ST. JOHN'S COMES HOME

On today, Sunday, 17 July 2022, the schism ended for Saint John's Parish, Johns Island, Charleston. The Episcopal Church flag stood in the sanctuary for the first time in nearly ten years. In that decade, the church was occupied by clergy who were not in the Episcopal Church.

(I was glad to see the three stair-step boys. It brought back a flood of happy memories. I was the third in a set of stair-step boys. We were two years apart. I must say the boys above were better behaved that we were. Our father was a policeman. Policemen's kids are like preacher's kids, they push the boundaries. Anyway, we three boys grew up in church and all of us have remained church-goers all our lives.)

A video of today's 10:30 a.m. service is available on Facebook HERE .

There were full pews and a full spirit at St. John's on this joyous day of restoration of the ancestral church. The Rev. Callie Walpole presided over a celebration of the Holy Eucharist and preached. The last hymn was especially poignant, "The Church's One Foundation,"  by schisms rent asunder. At least this little part of a much bigger schism was been put to rest. 

Over at Haut Gap Middle School, on Johns Island, the clergy who used to occupy St. John's met with their followers for a service. Apparently it was held in the auditorium of the school. From the camera angle, one could not tell the size of the crowd although it seemed large from the sound. 

Unfortunately, this group still calls itself "Saint John's Parish." The senior warden introduced the new rector as the 41st rector of St. John's Parish. Actually, St. John's Parish is over at St. John's Church, not at Haut Gap. The group at Haut Gap will have to find a new name. Their rector is in fact the second of this group that is part of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina which itself was founded in 2012. The contingent that left St. John's Church is not St. John's Parish.

A video of the Haut Gap service is available on Facebook HERE .

It is impossible to tell from the videos how many people attended each service although both seem crowded. If views of the livestream on Facebook are any indication of popularity, St. John's Church wins hands down. The Church drew some 200 viewers while Haut Gap had 113.

St. John's is the first parish, that adhered to the schism, to be returned to the Episcopal Church. It is a model for all subsequent parish restorations. Judging from today, it is a model that all may follow proudly. 

While Episcopalians hail the great day of rebirth at St. John's, they should also say a little prayer of thanks for the reasonable, non-confrontational, and non-obstructive way in which the previous occupants turned over St. John's property. It certainly was not easy for them to end their occupation. This too is a model for all the other parishes to follow. Some day this schism will be over and peace will return. At that time, both sides must be able to look back and say they acted as the Christians they claimed to be. In the bigger picture, people on both sides are all followers of the same Lord, all in the same boat. They ought to treat each other as fellow travelers, not as enemies.

At any rate, today belongs to the Episcopalians of St. John's Parish. It was a long and rocky road home but it did come to an end. You deserve everyone's best wishes. 

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UPDATE. 6:00 p.m. The Facebook video of the service in St. John's has been seen 722 times. The video of the service at Haut Gap has been seen 279 times.