[Magdalen] Statement of TEC Provisional Bishop in South Carolina

[Ginga Wilder]

For those who are following the South Carolina saga, there is good news.
Our Provisional Bishop "Skip" Adams, ret. CNY, has sent us a statement.  We
are fortunate to have a wise and pastoral bishop.  Ginga

http://mailchi.mp/episcopalchurchsc/a-pastoral-letter-from-the-bishop-851305?e=bfa235e9ac

*Supreme Court Decision and a Statement from the Bishop*

*November 19, 2017*

Ruling in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the South
Carolina Supreme Court has denied two motions from a disassociated group
and upheld its August 2 decision that property and assets of the Episcopal
Diocese of South Carolina, and most of its parishes, must remain with The
Episcopal Church.

The orders, dated Friday, November 17, can be found here:
Denial of rehearing motion
<http://www.episcopalchurchsc.org/uploads/1/2/9/8/12989303/2017-11-17_denial_of_rehearing_motion.pdf>
Denial of recusal motion
<http://www.episcopalchurchsc.org/uploads/1/2/9/8/12989303/2017-11-17_denial_of_recusal_motion.pdf>

Friday’s rulings reject two motions that were filed by a breakaway group
that left The Episcopal Church in 2012. One sought a rehearing of the case,
while the other asked that Justice Kaye Hearn, one of the five justices who
wrote the opinion, be recused, and her opinion vacated.

The court voted 2-2 on the rehearing motion; a majority would have been
required in order to grant a rehearing. Justice Hearn did not vote.

The court voted unanimously to deny the motion seeking Justice Hearn’s
recusal. Justice Jean Toal, who was serving as Chief Justice at the time
the court heard the case, noted that "an adverse decision is no reason to
excuse a nearly two-and-a-half year delay in making a request for recusal."

"While I make no criticism of the respondents' lawyers for filing the
motions to recuse and for vacature, I am disappointed in the tone of these
filings. They are unreasonable harsh criticisms of a highly accomplished
judge and a person of great decency and integrity," Justice Toal said.


*Statement from Bishop Adams*
*The Episcopal Church in South Carolina*

We give thanks for the clarity that the State Supreme Court’s decision
provides and we are grateful for the thoughtful and difficult work the
justices have undertaken in this case.

>From the time this lawsuit was filed against The Episcopal Church, the hope
of reconciliation has been our guiding principle. We believe this is what
the Lord Jesus would expect of us and it is consistent with the teachings
of St. Paul who said in his second letter to the Church in Corinth, “All
this is from God, who reconciled himself to us in Christ, and has given us
the ministry of reconciliation.” We renew our commitment to this hard work
of reconciliation in the days to come.

We understand that the many people in the parishes affected by this ruling
may be experiencing pain, fear and confusion. Let me say to all that The
Episcopal Church in South Carolina is committed to finding a path that will
allow the people of God to continue to live their lives as a part of the
Anglican Communion in and through the Episcopal Church. As a former Bishop
of South Carolina, William Alexander Guerry said more than 100 years ago,
“If we are to be truly catholic, as Christ himself is catholic, then we
must have a Church broad enough to embrace within its communion every
living human soul.”

The Episcopal Church seeks to be an expression of faith in Christ that
welcomes all to his expansive Table. Our prayer is that every person in
every parish of the Diocese will join in working and praying together to
bring healing to the Church, the Body of Christ, in this part of South
Carolina.


*The Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. Adams IIIBishop, The Episcopal Church in South
Carolina*