PARISHIONERS OF ST. JOHN'S BLESS THE BUILDINGS

Last weekend, Dr. Russ Parker visited St. John's Church, on Johns Island, Charleston. He is author of Rediscovering the Ministry of Blessing. Following his ideas of "blessings," the congregation "blessed the buildings" as they prepared for the transfer of the property from the Anglican clergy and officials back to the Episcopal diocese. Find pictures HERE .

St. John's is one of the 14 parishes to be returned to the Episcopal Church as per the SC Supreme Court. It is also one of the 6 that did not ask for a rehearing of the SCSC decision of 20 April 2022. While the clergy of the 6 did not contest the decision, they are trying to keep their congregations unified as they move out of the property. It remains to be seen how many parishioners will leave and how many will remain with the buildings once an Episcopal priest reappears for services. So, for those about to leave, the "blessing" would also be a goodbye. We do know that the rector of St. John's, the Rev. Greg Snyder, will soon leave for a new job at the University of Tennessee.

Speaking for myself and no one else, I assume the 6 parishes that did not contest the court ruling will be the first to be restored to the Episcopal diocese and I suppose the first to have Episcopal services, again. Judging from the signs coming from them, it appears to me as if St. John's, of Johns Island, and St. James, on James Island, will be rejoining the Episcopal diocese sooner rather than later. I think we can reasonably expect Episcopal services to resume at St. John's and St. James within the next few months. The other 4 have not made any overt signs of preparing for transfer, at least none that I have seen. However, I expect Episcopal clergy to reappear in these 4 in the foreseeable future. I am sure the nuts and bolts of the transfers will have to be worked out by the diocesan officials and this will take time.

Here are the 6 parishes that did not contest the court order to return to the Episcopal Church:

St. John's, of Johns Island, Charleston.

St. James, James Island, Charleston.

St. David's, Cheraw. There has been an Episcopal worshiping group, a St-David's-in-exile, for years. For their sake, let us hope they get back into their church sooner rather than later.

Holy Trinity, South Windermere, Charleston.

St. Bartholomew's, Hartsville.

St. Matthew's, Ft. Motte.