Report from the 227th Diocesan Convention

(This report also can be found on the 227th Convention page of our website.)

More than 300 delegates, visitors and guests representing the 31 congregations of our diocese and friends from across the Church gathered at All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island November 10-11 for the 227th Diocesan Convention of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.
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The theme of the Convention was “The Wisdom of the Body,” and the assembled body celebrated that theme through worship, meetings, workshops, presentations and an uplifting Convention Eucharist that included the annual address to Convention from Bishop Skip Adams.

​“In this relatively short time I have discovered that the wisdom of this body is broad and it is deep,” said Bishop Adams, who became Provisional Bishop in September 2016. “I remain grateful to God to be ministering with such a blessed group of faithful people. It brings me joy.”

(Watch the Bishop’s address here. The text can be found here.)

The Eucharist included scripture readings presented dramatically by the Sacred Storytellers of All Saints, including I Corinthians 12:12-27 (“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ...”)

Bishop Adams said St. Paul was making the point that “we are an organic unity, not derived from ideology or agreement on issues, but out of a relationship with a person, Jesus of Nazareth. Naming various parts of the body as examples of various responsibilities in the faith community, he says that no one part can say to another, ‘I have no need of you.’ Or to say it more positively, we need each other and must find a way to function that way.

“St. Paul is clear: the Body is one, and so it is with Christ,” the Bishop said. “We might call this ‘The Wisdom of the Body.’ It means the end of power plays, manipulation, the running of personal agendas and ‘my way or the highway’ reactivity that takes our marbles and goes home. All are watered of one Spirit. We come from the same source or faucet if you will, for ‘You are the Body of Christ and individually members of it.’”

He challenged listeners to offer their best to the Church and “seize the moment God is giving us,” encouraging parish and mission leaders to do a self-assessment by asking themselves questions such as:

• What do you need to undertake in order to strengthen the life of your congregation and participate in the Wisdom of the Body?
• What will it take for you to move out beyond self-care and mere survival to be a transformative Kingdom presence in your neighborhood and beyond?

“If we do this from a deeply centered place rooted in the wisdom way of Jesus, it will lead to action that is life-changing for all,” the Bishop said.
 
Saturday’s sessions

Saturday began with Morning Prayer, celebrating the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. It was also Veterans Day, and during the service, the Bishop presided over the profession of Brother Christopher Thompson (the Rev. Chris Thompson, interim rector of Holy Communion, Charleston), in the Order of the Hospitallers of St. Martin. This is a newly formed monastic community in the Episcopal Church, focusing on prayer, hospitality, and reconciliation for veterans. Read more about them here.

Convention Keynote & Workshop: The Rev. Bill Redfield

Most of the morning session was devoted to time with the keynote speaker, the Reverend Bill Redfield, retired rector of Trinity Church, Fayetteville, NY. Fr. Redfield brought his experience as an Episcopal priest, licensed clinical social worker, and student of Centering Prayer under Cynthia Bourgeault, leading a session that included times of quiet reflection, one-on-one conversations and deep sharing and listening.

Fr. Redfield said he wanted to “hold up a mirror” to the gathered representatives of our diocese and help them see themselves as Bishop Adams has come to see us in his year as our Provisional Bishop. “He has fallen in love with you, and it is that perspective of love that sees you as whole, and holy. …And that perspective is objectively and accurately real,” Fr. Redfield said.

Expanding on the Convention theme, “The Wisdom of the Body,” he spoke of efforts in the church to recover the ancient traditions of “body wisdom.” He encouraged the delegates to bring their attention to ways in which painful and difficult times they have experienced due to division in the diocese in recent years may manifest themselves physically. Rather than push those experiences out of their minds, he asked people to identify those feelings and regard them with love and compassion. Participants also spent time in pairs to take turns speaking and listening about those experiences.

“This is wisdom of the body – this is wisdom of the body faithful,’’ Fr. Redfield said.

Convention reports

Buck Blanchard, Officer for Global Mission Development for The Episcopal Church, talked about this new role in the Presiding Bishop’s Office, visiting parishes and missions to encourage individuals to answer their call to be involved in international mission work.

“Anglicans around the world in 165 countries want the same things for their children we do, and they want to know us and make connections,” he said. “Say yes to the call. Don’t let fear keep you from doing it.”

Danny Sanford of the Still Hopes Episcopal retirement community in Columbia, one of the institutions of our diocese, reported on an exciting new intergenerational project being studied for the York Place campus.

The 80-acre York Place campus, long used as an Episcopal home for children, currently is unused and is ready to be revitalized. The Diocese of Upper South Carolina and Still Hopes discussed using it for senior housing, but also have begun to explore adding day programming for children.

Studies are under way to look at the market, the infrastructure, and what the local needs are in York County. Currently, studies are focusing on providing housing for elders age 55 and older combined with an early childhood program for ages 2-4. “We know that they will see their life enhanced and better outcomes for both sides,” Mr. Sanford said.

No resolutions were reported to the Convention. Only one was submitted to the Resolutions Committee,  and it was withdrawn. Committee members said the submitters’ concerns would be reported to our Deputation to General Convention and relayed through them to the wider Church.

Diocesan Treasurer the Rev. Jim Taylor reported that the state of the diocese’s finances is strong, and drew attention to the good audit report received in September. Convention delegates voted to approve the 2018 diocesan budget, which totals $602,548, up from $559,290 in 2017. The increase is funded by growth in the contributions of parishes and missions of the diocese.

Chancellor Thomas S. Tisdale Jr. gave a brief report, saying that “Our diocese is structurally strong and in good order.” He offered an overview of the status of legal matters and mentioned that mediation involving the diocese is scheduled to resume December 4-5. “Our first goal is one of constantly seeking reconciliation with those now separated from us,” he said.

Also on Saturday, the Convention commissioned our Deputies to the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, which will be held in Austin, Texas, in July 2018: The Very Rev. Rick Lindsey, the Rev. Dr. Jim Taylor, the Rev. Wil Keith, the Rev. Jean McGraw, Pam Guess, Andrea McKellar, Lonnie Hamilton, Mark Szen; and Alternate Deputies the Rev. Cn. Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant II, the Rev. Cn. Caleb J. Lee, the Rev. Bill Coyne, the Rev. Jeff Richardson, and Carrington Wingard.

On Friday afternoon, a pre-convention roundtable discussion on the 79th General Convention was led by Fr. Lindsey, who is chair of the Deputation. (To follow our Deputation to General Convention and find contact information for the Deputies, visit our official General Convention blog: episcopalsc.blogspot.com)

All the detailed reports at Convention will be included in the official Journal of the 227th Diocesan Convention, which will be available on the website when it is completed. (Reports submitted by our diocesan institutions can be found here.)

Elections

Delegates voted during the morning session to fill seats on the Diocesan Council, Standing Committee, and the Board of Trustees of the University of the South. The following results were announced after lunch:

Standing Committee, Clergy
The Rev. Dr. George Moyser 
The Rev. Fred Thompson 
 
Standing Committee, Lay
Emily Guess 
Rick Stall 
 
Diocesan Council, Clergy
The Rev. Rob Donehue 
The Rev. Cn. Dr. Wilmot Merchant II 
 
Diocesan Council, Lay
Ray Wannamaker Sabalis 
Carrington S. Wingard
 
Trustee, University of the South, Lay
Tom Miller

At a brief meeting of the Standing Committee held immediately following adjournment, the Reverend Jeff Richardson was elected Standing Committee President.
 
The 228th Diocesan Convention
The Reverend Chris Thompson, Interim Rector of Church of the Holy Communion, Charleston, issued the invitation to our 2018 convention at Holy Communion. Watch for the date to be announced soon. ​

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