Update from the Missioner for Returning Congregations

​The Rev. Bill Coyne is Missioner for Returning Congregations for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Contact him at  [email protected] or 843-614-0679.
 
We are continuing to have a positive response to the three successful Open Conversations held last month in Conway, Charleston, and Bluffton.
 
I have been following up primarily with people who have questions about the process of reconciling / returning with The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.
 
As we await the Court setting in motion the implementation plan and timeline for the returning congregations, I have begun by listening, sharing information, and collecting contacts of those who wish to be partners in building the new future together.
 
The first question on everyone’s heart is the timing – when will this transition take place? We do not know.
 
We do know that our hope is that the transition be holy, dignified and peaceful in every location.
 
We do know there are folks who who plan to continue with their churches as they return to The Episcopal Church.
 
My role as Missioner is to work with every single returning congregation in moving beyond the recent troubles and focusing on restarting and rebuilding healthy mission-focused congregations of hope and healing.
 
If you are part of a small group of leaders interested in restoring the relationship that goes back to the consecration of your building and goes forward into The Way of Love – Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life… let’s meet!
  
A Prayer for the Dedication and Consecration of a Church
 
We give you thanks, O God, for the gifts of your people, and for the work of many hands, which have beautified this place and furnished it for the celebration of your holy mysteries. Accept and bless all we have done, and grant that in these earthly things we may behold the order and beauty of things heavenly; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 573)