A Message from the Bishop

Dear Friends,

Some time now has passed since General Convention, and perhaps some further reflection on that event will be helpful now. I am so very grateful to the deputies from our diocese and to Holly Behre for the helpful ways that information from Salt Lake City was shared “back home.” In fact, if you took advantage of such resources, you were kept quite up-to-date about news from the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Nevertheless, I do want to add a few current words and reflections about subjects that have been raised since Convention’s adjournment.
 
Of course, the marriage canon and liturgies received a good deal of attention, and they will continue to do so. I call your attention to what I wrote soon after the Convention took action. (The Bishop's Message of July 2 can be found here.)  I will ask the diocesan Liturgical Commission to spend some time and energy in studying the rites and in helping me formulate policies for our diocese, in response to Convention action. Corresponding to understandings from Convention, our current policy involving “blessings” remains in place until Advent I (November 29, 2015). At that point, the liturgies for marriage will be appropriate to use, as authorized rites of the Church.
 
Discussion about formulating a policy on alcohol use in churches has been ongoing in Diocesan Council meetings for several months. There was a resolution passed on such policies at General Convention. Therefore, that resolution will become part of the considerations at our next Council meeting, in September. I imagine that we will be prepared to publish and publicize a diocesan policy soon after that time.
 
Anti-racism training for clergy has been mandated by General Church canons for a number of years, and such training also has been directed for those laity in positions of church leadership as well. Once again, training in anti-racism was a matter of discussion and support at this General Convention. This is a timely topic for us in South Carolina for many reasons, and it represents an appropriate subject for special training. Prior to General Convention, we had arranged for Dain and Constance Perry to offer initial training here, in September. Information about those opportunities is available on our website, and I encourage your attention to this matter. In this regard, though, we all need to be aware that such training will not complete our responsibility to deal with personal and systemic racism in our world. Indeed, this is a life-long journey.
 
Finally, a matter of local interest involves a new canon dealing with a process of reinstating clergy who previously had left The Episcopal Church. We had a particular interest in this matter, because of our experiences in this regard while there was no canon yet in existence. The canon that finally came out of committee for consideration was greatly influenced by experiences in South Carolina. Indeed, the process which we formulated and put into practice here is now followed pretty closely in the canons for the whole Church.
 
Much of the work of General Convention – requiring a great deal of the time of many people – may seem remote and somehow removed from the experiences of the local church. Indeed, a concern I always have at General Convention is the need for links and connections between the work done in such a large setting and the people in the pews on Sunday mornings. General Convention, at its best, meets, prays, deliberates, and makes decisions on the part of the whole Church … and in service to the Church.
 
As I look over the topics I have mentioned in this communication, I certainly am aware that each one of them has particular, local interest and application – not just the final one listed. The General Convention has the responsibility to consider matters of local interest and concern and to formulate policy – or decide not to formulate policy – that makes sense for the Church at large. This particular Convention, perhaps more than any other I have attended, did an excellent job in valuing the local experience, while also appreciating the distinctions among us. For this reason and for many others, it was an honor to attend the Convention, representing Episcopalians from South Carolina!
 
Faithfully,
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg