CHRISTMAS GREETINGS
AND REFLECTIONS ON THE YEAR 2017
AND REFLECTIONS ON THE YEAR 2017
My best wishes to all of the readers of this humble blog for a wonderful Christmas. If I could mail each of you a card, I would have this picture on it:
This was my garden at dawn on December 9. This much snow is a rarity in the deep South. Who could not be in awe at the beauty of God's creation?
The year 2017 is about to come to a close. What a year it has been! Monumental events have occurred on every level of life all around us. Looking back, then, it is timely to ask, what difference has 2017 made?
This was my garden at dawn on December 9. This much snow is a rarity in the deep South. Who could not be in awe at the beauty of God's creation?
The year 2017 is about to come to a close. What a year it has been! Monumental events have occurred on every level of life all around us. Looking back, then, it is timely to ask, what difference has 2017 made?
THE SCHISM
The Episcopal Church schism in South Carolina reached a turning point in 2017 and fundamentally settled the big issue of the schism: who controls the 36 parishes that claimed to leave the Episcopal Church in 2012?
The South Carolina Supreme Court decision of August 2 recognized the Episcopal Church and the Church diocese, the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, as the trustees of 29 of the 36 parishes in question. This means that the 29 parishes return to control of the Church and its diocese. The independent diocese, the Diocese of South Carolina, is left with 6 parishes, all outside of Charleston. One other parish, St. Andrew's of Mt. Pleasant, is in the Anglican Church in North America's Diocese of the Carolinas, a diocese separate from DSC even though the two overlap.
On the question of the ownership of the pre-schism diocese, DSC is still in possession of the legal entity of the old diocese. The SCSC decision of Aug. 2 did not disturb that. However, this issue will be settled by the U.S. District Court in Charleston as it deals with the vonRosenberg v. Lawrence case. Although SCSC did not issue an opinion on this question, it did rule that the Church diocese is the rightful heir of the pre-schism diocese and looked to the federal court to settle the issue through a judgment on the trademark question.
DSC gave tacit recognition of the Church and Church diocese's control of both the diocese and the 29 parishes in the new lawsuit it filed against TEC/TECSC in circuit court on November 19. In this Complaint, DSC demanded reparations for the "improvements" made on the properties under the "Betterments Statute." The statute said the occupants of property belonging to someone else had right to payments from the property owner for improvements they (the occupants) made on the property. Thus, DSC has recognized that the diocesan and parochial properties were, and are, under Church control. (Technically, the diocesan assets are owned by the Trustees of the diocese while parish properties are owned in deeds held by the parishes. TEC and TECSC claim trusteeship, not ownership, of the parish properties under the Dennis Canon.)
DSC gave tacit recognition of the Church and Church diocese's control of both the diocese and the 29 parishes in the new lawsuit it filed against TEC/TECSC in circuit court on November 19. In this Complaint, DSC demanded reparations for the "improvements" made on the properties under the "Betterments Statute." The statute said the occupants of property belonging to someone else had right to payments from the property owner for improvements they (the occupants) made on the property. Thus, DSC has recognized that the diocesan and parochial properties were, and are, under Church control. (Technically, the diocesan assets are owned by the Trustees of the diocese while parish properties are owned in deeds held by the parishes. TEC and TECSC claim trusteeship, not ownership, of the parish properties under the Dennis Canon.)
In essence, by the SCSC decision (Aug. 2) and DSC's Complaint (Nov. 19), the basic issues of the schism have been settled. As for the state supreme court ruling, DSC is engaged in two aftereffects, filing a new lawsuit against TEC/TECSC and announcing its intent to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. DSC's new lawsuit, filed Nov. 19, is frivolous, if desperate. It will almost certainly be dismissed in the next few months, if not weeks. The appeal to SCOTUS is even more of a long shot. It is most unlikely the high court will take the case. The usual time of dismissing an appeal (petition for "cert") is three to six months.
Looking back over the year 2017, what I regret the most about the schism is the way the DSC leaders treated Justice Kaye Hearn. This was reaching the bottom of the barrel. Exactly what the DSC lawyers thought this was going to accomplish is still a mystery to me. The DSC side did everything they could to smear her name and destroy her judicial reputation. They did not succeed of course because she had nobility and strength of character towering over her enemies and the absolute confidence of her fellow justices. In fact, the DSC scheme backfired as every one of the other four justices rallied to defend their colleague and chastise her detractors. We cannot know for sure, but it is entirely possible that the severity of the attack on Hearn may actually have sunk DSC's demands for rehearing. If so, it would be just deserts.
Looking back over the year 2017, what I regret the most about the schism is the way the DSC leaders treated Justice Kaye Hearn. This was reaching the bottom of the barrel. Exactly what the DSC lawyers thought this was going to accomplish is still a mystery to me. The DSC side did everything they could to smear her name and destroy her judicial reputation. They did not succeed of course because she had nobility and strength of character towering over her enemies and the absolute confidence of her fellow justices. In fact, the DSC scheme backfired as every one of the other four justices rallied to defend their colleague and chastise her detractors. We cannot know for sure, but it is entirely possible that the severity of the attack on Hearn may actually have sunk DSC's demands for rehearing. If so, it would be just deserts.
Mediation is to resume next month. Judging from the two aborted attempts so far, I do not see how anyone could be hopeful of a negotiated settlement.
The federal court case goes on. Judge Gergel had originally set a trial date of March 2018, but given the ongoing mediation and the stay in the case during that process, we will have to wait and see how the judge schedules the matter in the future. Before a trial, there will have to be a "discovery" period for the lawyers to prepare for it. It may well be that the trial will have to be delayed.
Given that the basic issue of the parishes has been settled and the ownership of the old diocese is almost certainly going to be settled, and in favor of the Church, what we will see in 2018 is only DSC's delaying tactics. They have shown every sign of dragging out the inevitable end as long as possible.
I think there are probably two big reasons for this. One is to continue its campaign of demonization of the Episcopal Church and de-legitimization of the court decisions in the minds of the 15,000 communicants now in DSC. If DSC is to continue as a viable entity after the schism is settled, it must have the support of thousands of people. With only six local parishes and no diocesan infrastructure, DSC will have to rebuild from scratch. This will be enormously challenging and can be done only with a great deal of public support.
The second big reason for DSC's delay I suspect is really the most important, the deconstruction of the Episcopal Church. Fundamentally, this schism is more about destroying the Episcopal Church in eastern South Carolina than in building a better church. If it had been about building, DSC would have accepted the generous proposal of TEC in June of 2015 when the Church offered to recognize all of the 36 parishes as independent and the sole owners of the property. Moreover, if were now about building, DSC would be seriously negotiating for the best deal it could get in the mediation.
All signs indicate that DSC will fight against TEC until the bitter end regardless of the outcome (read retired Bp Allison's letter to the editor here ); and even if the odds are against them, which they are. DSC will almost certainly lose in the circuit court and in their bid to SCOTUS. They proceed with the federal case at their own peril. Federal courts have almost universally sided with the Episcopal Church and the Church dioceses against breakaway groups. DSC's chance in federal court is nil. What is more, when DSC loses in federal court, it is entirely possible they will lose everything including the six parishes they now have. With their seemingly endless litigation, they also stand to lose the much-needed support of the ordinary people-in-the-pews who are already showing signs of lawsuit fatigue (see here ). DSC leaders failed to deliver to their people the promises of the schism, yet they go on, and expect the faithful to keep on paying for it. They are risking a backlash from their own people.
Chances are very good that the year 2018 will bring an end of the litigation between the two sides and at least the beginning of a settlement of the schism. The 29 parishes will have to readjust to reunion with the Episcopal Church. This will take a lot of work and probably time. But then, the Diocese of South Carolina has been around a long time, 232 years to be exact. The schism has been the worst event in the history of the diocese, but it has not been the end of the diocese. The Episcopal Church is alive and well in South Carolina, wounded to be sure, but on the mend and facing a promising future.
Thus, we must end 2017 on a high note of optimism about the end of the schism. The diocese will survive, and even thrive. Years from now, people will look back and shake their heads in dismay that prejudice against gays led to this. What a waste. What a shame.
THE NATION
The first year of the Trump presidency revealed what we knew would happen. Trump is a con man but also unstable and incompetent. He won the election by posing as the champion of the ordinary people, the middle and working classes. He governs as the reverse, the champion of the very wealthy. The new tax law is the greatest transfer of wealth from the ordinary citizens to the very rich in the history of the United States. This is his only significant achievement of the year. Otherwise, he is busy deconstructing the state by attacking the CIA, the State Department, the FBI, and the media and by dismantling as much as possible of the Obama legacy. His devotees are now attacking the special prosecutor. Trump is a would-be dictator who is challenging the whole constitutional system of America.
For the last fifty years, conservatism in America has had two main streams, economic and socio/cultural. The traditional Republicans were economic conservatives. They believed that the government should favor the propertied classes under the "trickle down" theory, that the prosperity of the rich would move downward through society and everyone would be better off. This theory was popular thirty years ago under President Reagan and was discredited then. It is still used as the rationale for favors to the wealthiest citizens. Socio/cultural conservatives were not so concerned about money but about preserving the old values and ways of life and resisting what they saw as the destructive changes in society and culture all around them. Republican leaders learned a half century ago that they could win elections by using the socio/cultural lures, then switching to economic policy once in power. President Reagan was a master of this. He used socio/cultural issues to get elected, and immediately got the biggest tax cut in American history, and one heavily tilted to the rich. Trump did the same. Meanwhile, the people who elected Reagan and Trump really got nothing but the bill for tax cuts to the rich.
In 2018, look for an acceleration in moves of the deconstruction of the state. Republicans are certain to go after social "safety net" institutions. They want to "privatize" (turn over to Wall Street) Social Security and the Veterans Administration, and severely diminish, if not destroy, Medicare and Medicaid. They will be in a hurry to do this as they know they will lose the Nov. 2018 mid-term election and almost certainly lose their majority in the House of Representatives. After that, government will be a stalemate as it was in the last six years of the Obama terms. As of this point, the Republicans are also likely to lose the presidency and the Senate in the 2020 elections.
My theory is that we are in the last stage of the counter-revolution against the great democratic reform movement of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Conservatives in both state and church finally realized they could not stop the reforms. As the last resort, they turned to deconstruction of the institutions that made the reforms, hence the schisms and Trump. If this is indeed the last stage, as I think it is, we can expect this deconstruction phase to die out and a post-revolutionary settlement to envelope both state and church. The looming question at this point is how much longer it will last and how much more destruction we will see before the end. I think there will be a good deal of both in 2018 but also probably the beginning of settlement by the end of the year. I doubt the deconstruction will last more than another year. DSC is likely to exhaust its legal avenues and Trump is likely to lose his majority in Congress before the end of 2018.
In 2018, look for an acceleration in moves of the deconstruction of the state. Republicans are certain to go after social "safety net" institutions. They want to "privatize" (turn over to Wall Street) Social Security and the Veterans Administration, and severely diminish, if not destroy, Medicare and Medicaid. They will be in a hurry to do this as they know they will lose the Nov. 2018 mid-term election and almost certainly lose their majority in the House of Representatives. After that, government will be a stalemate as it was in the last six years of the Obama terms. As of this point, the Republicans are also likely to lose the presidency and the Senate in the 2020 elections.
My theory is that we are in the last stage of the counter-revolution against the great democratic reform movement of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Conservatives in both state and church finally realized they could not stop the reforms. As the last resort, they turned to deconstruction of the institutions that made the reforms, hence the schisms and Trump. If this is indeed the last stage, as I think it is, we can expect this deconstruction phase to die out and a post-revolutionary settlement to envelope both state and church. The looming question at this point is how much longer it will last and how much more destruction we will see before the end. I think there will be a good deal of both in 2018 but also probably the beginning of settlement by the end of the year. I doubt the deconstruction will last more than another year. DSC is likely to exhaust its legal avenues and Trump is likely to lose his majority in Congress before the end of 2018.
ALABAMA
Who would have thought it? Of all states, it is Alabama that very well may the first signal of the beginning of the end for Trump and Trumpism (sorry Virginia, but you are a purple state, no where near as red as Alabama). A state that gave Trump one of his biggest margins of victory, 23 points, reversed itself only a year later. This is earth-shaking. I would not believe it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. Alabama elected a pro-abortion Democrat. This is the first Democrat to win a state-wide race in Alabama in nearly ten years, and the first to win a U.S. Senate seat in 25 years! Republicans are not stupid. They know what this means and this is why they are in a rush to pass as many counter-revolutionary and deconstruction measures as they can in the limited amount of time they have left. For once, perhaps the first time in history, Alabama is leading the nation in something.
On a more personal note, this has been an important year for me too. A form of cancer than runs in my family showed up. My grandfather died of it. My father was successfully treated but with side effects. Thanks to the God-given miracles of modern medicine, I was successfully treated with only negligible side effects. My father lived to be 96, my mother to 94. Neither had any form of dementia. Longevity runs in both sides of my family and I fully intend to make the most of what I am given. I am already at work on more research and writing and will go just as long as I can. I consider myself blessed.
Other than surviving cancer, the highlight of my year was the appearance of my new book, A History of the Episcopal Church Schism in South Carolina. It was released in August by Wipf and Stock Publishers, of Eugene OR. This was the result of four years' of research and writing. I did not work on it constantly, however, as that would have been too depressing. I had to take breaks for therapy such as gardening and travel. I am an avid railroad fan and ride all over the country on the train just for fun. (BTW--Keep the people of Amtrak 501 in your prayers. Dec. 18's derailment was the worst train wreck in years.) I am pleased at the way the book turned out and the reception it has had.
2017 was a momentous year for my church, nation, state, and myself. All of these had turning points in some sense; and, in my opinion, the turn was for the better. As 2017 comes to an end, I have a sense that 2018 will bring resolution to some of our most serious problems.
The schism in South Carolina has been going on a long time now, more than five years. It has been a difficult time to say the least. On the whole, though, I am more encouraged now than ever. I think the end is in sight. I believe we are at the beginning of the conclusion. I think it just a matter of wrapping up and making peace. I hope peace brings with it reconciliation, healing, and friendship. We all need to get back to being worthy of the name we are privileged to bear.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: To all of my readers in South Carolina, I am giving you a homework assignment today and I want you to do this before the end of the year, before Christmas would be even better. Your assignment is to watch the movie, "All Saints."
(If you have already seen it, then your back-up is "The Shack.")
(If you cannot get "All Saints" through a media provider, it is out on DVD and can be rented at the Red Box. Same for "The Shack.")
"All Saints" is the true story of an Episcopal church consigned to death that was brought back to life in a most unexpected way and back to a life far more glorious that it had ever had. It is a life-affirming tale of triumph over what may appear to be the worst. Every discouraged church person worried about the future needs to see this movie. You will be moved to tears and you will be glad. You may see the schism in SC in a new light. Who knows, maybe someday there will be a movie about the schism in South Carolina.
My best regards to you and yours at this blessed season and my best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful new year. Life is an adventure and although we have free will and make our choices everyday, there still remains a great deal that happens to us that is beyond our control. I have always believed it is best we really cannot know the future. Yet, we go on day by day doing our best, knowing we are not alone and confident in the great power of the universe that is incalculably greater than ourselves.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: To all of my readers in South Carolina, I am giving you a homework assignment today and I want you to do this before the end of the year, before Christmas would be even better. Your assignment is to watch the movie, "All Saints."
(If you have already seen it, then your back-up is "The Shack.")
(If you cannot get "All Saints" through a media provider, it is out on DVD and can be rented at the Red Box. Same for "The Shack.")
"All Saints" is the true story of an Episcopal church consigned to death that was brought back to life in a most unexpected way and back to a life far more glorious that it had ever had. It is a life-affirming tale of triumph over what may appear to be the worst. Every discouraged church person worried about the future needs to see this movie. You will be moved to tears and you will be glad. You may see the schism in SC in a new light. Who knows, maybe someday there will be a movie about the schism in South Carolina.
My best regards to you and yours at this blessed season and my best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful new year. Life is an adventure and although we have free will and make our choices everyday, there still remains a great deal that happens to us that is beyond our control. I have always believed it is best we really cannot know the future. Yet, we go on day by day doing our best, knowing we are not alone and confident in the great power of the universe that is incalculably greater than ourselves.
