St. Stephen’s, Charleston
The Reverend Canon Bryce Wandrey, Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston
Erin Bailey, St. Stephen’s, Charleston
John Wilson, Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston
 
Southern Deanery
The Reverend Denise Trogdon, All Saints, Hilton Head
The Reverend Jim Dannals, St. Mark's, Port Royal
Nancy Gault, All Saints, Hilton Head
Larry Watt, Christ Church, Denmark
 
West Charleston Deanery
The Very Reverend Chris Huff, St. George’s, Summerville
The Reverend Fred Thompson, The Episcopal Church on Edisto
Pat Neumann (Co- Chair), The Episcopal Church on Edisto
Jane Orenstein, Good Shepherd, Summerville
 
According to the Canons of our Diocese, the Transition Committee is tasked with the following:
 

• (a) Publish complete profiles of the nominees and any other educational material deemed helpful. 
• (b) Provide for the “walk-about” opportunities for all nominees to meet with as many members of the diocese as possible; 
•  (c) Provide hospitality for the nominees and their families. 
•  (d) Help in the planning of the consecration of the new bishop. 
•  (e) Assist the Bishop in adapting to and being introduced to the diocese. 
•  (f) Provide for the transition of the retired and/or resigned bishop from office.

 
For the latest on the timeline of the search for our XV Bishop, visit the Bishop Search website at this link.