NOTES, 4 OCTOBER 2021
Greetings, blog reader, on Monday, October 4, 2021. I suppose everyone, or at least every good Episcopalian, is still basking in the golden glow of the glorious event of last Saturday when Ruth Woodliff-Stanley was consecrated as the XV bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. What a wonderful, and historic, moment that was. A new era has begun for the beleaguered and long-suffering Episcopalians of eastern South Carolina. Let us not fool ourselves. There are very difficult days ahead for the Episcopal Church in lower South Carolina. Who better to have at the helm of the ship in these perilous seas than the new bishop?
The pandemic is on the down slope of the third surge. In almost every metric, the plague of COVID-19 is lessening. For South Carolina, find the latest info here . Although the situation is improving, one should still bear in mind that 12,570 South Carolinians have died in this pandemic. Alabama is also seeing a decline in every category. For the latest on AL, see here . The COVID dead in AL number 14,470. In the world, nearly 5 million people have died of COVID-19. In the United States, the number is 719,945, according to worldometers. This means more Americans have died in this pandemic than died in the last one, the great flu pandemic of 1918-19. We should pause and reflect on these terrible numbers.
On the subject of the schism in South Carolina, the next landmark event will be the election of the bishop coadjutor of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. This will be on Saturday, October 16. I am guessing it will be livestreamed. If so, I will post on this blog a running account of the voting. Here, three white, heterosexual men (no one else need apply) are vying for the honor, but it seems to me the outcome is a foregone conclusion. I expect Edgar to win as a lead-in for the breakaway contingent to merge with Steve Wood's Diocese of the Carolinas, also in the Anglican Church in North America. I have no hard evidence to go on, just reading tea leaves. The breakaway group lost the legal rights to the pre-schism diocese in 2019; and I think it is extremely unlikely they would ever gain such even if the state supreme court hands over the parishes and the Camp to them. In fact, the Lawrence crowd is under a federal court Injunction from pretending to be in any way the historic Diocese of South Carolina, even while Gergel's decision is on appeal.
Meanwhile, autumn has arrived. My garden is gradually transitioning from summer into fall. Many plants continue to bloom until frost forces them into dormancy. Even on a grey and cloudy day, as today, they brighten up my garden and cheer me up.
Nothing beats gardenia (August Beauty) for aroma. This bush is by my back deck and summer house. Gardenia should be planted in places where its scent can be enjoyed but not too many bushes should be planted together or the aroma can be overpowering.
This Butterfly Bush is still open for business but has no customers at the moment. I was blessed with a bountiful collection of butterflies and humming birds this summer. They depart in October for warmer climates and return the next April. I always miss them in the winter and long for their return.
The ornamental grasses are at their best at this time of the year. Japanese Silver Grass never disappoints. This view is from the central lawn looking into the smaller side of the garden.
On the larger side of the garden, zebra grass is in full bloom (on right). This view is from a walk path looking across a stretch of Andorra juniper (ground cover). There is a seating area, out of sight, at the banana trees.
Rejoice! The japonica camellias have returned to flower. This is Daikaigura Variegated. It starts blooming in September. I have two dozen camellia bushes and they are staggered for blooming from September to April. I have not found a japonica that blooms in summer, but I am still looking. Nothing adorns a southern garden in winter as the camellias.
And so, there are many reasons to be optimistic now. The pandemic may be, just may be, fading out. It is still too early to declare victory, and we are moving into winter when it may spread easily. Nevertheless, let's take the hopeful signs and go with them.
Things are looking way up in the Diocese of South Carolina. A new and impressive bishop is at the helm.
Even in the breakaway group, the situation is moving to a new day. I regret that the Episcopal authorities refused to invite anyone from the disassociated diocese to the bishop's consecration last Saturday. That would have been a small but generous olive branch. The two sides are opponents in court but they are not enemies and must not treat each other as such. We are all Christians and should act like it.
A couple of other landmark events are coming up soon. On October 15, the schism in South Carolina will mark its ninth anniversary. It was on Monday, October 15, 2012, that Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori telephoned Bishop Mark Lawrence and declared his restriction as a bishop pending a settlement of the accusations against him. She walked into a hidden trap. The diocesan leaders had already decided in secret that if she did that (and everyone knew she was likely to do it), the diocese would declare its separation from the Episcopal Church. She did and they did. The diocesan leaders announced it to the public two days later. So, in eleven days, we will remember nine years that most of us would rather forget.
On another note, this blog is about to reach its one millionth hit. I started this modest site on September 11, 2013 as a way of providing information and opinion on the schism in South Carolina. When I began this modest little blog I had no idea it would be so widely read. I meant it to be a little supplement for the master blogger, Steve Skardon. His site at scepiscopalians had long been the lone source of info on the Episcopal Church side. I hope I have provided to the public some help in understanding and appreciation what had happened, what was happening, and what was likely to happen in the tragedy of the schism. I will go on as long as I can and as long as people find my words useful.
I make no pretense of being objective on this blog. I think the schismatics were wrong, and are still wrong. The fundamental issue at stake is human rights. The moral side is the one that defends, promotes, and expands the equal rights of all of God's children and includes all of those children equally in the life of the church. One side is doing that and the other is struggling against that. So, there is a right side and wrong side in this split. Even if the Episcopal diocese winds up losing every building, the Camp, and the legal entity of the diocese, it will still win because it stands for human rights. We often pay a high price for doing the right thing but we do it anyway because it is the right thing to do. Peace.
