Leadership meeting a time of prayer, gratitude, hope

Bishop Skip Adams and about 75 leaders of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina gathered on Tuesday for a time of prayer, gratitude, questions, and hope for a future of healing and reconciliation on the day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the South Carolina Supreme Court decision on church properties is final.

The Bishop called Tuesday’s meeting of lay and ordained leaders including the Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, Diocesan Trustees, regional deans, and clergy and wardens representing the 31 congregations of TECSC. More than 60 attended the meeting at Grace Church Cathedral, while another dozen attended via teleconference.

Beginning with hymns and prayers, the assembled group prayed for the whole Church, for our diocese, and for Mark Lawrence and all the parishes and people who are part of the group that disassociated from The Episcopal Church.

Later, during a discussion in the parish hall, the Bishop reminded everyone to pray daily for leaders of all the churches, by name. “This whole process must continue to be bathed in prayer – yours, mine, ours as a community, and always asking the question, what is God requiring of me and how is the Holy Spirit showing up.”

The Bishop expressed deep gratitude to all who have worked and persevered with TECSC over the past 5-1/2 years. Present in the room were dozens of people who helped to reorganize the diocese after the split, including Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg, who served as Provisional Bishop of TECSC from 2013-2016.

Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision means that church property case is now over, both the Bishop and Chancellor Thomas S. Tisdale Jr. told the group. Suggestions that the legal decision can be reopened are disappointing to hear, the Bishop said, but “not based in reality.” The next step is to work with the state court on the implementation of the decision. TECSC and The Episcopal Church have petitioned the 1st Circuit Court of Common Pleas to carry out the decision and appoint a Special Master to oversee the process.

Bishop Adams also said he is grateful for the outpouring of phone calls and messages of support he has received from Episcopalians and Anglicans around the world, conveying ongoing prayers and good wishes. Other phone calls have come from people in the disassociated group who want to begin talking in earnest about a path forward toward reconciliation, he said.

“I have gotten lots of contacts since yesterday from people who have said, ‘Enough already, let’s figure this out so we can all move on together,’” the Bishop said, drawing applause from the gathered leaders.

The Diocesan Office is continuing to point people to the Frequently Asked Questions document (FAQ) for guidance on what happens now. Plans are being made for a series of “public forum” meetings in different parts of the diocese, where interested people can come and ask questions directly of Bishop Adams about the future of the parishes affected by the court decision.