ST. JOHN'S TENTATIVELY SET TO RETURN EPISCOPAL CHURCH SERVICES ON JULY 10, 2022

The senior warden of St. John's Church, on Johns Island, Charleston, announced in church this morning that:

---the attorneys of the two sides met last week.

---June 11 is the "packing day," (presumably those leaving will pack up what they will take with them.)

---the parish will not turn over the property to Episcopal officials until the SC Supreme Court has sent its decision down to the circuit court.

---July 3, 2022, is the "target date" for the last Anglican service in St. John's (pending SCSC action mentioned above.)

Find these remarks HERE @ 5:00.

The SC Supreme Court has had the petitions for rehearing since May 5, 2022. It is expected to issue a response momentarily. There is high expectation that the SCSC will deny the petitions and soon thereafter issue a Remittitur to the circuit court. The senior warden indicated St. John's would formally return the property to the Episcopal Church at that time. This gives a bit more than a  month before the tentative last Anglican service on 3 July. These dates are tentative and could change if for some reason the SCSC delays sending the Remittitur to the lower court.

Therefore, at this time it appears likely that July 10, 2022 will be the first Sunday service conducted by an Episcopal priest in St. John's parish church since the schism of 2012. 

If so, this will be the first of the fourteen wayward parishes to return to the Episcopal Church and this will be the first Episcopal service in a restored parish since the schism. For some this will be a time of sorrow, for others an hour of rejoicing.

Dare we hope that finally, at long last, the healing of the terrible wounds of war will begin? It seems that way now. St. John's is showing how to do it in the best way. For that, everyone should be grateful to the clergy, lay leaders, and communicants of St. John's parish.