DIOCESE OF UPPER SOUTH CAROLINA ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR BISHOP

The Episcopal and Anglican dioceses in eastern South Carolina are not the only dioceses seeking new bishops these days. The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina is too. It recently announced its slate of nominees for bishop's election. Find it here .

There are five names on the list:

---Furman Buchanan, St. Peter's, Greenville SC.

---D. Seth Donald, St. Michael and All Angels, Lake Charles LA.

---Thomas A. Lacy II, St. Anne's, Tifton GA.

---Daniel P. Richards, Christ Church of the Ascension, Paradise Valley, AZ.

---R. Jemonde Taylor, St. Ambrose, Raleigh NC.

First, note they are all men. Bucking the trend in episcopal elections these days, no woman made it to the list. A bit surprising.

There are four white men and one African American man. All are rectors of parishes.

Only one of the names is resident in the diocese. Apparently, he is the only one with "roots" in the diocese.

According to the timeline, the "Walkabouts" for the nominees will be on 11 and 12 September. 

The election of the bishop will be on 25 September, at Trinity Cathedral, in Columbia. Hopefully, it will be live-streamed.

Curious to note only four weeks' time between the announcement of the nominees and the election.  

Even though the upper diocese was not involved in the schism of 2012, it was, and still is, uniquely important to the Episcopalians in the lower state. The outstanding Bishop of USC, Andrew Waldo, made a heroic effort to keep the peace in the lower diocese before the break, to no avail. The pre-determined movement to schism was well beyond his, or anyone else's influence. Sadly, Waldo's best efforts to prevent schism failed.

The state of South Carolina is divided into two Episcopal Church dioceses: the Diocese of South Carolina is the eastern half of the state and the Diocese of Upper South Carolina is the western half. 

I suppose everyone has heard the rumors that the lower diocese of SC may reunite with the upper diocese (there was only one diocese before 1922). As far as I can tell, there is no evidence to support such rumors. One should fully expect the Diocese based at Charleston to continue on as its own entity. The incoming bishop is evidence of this. 

UPDATE NOTE. I have been informed by the DUSC office that both walkabouts and the election convention will be live-streamed. The details about these will be posted soon on the diocesan website.