The recap from the First Business Session is available at this link.

The Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley called the 231st Diocesan Convention back to order at 9 am on Saturday, November 13 at Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church on Pawleys Island. Dan Ennis of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Conway, led the service of Morning Prayer before the Convention began the day's business.

Mr. Wayne Helmly, chair of the Lay Credentials Committee, offered a second report of his committee to begin the session, reporting that there were 31 clergy and 63 lay delegates present. New clergy and seminarians were recognized before the Bishop offered remarks for the morning, laying out much of her vision for the future of the diocese, previewing the remainder of the Convention, and outlining some first steps we will look to take together as a diocese. View her message at this link.

There were several significant announcements in her message. She announced the reformulation of the Strategic Transition Team, plans to restructure and expand the scope of the work of the Commission on Ministry, and the formation of a Children and Youth Commission, appointing the Rev. Laura Rezac (St. Stephen's, Charleston) and Mr. George McDaniel (Good Shepherd, Summerville) as co-chairs. At the end of her remarks, Bp. Woodliff-Stanley announced that the Rev. Dr. Philip Linder has accepted the call to serve in the capacity of Canon to the Ordinary, a part-time position on diocesan staff. This position will support the diocese's work in healthy governance, leadership and development, and pastoral connections.

View the slides from her Powerpoint about the four strategic areas of focus below:

The 231st Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina was called to order on Friday, November 12 at 6:30 pm by the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley who was consecrated in October 2021 as the XV Bishop of the historic diocese.

The Rev. Tom Wilson, chair of the Clergy Credentials Committee, offered the first report of his committee to begin the session, reporting that there were 28 clergy and 49 lay delegates present. After the appointment of the Parliamentarian and Convention Committees, attendees voted to adopt the agenda. The Credentials Committee then presented their report and quorum was established. The Reverend Rob Donehue, as President of the Standing Committee, nominated Diane Wilson (St. George's, Summerville) to serve as Secretary of Convention, a one-year term, and she was duly elected by convention delegates.

Bishop Woodliff-Stanley then announced that the following individuals have been nominated to serve on the Commission on Ministry (COM) of the Diocese of South Carolina: The Rev. Courtney Davis-Shoemaker (chair), the Rev. Deacon Marionette Bennett, Mr. Chris Hayes, the Very Rev. Wil Keith, Ms. Jane Hart Lewis, the Rev. Rick Lindsey, Ms. Mary Joe Roberts, the Rev. Dow Sanderson, Ms. Jeanette Spencer, and the Rev. Cn. Callie Walpole.

After appointing the current deans to another year of service, the bishop declared the convention was duly organized for business. 

The bishop then took a few moments for a special recognition of the Rev. Cn. Callie Walpole for her many years of service to the diocese. You may read her full remarks at this link. As many know of Cn. Walpole's love of gardening and Voorhees College, the bishop announced that she has consulted with Dr. Ronnie Hopkins, president of Voorhees College, and has made plans for the diocese to fund a portion of the Elizabeth Evelyn Wright Memorial garden at Voorhees and designate it in honor of Cn. Walpole.  A plaque will be placed in the garden, recognizing the service of Cn. Walpole who has "tended this Diocese well," alongside the plants donated in her honor. Cn. Walpole has also served on the Board of Trustees at Voorhees College. 

The bishop presented Cn. Walpole with a sasanqua camellia similar to those that will be planted in her honor, and also with a engraved glass award bearing the words that will be on the plaque in the garden at Voorhees. The convention recognized Cn. Walpole with a standing ovation.

Following this recognition, the bishop led the Convention into a time of formation with small groups, to consider the theme of convention, "abide." To this end, she shared a few words about abiding, and how she sees this relating to the past and future of the diocese of South Carolina. Read her full remarks at this link. The convention then watched this video, before leading into a time of group sessions to discuss together the question: "How has your faith community been an abiding place for you in your life?"

After a period of group discussion, everyone reconvened and shared the findings from each particular group, focusing on key words and phrases that recurred in the conversations. The word map below shows the words that were shared by the group, with the largest words being those that were shared the most often:

Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest, social entrepreneur, speaker and author, will be the keynote speaker at the 228th Diocesan Convention of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina November 16-17 in Charleston.
 
“We are honored that Becca will be with us for our annual convention, bringing a message of healing and reconciliation that she is able to share from her unique perspective,” Bishop Skip Adams said.
 
Becca is founder and president of Thistle Farms, a global community of survivors of trafficking and addiction that includes justice enterprises. For her work as an entrepreneur and justice advocate, Becca has been named a White House Champion of Change, a CNN Hero, and holds numerous honorary doctorates. She has been featured on The Today Show, ABC World News, NPR and in the New York Times. Her most recent book, Love Heals, was published by Harper Collins. Visit beccastevens.org and thistlefarms.org to learn more.
 
The 228th Diocesan Convention is a two-day gathering at Church of the Holy Communion, Charleston is the annual business meeting and “family reunion” of Episcopalians in eastern South Carolina. Information on how to attend will be shared in August when the official “Call to Convention” is issued.