Letters from the Bishop and Standing Committee

​Bishop Skip Adams and Standing Committee President the Rev. Jeff Richardson have written letters to the people of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina regarding transition plans for episcopal leadership. These letters can be found here:
Letter from the Bishop
Letter from the Standing Committee President

The text of the letters follows.

---

FROM BISHOP ADAMS

Dear People of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina,
 
I began my time with you as your Provisional Bishop at the beginning of September 2016. As you may recall the Standing Committee at that time requested of me a two-year commitment. September 2019 will begin my fourth year. My time among you has been full of grace and as I fully expected to happen, I have fallen in love with you and this place. God has been good and I find my heart filled with gratitude.

I am not at this point announcing an ending date. What I do want you to know is that I have requested that the Standing Committee, with Diocesan Council’s support, begin to work on a transition plan for episcopal leadership that will not only serve us well in the short term, but also well into a healthy future as a diocese. We do this work with the assistance of the Presiding Bishop’s office, with which the Standing Committee is already in conversation. We also do this work fully aware that we yet have many unknowns before us.

I am with you in this process and will continue to function as I have in my half-time capacity as your Provisional Bishop. When the time comes to name the specifics of the process we will be following, the Standing Committee will communicate with you in a timely manner. Until then, please continue to hold all diocesan leadership in your prayer as we seek to be faithful disciples of Jesus who gives us hope.
Blessings and peace in Christ,

+Skip

The Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. Adams III

---

FROM THE STANDING COMMITTEE 

Dear Fellow Members of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina,

In regard to the information that Bishop Adams has recently shared with you, I am now writing to apprise you that the Standing Committee of our Diocese has begun the process of developing plans for the search for future episcopal leadership for our Diocese. For several months, we have been in conversation with Bishop Adams concerning the timing involved both from his standpoint and from the point of view of our ongoing life together as a diocese.

In January, the Standing Committee met with Bishop Todd Ousley, Bishop for the Office of Pastoral Development of The Episcopal Church, for some direction on how to proceed. We are considering various possibilities. Our intention is to be thorough and to proceed in a timely manner.

It is my plan to keep you informed as things progress. Meanwhile, the Standing Committee will be most grateful for your prayers for Bishop Adams, for this endeavor, and our diocese.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Jeffrey R. Richardson
President of the Standing Committee