Dear Friend,

This has been an incredibly challenging time for our nation and the world, and I pray that this finds you and your loved ones well. In March as the Covid 19 pandemic began sweeping through our nation, the search for the 15th of the Diocese of South Carolina was put on pause. We certainly did not imagine then that five months later we would still be in such a difficult place. And it is because we have all come to the realization that we will be living in this way for some time, we have decided to move forward with our search.

Our search for candidates will be from throughout the entire Church. The early stages and inter- views of this process will of course be virtual, with the latter ones yet to be determined. Howev- er, our intentions are to conduct a fair and thorough search process that ensures the safety and health of all applicants.

While present realities will necessitate a flexible timeline, we will do our best to keep candidates informed during each step of the way. Upon successful completion of this process and discern- ment of the Bishop Search Committee, the candidates for the 15th Bishop will be announced. It is at that time we will schedule the public discernment phase, including the date of the electing convention and the date of the Ordination and Consecration. We anticipate Consecration before the end of 2021.

We are excited to be moving forward, and hope for the careful and prayerful consideration of all th who may feel called to serve as the 15 Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina.

God’s peace and stay safe, Philip C. Linder The Reverend Dr. Philip C. Linder Chair of the Bishop Search Committee

Greetings from the Diocese of South Carolina. Thank you for your interest in our search for the 15th bishop of our diocese. We hope that the information found below will give you a better idea both of who we are as a diocese, and of the kind of bishop we hope will answer God’s call to lead us into the next chapter of our life together. The Diocese of South Carolina, as one of the nine original dioceses that formed the Episcopal Church in 1785, boasts a rich history that is steeped in the traditions of the Episcopal Church. We are exceedingly proud of our diocese, but we do not look just to our past St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, built 1767-1769, is a fine for inspiration. We are example of a pre-Revolutionary rural church. looking forward to our future, and we are excited to continue building on our rich history as we grow together in our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

Our Diocesan Profile was crafted by the 16 members of the Bishop Search Committee. The Search Committee is made up of two clergy and two lay members from each of the four deaneries in the Diocese. In crafting the profile, members of the Search Committee held several listening sessions in different locations across the Diocese. These sessions provided participants the opportunity to express what they felt was most important for our next bishop to know about us as a diocese. Written responses to the questions asked at the listening

Clergy gathered at Calvary Episcopal Church in sessions were also considered. In Charleston, SC, founded in 1847. addition, the clergy of the Diocese had a special gathering so that their voices could be heard. We are confident therefore that the Diocesan Profile presents a fair picture of who we are as a diocese, and our hope is that it will be helpful in the discernment process for the person who will respond to the call to be our new bishop. Our History

The colony of South Carolina was founded in 1670. The colony’s fledgling church was part of the Diocese of London, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent clergy to minister here. The colony thrived, largely owing to the cultivation of first indigo, and then rice. It would become the wealthiest colony in the New World during the 18th century. We acknowledge that this wealth was made possible because of the exploitation of enslaved people. South Carolina was born in slavery, and the legacy of that institution permeates every aspect of our society, even into the present. We are striving to follow the admonition of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, when he noted that true reconciliation can occur only if there is a proper confrontation. We aim to confront our past and ourselves in order to move into a more egalitarian and hopeful future — and present. The first Bishop of the Diocese was , who also served as rector of St Philip’s and president of the College of Charleston. It was Smith who insisted that the accession clause be included in our diocesan constitution, indicating that we in South Carolina would exist as part of the wider Episcopal Church throughout the former 13 colonies. Our second bishop, , was elected and consecrated in 1812. He (with William White, , and members of Trinity Church in and others) was instrumental in the founding of the General Theological Seminary in 1817. Even though we have not always acted like it, we in South Carolina have relished being part of a national church. By the time of the Civil War, almost half of the state’s Episcopalians were black. On June 20, 1861, the Diocese withdrew from the Episcopal Church and formed part of the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States.

______

1Bishop Smith is the 6th Bishop of the American succession, and he was ordained to the episcopate by William White, , , and Thomas John Clagett. When the war was over, South Carolina and the other southern dioceses returned to the Episcopal Church. During the period of Reconstruction, a number of parishes struggled over the issue of race. When St Mark’s, Charleston, founded on Easter Day 1865, petitioned the Diocese for full membership in 1875, some parishes withdrew from the Diocese for a season. Around the same time, the Reverend Anthony Toomer Porter, with a few other priests, prepared two black men for ordination. Bishop William Bell White Howe was in favor of the men being ordained. The Standing Committee, however, refused to allow them; and with their decision, our diocese lost untold numbers of black members who joined a movement that would become the Reformed Episcopal Church. In 1965, the Diocese of South Carolina finally admitted black people as members into the convention of the Diocese. In 1922, the Diocesan General Convention acted to divide the Diocese, which included the entire state. The Upper Diocese was created. Just as we follow a wounded Savior, we in South Carolina also have as our legacy the witness of a martyred bishop. In June 1928, Bishop William Alexander Guerry was shot and killed by one of his own priests over the issue of race. Bishop Guerry had supported the idea of a black suffragan bishop. Further, he was unswerving in his support for a fledgling school for blacks in Denmark, South Carolina. Voorhees College continues today. The full story behind the Bishop’s death was buried so well that, until recently, we as a diocese had lost the collective memory of having had as our own chief priest and pastor a bishop who gave it all for the sake of inclusion and justice. On the third Sunday in June yearly, across the Diocese, we now observe Bishop Guerry Day, with propers and a collect written for the occasion. It was Bishop Guerry who said “the Church must be broad enough to embrace within its communion every living human soul.” But we have sometimes struggled to embrace that vision. In the year 2012, we in the Diocese were confronted with a similar choice about belonging to a church where all God’s children would be welcome.

The Schism

In 2012, after a contentious episcopate, our 14th bishop, Mark Lawrence, abandoned the Episcopal Church. The main issue at play in Bishop Lawrence’s decision to aban- don the Episcopal Church was his refusal to accept the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church. For months, if not years, prior to his departure from the Episcopal Church, Bishop Lawrence tried to implement a plan whereby members that wished to follow him out of the church could do so while retaining possession of their parish buildings and other property. Shortly after Bishop Lawrence’s leaving the Episcopal Church, 35 congregations loyal to him claimed that they were the true Diocese of South Carolina and filed a lawsuit against both the continuing Episcopal diocese and the national Episcopal Church. The aim of this lawsuit was to forestall any claim that the parish property was held in trust for the legitimate Episcopal diocese and the Episcopal Church.

In spite of Bishop Lawrence’s action, 31 congregations (including several of the largest churches in the Diocese) remained loyal to the Episcopal Church.2 The energetic and capable leadership that emerged from 31 congregations has helped guide the Diocese ever since and is largely responsible for our continued success.

In January of 2013, these loyal Episcopalians gathered to reorganize the Diocese, and met in convention at Grace Church in Charleston. At this convention, the Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg was elected as the provisional bishop of the Diocese. Bishop vonRosenberg threw himself into the work of reorganization, and much of his time was spent in meeting with the loyal Episcopalians who had essentially been told to leave their church homes. Some of these small groups began meeting in living rooms, in BBQ ______

2 Of those thirty one congregations, twenty two kept their properties. Nine congregations were displaced. restaurants, and in funeral homes so that the Episcopal presence in the diocese would not disappear. In spite of the hardships involved, their hope was that some day they would be able to “go home” to the church buildings that many of them had worshiped in for decades. Even congregations that did not lose their buildings were affected by the schism, however, so Bishop vonRosenberg’s task was to guide the parishes and missions of the Diocese through a period of great uncertainty. Much of that uncertainty revolved around the legal and financial struggles that followed in the wake The Episcopal Church of the Good Shep- of the schism. herd, Summerville, like churches across

the diocese, helps mark the opening of After Mark Lawrence’s legal team won a the school year with its annual Blessing victory in the Dorchester County court, the of the Bookbags. case wound up in front of the South Carolina Supreme Court. For nearly two years, we waited for the SC Supreme Court to issue a ruling.

During that time, Bishop vonRosenberg stepped down, and we elected another Provisional Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gladstone “Skip” Adams. Bishop Adams took the reins of the Diocese in 2016, and he brought to the Diocese a renewed hope for reconciliation with those who had left the Episcopal Church. Upon Bishop Adams’ retirement in December 2019, the Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr. agreed to serve as visiting bishop, with the Standing Voorhees College, a historically African Committee as Ecclesiastical Authority, American college affiliated with the Episcopal Church, celebrates the life during the time of transition while the and legacy of Absalom Jones, Ameri- diocese seeks our next bishop. ca’s first black priest.

When the SC Supreme Court’s ruling came down on August 2, 2017, it reversed nearly all of the Dorchester County Court’s ruling. In their final decision, the SC Supreme Court declared that the following parishes are held in trust for the Episcopal diocese and the Episcopal Church:

All Saints, Florence Christ Church, Mount Pleasant Christ-St. Paul’s, Yonges Island Church of the Cross, Bluffton Church of Our Saviour, John’s Island Epiphany, Eutawville Good Shepherd, Charleston (West Ashley) Holy Comforter, Sumter Holy Cross, Stateburg Holy Trinity, Charleston Old St. Andrew’s, Charleston Redeemer, Orangeburg Resurrection, Surfside St. Bartholomew’s, Hartsville St. David’s, Cheraw St. Helena’s, Beaufort St. James, Charleston (James Island) St. John’s, John’s Island St. Jude’s, Walterboro St. Luke’s, Hilton Head St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte St. Michael’s, Charleston St. Paul’s, Bennettsville St. Paul’s, Summerville St. Philip’s, Charleston Trinity, Edisto Island Trinity, Pinopolis Trinity, Myrtle Beach In addition, the S.C. Supreme Court found that Camp St. Christopher, the Bishop’s residence, and the Diocesan Offices are also held in trust for the Episcopal Church and its diocese in South Carolina.

Seven parishes were found not to be held in trust for the Episcopal Church:

Christ the King, Pawleys Island St. Matthew's, Darlington St. Andrew's, Mt. Pleasant St. Paul's, Conway Prince George Winyah, Georgetown St. John's, Florence St. Matthias, Summerton

After numerous challenges to this ruling, in November of 2017 the SC Supreme Court declared the case closed and sent their final decision on remittitur back to the Dorchester County Court for enforcement. In late June of 2020, the Circuit Court Judge charged with implementing that decision issued a ruling expressly contradicting the SC Supreme Court’s earlier and final decision in favor of The Episcopal Church and the Diocese. A national legal search indicates that it is unprecedented for a lower court to overrule a higher court. The decision is being appealed, and we believe that the SC Supreme Court should effectuate its considered and just ruling. Still, it is likely that the case is far from finished. Our new bishop must be committed to playing a key role in the ongoing legal disputes in this manner.

*It is worth noting that the specifics of the legal proceedings to date are far too complex to be treated fully in this short history, but there are resources available that can give a more detailed account. The work of Dr. Ron Caldwell is particularly helpful for anyone seeking to understand the wider history of the schism and the subsequent legal engagements (http:// episcopalschismsc.blogspot.com). Aspirations for Reunification

After the August 2017 Supreme Court ruling, we began planning for the reunification of the Diocese and the reintegration of the 29 returning congregations. This task has proven to be difficult because the legal landscape continues to shift. Once the South Carolina Supreme Court decision is Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry implemented, we look forward to the spoke to diocesan youth at the first hard work of the restoration and “Bishop’s Lock-in” of the Diocese. reconciliation of our entire diocese. Our next bishop will need to know on the front end that this work will not be for the faint of heart, but it is the ministry God has given us.

We envision a diocese of 55 or more congregations, a flourishing camp and conference center (St. Christopher) and a deep connection and abiding loyalty to the Episcopal Church that goes back to The Episcopal Church on Edisto wor- 1785, as we move forward on a path of ships in the historic sanctuary of New mercy, compassion, and proclamation. First Missionary Baptist Church.

St. James Santee, founded in 1687, still uses this 1768 church several times a year for worship. The Shape of Our Diocese

The Diocese of South Carolina covers the eastern half of the state — 34 counties, some on the Atlantic and some inland, covered by fields of cotton or soybeans; some tourist destinations and some enjoying the economic boost of new business and industry; and the seat of the Diocese, Charleston, known for its historic beauty, rich cultural life, and charm.

Only five states are experiencing faster growth than South Carolina as retirees move here for the natural beauty and quality of life, students come for undergraduate and graduate studies and decide to stay, and young adults who are attracted by the abundance of outdoor activities. In other words, a wonderful opportunity to enlarge the footprint of the Episcopal Church.

But in addition, the area has longstanding poverty and public schools struggling to narrow the learning gap between those with adequate resources and those without. In other words, extraordinary opportunities for churches to look beyond their walls and live out their Christian responsibility. We are a diocese that celebrates its racial diversity and strives to harness our broad strengths and varied perspectives to be a stronger community in Christ.

The maps below show 1) the locations of the churches of our diocese 2) the locations of the returning congregations, and 3) what the reunified diocese will look like.

(1)

(2)

(3)

The Bishop We Seek

We need a bishop who…

…will speak clearly and convincingly about the love of God in Jesus. The people of South Carolina want a leader who will bring enthusiasm for the gospel to everything from large diocesan gatherings to individual conversations. We want our next bishop to be an able communicator in bearing witness to the resurrection, and an evangelist who is “always ready to give an accounting” for the hope that is in us.

…will also recognize and embrace the broader issues of justice that face us. We see our current legal struggles as a sign of wider struggles for justice among all peoples. We, remembering our own history, are committed to being attentive to issues of justice and fairness in the world around us. Programs of reconciliation and the inclusion of communities marginalized on the basis of age, ethnicity, race, or sexuality have been a hallmark of our life together since 2012. We expect that our next bishop will take the lead in promoting justice and “respecting the dignity of every human being.”

…has been successful in congregational development and fundraising. Our diocese has essentially started from scratch financially since the schism in 2012. We have grown the diocesan budget every year since 2012, but we will need our new bishop to be skilled in speaking to us and to the wider church about stewardship and the need to support the ministry of the Diocese so that the Diocese can be about the business of planting churches and growing congregations.

…will not shy away from engaging in the ongoing legal disputes. We are still waiting for the final outcome of the lawsuits resulting from the schism in 2012. Our next bishop will need to be aware of both the history of these lawsuits and the effects that the ongoing legal proceedings are having on our various congregations. Taking a role in the legal battle is likely to mean that the bishop will be under regular public scrutiny, so they will have to have “thick skin” and be able to handle criticism with grace and poise. …will take a stand in building up the youth ministries of the Diocese. We have been extraordinarily blessed in witnessing the rebirth of youth and young adult ministries across the Diocese. We have restarted Happening; we have several other diocesan youth gatherings planned throughout the year; our youth have participated in the Episcopal Youth Event; and we have campus ministries at The College of Charleston, The Citadel, Voorhees College, and Coastal Carolina University. We are proud that our focus on youth and young adult ministries has already borne fruit, and we hope to see that fruit increase even more. Our next bishop should take a special interest in supporting youth ministries, and be intentional about including youth and young adults in the life of the diocese.

…is an innovative thinker, willing to take risks to spread the gospel. “Business as usual” is not an option for us in South Carolina. The dynamics of what it means to be the church in the twenty-first century are changing rapidly, so we need a bishop who is able not only to adapt to change but also to initiate bold change. Innovative thinking around administrative/organizational structure and a willingness to try new methods of communicating the gospel message are essential.

…is a responsive listener. We are a people with many stories to tell. Since 2012, our congregations have experienced incredible moments of joy that keep us committed to the mission of the church. Whether it be stories of inclusion and empowerment, or stories of rediscovering the essence of what it means to be the church, we want our bishop to have an open ear to hear how the Holy Spirit has been at work in our lives and to share the joy that we have found in being the Diocese of South Carolina. We also have many stories of grief. And we want our bishop not only to be aware of these stories, but also to respond compassionately, and with positive action when appropriate. Some of our congregations were neglected and kept on the sidelines prior to 2012, so we want to be sure that our bishop will hear and value their voices as the diocese forges its new identity.

…will work effectively with congregations of all sizes and geographic locations. Our diocese is currently made up of 31 parishes, missions, and worship groups. The largest parish, our cathedral, has over 3,000 baptized members, and the smallest worship group consists of about ten laypersons. Each congregation has its own unique challenges and opportunities. Our next bishop will need to work actively to understand the different context of each parish, mission, and worship group as they make decisions about the future.

…will recognize the unique nature of mission congregations formed because of the schism. Many of the mission congregations of our diocese were formed as a result of the schism in 2012. While most of the missions have grown even in spite of the schism, the reality is that we have many small congregations that still need significant diocesan

support. The bishop will need to pay special attention to these congregations so that they can continue to bear witness to the gospel.

…will recognize the gifts of all people in the Diocese in helping them to discern their vocation to ministry. All members of the Diocese, lay or clergy, have gifts which contribute to the life of the church, and some are called to special leadership roles. Our next bishop will be committed to helping people discern the gifts that they have for building up the church.

…will shepherd us by supporting relational ministries within the Diocese. According to the Book of Common Prayer, the bishop is the chief pastor of the diocese. As our chief pastor, our bishop will take time to encourage and support the clergy across the diocese and work with the regional deans to strengthen connections and cultivate shared ministries. The bishop will also help raise up strong, effective lay leaders in the diocese, working with all parties to develop programs for spiritual growth and continuing education. Though some decisions will rest solely under the bishop’s discretion, we hope that our bishop will always take heed of the advice from Proverbs 11:14 - “in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” …is committed to the ideal of reconciliation. Conflict is a normal part of human interaction, but we in South Carolina have known more than our fair share of conflict. We are committed to the path of reconciliation with those who broke away from the diocese, so we want our bishop to lead us in those efforts. We are also aware that conflicts within our own congregations have not disappeared. We need a shepherd with the ability to hear both sides of a conflict and to work creatively to find solutions. We anticipate times where conflict resolution will require a loving but firm and steady hand, so we are looking for someone who will not shy away from stepping boldly into situations where strong leadership is necessary.

…takes care of their spiritual, physical, and emotional well being. This is an especially important characteristic for our next bishop. The work of being a bishop is demanding even at the best of times, and the reality in South Carolina is that our bishop will face many challenges that will require a tremendous amount of energy and time. Therefore we will support our bishop in setting aside time for prayer and reading; for recreation and rest.