JOIN THE CONVERSATION

IN FLORENCE NEXT SUNDAY
3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

On next Sunday, March 17, there will be another open conversation for returning parishes. This one will be for the Florence area. It will be at Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, 3123 W. Palmetto Street (U.S. 76), Florence. Bishop Adams, Archdeacon Walpole, and the Rev. Bill Coyne will be there to talk with local Episcopalians and members of the returning parishes. The topics of conversation are wide open. 

There are two Episcopal congregations presently outside of the old diocesan properties: St. Catherine's Episcopal Church, and the Cheraw Worship Group. St. Catherine's has mission status in the Church diocese, the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. St. Catherine's meets at Cross and Crown Lutheran and the Cheraw groups meets in a bank in Cheraw. There is an Episcopal Church in Sumter, Good Shepherd.

In 2017, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that 29 of the 36 parishes involved in the lawsuit against the Episcopal Church are property of the Episcopal Church. The justices said the parishes acceded to the Dennis Canon. They said once the parish broke the terms of the Canon by leaving the Episcopal Church, the property reverted to the trust beneficiary, the Episcopal Church. There are six parishes in the Florence area that are property of the Episcopal Church according to the SCSC:

1. Bennettsville --- St. Paul's

2. Cheraw --- St. David's

3. Florence --- All Saints

4. Hartsville --- St. Batholomew's

5. Stateburg --- Church of the Holy Cross

6. Sumter --- Church of the Holy Comforter

In addition, there are three local church whose status will be determined later. They were not among the 36 in the lawsuit. Their place will be decided in the future by whether they acceded to the Dennis Canon. The three are:

Dillon --- St. Barnabas

Florence --- Christ Church

Marion --- Advent

As of now, there are two parishes that remain in the separatist diocese that uses the name "Anglican." The SC supreme court said these were not property of the Episcopal Church because they had not acceded to the Dennis Canon:

Darlington --- St. Matthew's

Florence --- St. John's

The disposition of the 2017 SCSC decision is now in the hands of Judge Dickson of the circuit court. He is underway in discussions with the lawyers on both sides. We are awaiting his decision on how he will implement the SCSC decision. Dickson has no choice but to carry out the decision. Since the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, in 2018, the SCSC decision is the final law of the land. It cannot be appealed or changed. The SCSC sent its decision back down to the circuit court in November of 2017 for implementation. This is what Judge Dickson has to do. He cannot change or ignore the state supreme court ruling.

This means that in the near future, probably within a year, the six churches listed above will return to control of the Episcopal Church bishop, presently Skip Adams. He has promised that there will be no break in services. They very first Sunday after the restoration there will be an Episcopal clergy person in the local church for regular services.

The court has already declared the six churches belong to the Episcopal Church. The breakaway diocese refused to recognize the SCSC decision. The clergy remaining in possession of the buildings are not now Episcopal clergy. They abandoned the Episcopal Church in 2013 and were released and removed from the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church. They may return to the Episcopal Church through a process of reintegration that has been set up by the Church diocese. Three clergymen have already returned and been reinstated. There are certain to be many more. Once the Episcopal Church bishop regains control of the properties, he will place an authorized Episcopal clergy person in the local church.

There are hundreds of people in St. Paul's, St. David's, All Saints, St. Bartholomew's, Holy Cross, and Holy Comforter who will be affected by the return of the properties to the Episcopal Church bishop. It behooves them to get all the information they can about the process of the restoration and all this will mean to their local churches. Much of what these people have been told by their leadership has been incorrect and misleading. These communicants will have big decisions to make. They should make them with all the information they can gather.

This is the purpose of the conversation next Sunday in Florence.