Bishop Skip Adams Speaks About Latest Court Ruling at Grace Church Cathedral on Sept. 22

On Sunday, September 22, Bishop Skip Adams worshiped at Grace Church Cathedral, Charleston, and took a few moments to address the federal court ruling from Thursday that recognized The Episcopal Church in South Carolina as The (Episcopal) Diocese of South Carolina. The ruling affirmed that when a group chose to disassociate from The Episcopal Church in 2012, they began a new organization that was not The Diocese of South Carolina as they claimed. Instead, the historic Diocese is the group that remained with The Episcopal Church, which has been known since 2013 as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

Bishop Adam's Sunday address can be viewed at this link; the text of his message is as follows:

You, dear people of God, are today sitting in Grace Church Cathedral, a parish of The Episcopal Church, in, wait for it, The Diocese of South Carolina.
 
This past week, we were filled with gratitude when Judge Gergel ruled in our favor on all counts in the trademark infringement and false advertising case that we filed in federal court. In short, it says that we are, not the disassociated diocese, WE are and always have been the Diocese of South Carolina.
 
Judge Gergel also said in his decision that, “It is time for this dispute to be resolved.” Amen. We could not agree more. We also know, however, that we remain in transition as we continue to work on the transfer of the property that belongs to us of The Episcopal Church and held in trust on the Church’s behalf. Yet make no mistake, this decision gives us encouragement along the way.  It is like finding a cool, refreshing watering hole in the midst of the wilderness.
 
Some of you are aware that I was attending a House of Bishops meeting in Minneapolis this past week when the news came. Soon after that news, there was an exciting buzz among many of us closest to this case.  The Presiding Bishop asked me to fill in all the bishops of the Church attending, about 120 of us from everywhere in The Episcopal Church including  beyond the shores of the United States. As I explained what happened was stunning, all of those Bishops in that moment rose in a spontaneous standing ovation. I received it for you.
 
They were honoring all of us; you here today; our parishes and worship communities all over the Diocese; the new starts; the clergy and other good people who felt thrown out of  their church and have been hanging on, waiting, persevering, as we await decisions.We were celebrating our amazing legal team, that ovation was for them, for all of us, in thanksgiving for the work we have been doing since 2012—no, since 1785.
 
One of the tasks of leadership is to persevere, especially when it is hard, especially when it seems that nothing much is happening, and then to adapt to the circumstances around us in the most faithful way we know.  Continue to pray, even as we meet with representatives of the disassociated diocese this week on Thursday. We continue to move on, seeking the highest degree of reconciliation in Christ possible, bold in our faith, bold in our hopefulness, as this is not a time to shrink back. We must embrace the new future God continues to prepare for us.
 
Bless you, bless all, of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, in fact, we are The Diocese of South Carolina. Thank you.
 
Bishop Skip


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