VERY SIGNIFICANT—An Important Pastoral Letter from South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence
Posted by Kendall Harmon at TitusOneNine:
February 9, 2010
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the strong name of Jesus Christ whose word calls us to conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day.
I write to announce a change in the date of our upcoming Diocesan Convention which was scheduled for March 4_5'" at St. Paul's, Summerville. According to our Diocesan Constitution and Canons the Ecclesiastical Authority may "for sufficient cause" change the date of the Convention. I, with the unanimous concurrence of the Standing Committee, have so done. The 219'" Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina will now be held at St. Paul's, Summerville on March 26, 2010.
The Chancellor of the diocese, Mr. Wade Logan, was informed in December of 2009 that a local attorney had been retained by the Chancellor of the Presiding Bishop to represent The Episcopal Church in some "local matters." Then, beginning in January of 2010, a series of letters requesting various documents from our diocesan records were sent sequentially to our chancellor, leading us to believe that perhaps the Presiding Bishop's Chancellor, if not the Presiding Bishop herself, is seeking to build a case against the Ecclesiastical Authorities of the Diocese (Bishop and Standing Committee) and some of our parishes. These requests seek from the Diocese and about certain parishes: lists of all persons ordained since October 24, 2009; all parish bylaws and amendments since 2006; all Standing Committee Minutes since the episcopacy of Bishop Salmon; parish charters, parish founding documents, parish deeds, parish mortgages, documents evidencing parish participation in diocesan programs and others. In some cases, the stated reason for the information requested is the assertion that these parishes have left the Diocese of South Carolina because of changes made to their respective bylaws. However, these parishes have not made these changes with the intention of leaving the Diocese of South Carolina, nor have they left. I have been working with their clergy and lay leaders to find appropriate ways to resolve their struggles with the recent decisions of the General Convention in ways consistent with the Holy Scriptures, our common life and fellowship in Christ, as well as with the canons of the Church and the laws of the State of South Carolina.
As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and many of its parishes have an established history predating that of The Episcopal Church. This Diocese was one of the founding members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. As the Bishop elected by the Convention of this Diocese, duly consented to and consecrated in accordance with historic precedent and polity, I am the only bishop with canonical jurisdiction here. Thus the Standing Committee and I believe this action is an unjust intrusion into the spiritual and jurisdictional affairs of this sovereign diocese of The Episcopal Church. This provocative interference has been pursued without the Presiding Bishop having communicated with me in a manner consistent with the Constitution of The Episcopal Church and the historical polity of this Church.
Among the many concerns that this action raises, is the apparent trajectory of the Presiding Bishop's Office to extend powers not attendant with the office, which are unprecedented and contrary to the polity of The Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America. One example, which may be cited from the very letters that our chancellor has received, is that the attorney held himself out as "South Carolina counsel for The Episcopal Church". He may be an attorney retained by the Chancellor for the Presiding Bishop, but it is hardly accurate in regards to the polity of this Church to claim to be an attorney of The Episcopal Church, as if the parishes, Standing Committee and Bishop of South Carolina are somehow something other than The Episcopal Church, much less to suggest he is South Carolina counsel for the Episcopal Church. Therefore, in order for the Bishop, Standing Committee and Diocese to adequately consider a response to this unprecedented incursion into the affairs of the Diocese of South Carolina, the Standing Committee and i have deemed it necessary to move the 219'" Annual Meeting of the Convention to the aforementioned date.
This is not a time for precipitous action; nor is it a time for our congregations or members to strike out in unilateral directions destructive to the common life and witness God has called us to make in the world and the Church. As St Paul encouraged the early Christians in Rome, it is a time to awake, to put on the armor of light, and to conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day.
The Standing Committee and I will be communicating with you in the days to come. There is much to be done regarding these challenges to our diocesan life and authority; and while it would be natural to allow these concerns to capture our attention, brothers and sisters, I refuse to allow it to consume all my energy or time, and I implore you through the mercies of Christ, do not let these ecclesiastical struggles keep us from proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our vision to make Biblical Anglicans for a global age has never been more crucial than it is at this time in our world, our nation and our diocese.
To the only wise God be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ,
Faithfully yours,
--(The Rt. Rev.) Mark Joseph Lawrence is Bishop of South Carolina
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