NON-EPISCOPAL CLERGY HOLD THEIR LAST SERVICE AT ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH;
EPISCOPAL SERVICES BEGIN JULY 17 (tentative)
July 10, 2022. This morning, clergy of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina held their last service at St. John's Episcopal Church, on Johns Island, Charleston. Next Sunday, 17 July, the Anglican rector will meet with the congregants who will follow him at 10:00 a.m., at Haut Gap Middle School, on Johns Island. This will be "going on into the future." (Hopefully, they will take that non-musical hootenanny band with them.)
Today's service seemed to have two purposes, the say a goodbye to the Rev. Greg Snyder, and to bond the congregation to make an exit together. Today was Snyder's last day after twenty years at St. John's, seventeen as rector. At the schism of 2012, Snyder, and most of the congregation adhered to the secession from the Episcopal Church and joined the new separate diocese. The next year, Snyder was released as a clergyperson of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. He is now set to relocate in Tennessee. His assistant is to lead the departing congregation as its clergyperson. Presumably this new congregation will call itself St. John's Anglican Church.
In his understandably emotional farewell sermon of today, Snyder made a brief swipe at Episcopalians (I think he was trying to be humorous) while he repeatedly assured the congregations it was the right thing to do to leave the buildings behind. He told them "marvelous things" would happen when the faithful people move out. In addition, he called on the people to go outside and "bless" the buildings (again). Throughout, there was a tone of "us against them." Bishop Edgar even appeared for a short blessing assuring the people the diocese would be behind them as they leave. It is hard to imagine what more the non-Episcopal clergy could have done to keep people from staying behind as the parish returns to the Episcopal Church.
Snyder said there will be three Anglican churches on Johns Island. Actually, there will be only one. St. John's Episcopal Church will be the only one in the Anglican Communion, the only one recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury as Anglican. The other two are in the Anglican Church in North America which, despite its name, is not in the Anglican Communion. It is a separate Christian denomination.
Next Sunday, 17 July, the Rev. Calhoun Walpole is tentatively set to conduct the first Episcopal service in St. John's since the schism. She is planning to celebrate Eucharist and preach at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
The SC Supreme Court sent a Remittitur a month ago to the circuit court ordering the transfer to the Episcopal Church of these parishes:
---St. John's, Johns Island, Charleston
---St. James, James Island, Charleston
---Holy Trinity, Charleston
---Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant
---St. David's, Cheraw
---St. Bartholomew's, Hartsville
---St. Matthew's, Fort Motte
As far as I can tell, the only parish outside of St. John's to move toward transfer is Christ Church. It is conducting a teaching series on the errors of the Episcopal Church. It has scheduled "A Service of Thanksgiving, Lament, and New Life" for August 28. This is perhaps a hint they intend to vacate the premises after that. To my knowledge, no other parish has posted any information about the transfers on the Internet.
So, Judge Edgar Dickson has on his desk the Remit order from the SCSC. When he will act on this is anyone's guess. He is not known for expediency. Last time, he sat on the church case for two and a half years before issuing his infamous order, which was subsequently largely discarded by the SCSC. This time, he does not have the right to discard the order from the SCSC.
Nevertheless, it is clear the transfer of some of the wayward parishes back to the Episcopal Church has begun. Seven have already been ordered back while seven others await a final judgment from the SCSC. Actually, the SCSC has already ruled twice that these very parishes belong to the Episcopal Church. But then, given this court, one should not jump to conclusions about what they will do on the pending seven. We have no choice but to bide our time until the wheels of justice turn, however slowly that may occur.
