Bishop Salmon's Address to the 2005 South Carolina Diocesan Convention
March 4th, 2005
As I begin my sixteenth year as Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, I greet you with the words of St. Paul from his second letter to the Corinthians:
"Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-merciful Father, the God whose consolation never fails us! He comforts us in all our troubles so that we in turn may be able to comfort others in any trouble of theirs and to share with them the consolation which we ourselves receive from God."
It is clearly the Grace, Mercy, and Consolation of our Lord Jesus Christ that has empowered us to preach the Gospel and do the work of mission here and in other parts of the world and to sustain us when we have failed and made mistakes, as we sinners always do. I thank God daily for his grace and mercy and for your ministry and support in this Diocese.
I especially want to thank Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali for taking the time to come to us all the way from the Diocese of Rochester England and to be with us in this Convention. Thank you, Bishop Michael, for blessing us this morning in our Convention Eucharist with the proclamation of God's word and its encouragement. Bishop Nazir-Ali will have an opportunity to speak to us about the Communion this afternoon and to address us tonight at our convention banquet. Thank you, Bishop Nazir-Ali.
I have a number of things that I want to say to the whole diocese and to you assembled here. But it is also clear that if I do not talk to you first about the election of a bishop co-adjutor to replace me, and that process, I run the risk of not being heard until that matter is put aside, and so, first things first.
I will be 72 in January of 2006, which is the retirement age for bishops in this church. I have worked with the Standing Committee to set in place a process for the election of a bishop co-adjutor. Due to the unsettled state of affairs in the Church, the Standing Committee met with me this last Wednesday and asked that the date for the election be determined for a time certain by the Bishop in consultation with the Standing Committee, rather than setting the exact day now. After discussions with them I agreed and ask your agreement. We will call a Special Convention for the election of a bishop co-adjutor. And at that special Convention, an opportunity will be provided for delegates to the Special Convention to meet the nominees and to engage in significant dialogue. Delegates for that Special Convention are elected for that purpose only. In other words, delegates to this convention are not delegates to that special convention. They must be elected by a congregational meeting and must receive a majority vote in order to serve. A "walk around", as we have done in the past, will provide an opportunity for the delegates to meet and engage the nominees in significant dialogue. The nominees will have an opportunity the day before the "walk around" to learn about the diocese, meet the bishops and other leadership and generally learn about the Diocese and South Carolina. I would remind you that I came to the diocese of South Carolina never having been here except one time, to a Spoletto Festival. If I had not been born in Natchez, I would never have survived.
I will remain Diocesan as long as the Canons allow in order to provide a short overlap. I will remain in this Diocese for this transition until the 30th of June, with the approval of the Standing Committee and the new bishop. That will give the Diocese an opportunity to make an orderly transition and to give the new bishop an opportunity to know the administrative systems which we have developed over the last fifteen years, and which has blessed the growth of the Diocese and its congregations. This was also the request of our clergy at a conference in Santee two years ago.
My request of this 215th Convention is that you authorize the formation of a Search Committee to bring the names of nominees to a Special Convention - the date to be determined by the bishop, in consultation with the Standing Committee, thirty days before the election. The proposal is that this Convention elect three members of a twelve person Search Committee, chosen from the Diocese at large. They would need to be members in good standing from any of our congregations. The next three would be elected by the Council of the Diocese, from the same group, the members of the Council themselves elected by Convention vote and by the six deaneries. The next three would be elected by the Standing Committee, whose membership is also elected by the Diocesan Convention. The Standing Committee has already chosen one of the three by electing Fr. Greg Kronz to chair the Search Committee. The last three will be appointed by me. This process gives us the opportunity to get a broad representation and a balance of laity and clergy.
The president of the Standing Committee, Fr. Dow Sanderson will present the process officially to the Convention. I ask for your approval. The Diocese used this process when I was elected your bishop and in other elections with good success.
And I know that all of you are now thinking about how to get the person you want on that Committee, and I will say, God be with you. (Huge laughter followed.)
The most pressing matter in our church today is obviously the crisis in our Anglican Communion over the consecration of Gene Robinson in the Diocese of New Hampshire and the issue of the blessing of same sex unions in the United States and Canada. I believe that these issues are symptoms of a much larger theological crisis which has been looming in the Church for many years.
In October 2003, we held a Special Diocesan Convention and asked the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates of the Communion to give us a way through this crisis. Others made the same request. The Archbishop appointed a Commission which issued the Windsor Report in October 2004. The Primates of our Communion met in Ireland last week to receive and to respond to the Windsor Report. The English House of Bishops met in January and endorsed the report. The General Synod of the Church of England three weeks ago overwhelmingly passed a resolution which (a) welcomed the report from the English House of Bishops accepting the principles set out in the Windsor Report (b) urged the Primates of the Anglican Communion take action, in the light of the Windsor Report recommendations, to secure unity within the constraints of truth and charity and to seek reconciliation within the Communion and (c) assure the Archbishop of Canterbury of its prayerful support at the forthcoming Primates meeting.
In an address to the General Synod of the Church of England, the Bishop of Durham, who was a member of the Commission, stated clearly that, "The situation is indeed new." [Let me say that again: The situation is indeed new.] "…We have not been this way before; and the Lambeth Commission was challenged to map out, cautiously, the new territory we have entered. Never before in the Anglican Communion has there been a moment when after each of the so-called Instruments of Unity have advised against a particular action, a Province or Diocese has gone ahead with it unilaterally. Wrong choices could be disastrous, but to delay would be the worst choice of all. Windsor represents a worldwide Anglican consensus, rooted in scripture, engaging with tradition while facing new challenges, thought through with as much reason as our collective and prayerful wits could muster. We believe it is the only way down the mountain. It is unilateral action that forecloses debate."
I would say to you that it is reassuring in this painful crisis to see that the English House of Bishops as well as the General Synod of the Church of England, have both taken the same positions as taken by the bishops of South Carolina and our Diocesan Convention. In times past, people have said of the position that we the bishops have taken and we, the diocese have taken, that we are a dissident minority. I do want you to note that the English House of Bishops and the General Synod of the Church of England have backed the same position that we have taken.
A week ago today, the Primates of the Communion issued a communiqué from Northern Ireland. They prefaced their remarks by stating that they all first began by listening to God as their duty as Christian leaders, and then listening to one another in a generosity of spirit, with Christian charity and with abundant good will and respect for one another' integrity. The only way that any of us bishops can deal with each other.
They expressed the alarm of many primates that the standard of Christian teaching on matters of human sexuality as expressed in Lambeth Resolution 1.10 has been seriously undermined by the recent developments in North America. At the same time they reaffirmed unreservedly their commitment to the pastoral support and care of homosexual people and declared that their victimization or diminishment as human beings was an anathema to them. And yes, I want to say to you that in at least five addresses to this Convention in yeasr past, I have said the very same thing.
They welcomed the Windsor Report as offering a way forward for the mutual life of our Communion, by giving all provinces the opportunity to consider whether they are willing to be committed to the inter-dependent life of the Anglican Communion. That inter-dependence would be in an Anglican Covenant not unlike those we have established with our ecumenical partners; as well as developing further the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury and a Council of Advice for the Archbishop.
The communiqué expressed the real issue as being whether the North American Churches are willing to accept the same teaching on matters of sexual morality as is generally accepted elsewhere in the Communion. It said that the present division has obscured the underlying reality of our Communion in God the Holy Trinity, and the effectiveness of our common mission. They acknowledge that time needs to be given to the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada to consider these recommendations within the context of our constitutional structure.
They also requested that the North American Churches withdraw their members from the Anglican Consultative Council for the period leading up to the next Lambeth Conference, and to respond through their relevant constitutional bodies to the questions specifically addressed to them in the Windsor Report and to consider their place in the Anglican Communion.
They also recommended that the Archbishop of Canterbury appoint as a matter of urgency a panel to supervise the adequacy of pastoral provision to protect the integrity and legitimate needs of groups in serious theological dispute with their diocesan bishops or dioceses in dispute with their provinces.
At the same time they commit to neither encourage nor initiate boundary-crossings, and to organize a meeting in Nottingham, England in June 2005 at which the North American Churches are given an opportunity to set out their thinking behind their recent actions. They also request the Anglican Consultative Council to take positive steps to initiate a listening and study process on the issues which have produced this present crisis in the Church.
They ask all the Primates to do their best to influence their brothers and sisters to exercise a moratorium on public Rites of Blessing for Same-sex Unions and the consecration of any bishops living in a same sex relationship outside of Christian marriage.
On the Internet recently, the integrity of the Primates decision has been questioned because of the past experiences in Africa around polygamy. Some in this diocese have raised the same issue with me. Polygamy was a common practice in Africa years ago. When the Africans became Christians, polygamy was forbidden, but they were not required to divorce their wives, and these issues were brought before the Lambeth Conference – unlike the North American Churches who did not bring forth the issue to the larger Church. To divorce their wives would have left them in poverty and at the mercy of prostitution. The moratorium proposed is to call a halt to a practice in our Church that is contrary to the teaching of the Communion in the same manner that the other issue was handled or until the Communion has a consensus to change our teaching. So when we talk about a moratorium, we’re saying the same thing that they said about polygamy – "Stop. And now, let’s look at it and see what we can do about it."
I believe that we have arrived at a pivotal point in Anglican history. We need to remember who we are. We began in 1670 under the Bishop of London. When we became independent and the Church in America was organized, the clear concern was to "stay as close as possible to the Church of England in doctrine and worship" (Frederick Mills, Bishops By Ballot [New York: Oxford University Press, 1978], p. 197). Later in the second half of the twentieth century we stated the following in the Preamble to the Constitution of the Episcopal Church: "The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as the Episcopal Church ... is a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, a Fellowship within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, of those duly constituted dioceses, provinces, and regional churches in communion with the See of Canterbury, upholding and propagating the historic Faith and Order as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer."
We are Episcopalians who are by definition Anglicans. We have different names around the world - The Church of England, the Anglican Church of Korea, the Nippon See KoKai, (the Holy Catholic Church of Japan) but we are all Anglicans.
The Primates have reaffirmed the whole of the Catholic and Anglican tradition and its faithfulness to the Scriptures. We are being given generous time to turn back from our unilateral teaching and reaffirm the teaching of the Communion. Not to do so will mean a decision to leave the Anglican Communion on part of the American Church.
I can not tell you over the years how many people have said, "You know, the bishops of South Carolina are going to leave the Episcopal Church." … "But you know, the Diocese of South Carolina is going to leave the Episcopal Church." Look what’s said – what the Windsor report said – They are saying that they are giving us a process in the American church to decide whether we want to be Anglicans in the Anglican Communion. So the goalposts have been moved.
You must know from me that I am absolutely not willing to leave the Anglican Communion. I am not willing to be a bishop in another protestant sect. I do not believe that the Diocese of South Carolina is willing to leave the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church either. To so decide would be a decision to stay put, not to leave anything. My hope is that this Convention will so decide.
We must remember, however, that all these strategies have the sole purpose of restoring the full trust of the bonds of affection across the Communion.
It is of interest that the second point of the resolution passed by the General Synod also concerned the matter of reconciliation, urging the Primates to secure unity within the constraints of truth and charity, and to seek reconciliation with the Communion. Reconciliation, however costly, is clearly what the Primates, Windsor and the Synod are aiming at. The Archbishop of Canterbury in his Advent Letter, said that the recommendations of Windsor embody a way of being with one another, which has upon it the stamp of Christ - namely reconciliation.
Last year at our Convention, we passed a resolution to set up a Reconciliation Commission within the Diocese, and asked it to report to this Convention. You have before you a resolution, which will use the Windsor Report as the basis to pursue reconciliation. The Windsor Report clearly acknowledges the depth of the chasm in the Church when it understands that some in the Communion may walk alone rather than choose to remain part of the Communion - but the aim is reconciliation. Reconciliation is costly, it requires grace and patience and above all requires speaking the truth in love. It is also a great opportunity - an opportunity to be rooted ever more deeply in Christ.
It is not a substitute for evangelism, but a prelude to it. Unity in Christ is the only sure foundation for mission. Dealing with issues within the Church will enable us to engage them clearly and articulately in the secular culture in which we live. As we seek reconciliation we must be aware of matters that prevent it.
This struggle in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion is set in an age whose attitudes are both individualistic and relativistic. We talk about "your truth and my truth" and make charges of self-righteousness when your truth infringes upon my truth. The Christian tradition has never understood the truth as residing in the individual. We are sinners. We are entitled to pious opinion, but we cannot teach the same as the faith of the church. The Nicene Creed in its original form, began "We believe", because the faith resided in the faith community, so that we may be rooted in it as individuals. The Presiding Bishop in the March Episcopalian said "to our peril do we delude ourselves into thinking that anyone of us on our own has a full understanding of God's way or possesses the fullness of the truth that will make us free." That quote can be used as a relativist to say your truth is as good as mine, let's agree to disagree. But Christians believe that Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected is the Truth, and while it is that truth that will make us free, we as individuals hold it imperfectly.
Anglicans also believe the church itself is not infallible, it is indefectible. We accept the promise in Matt. 16:18 that the "Gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church - the Church shall never fall utterly from the truth." In John 14:16 the promise again is that if we only obey the commands of Jesus, the Father will give us another to be our Advocate, who will be with you forever - The Spirit of Truth. He did not promise we would always listen. We are not promised that bishops, laity, clergy, even when assembled in Council are secured by God from the possibility of error. As Anglicans we look to the Holy Scripture and back to the Six Ecumenical Councils as irreformable and as the basis of our teaching. Not to the individual.
All this tells us something about the investment and context necessary for reconciliation when we ask God for the grace to seek it. It is very costly.
Episcopalians everywhere like to refer to the Baptismal Covenant. I almost never go to a meeting of bishops where someone does not refer to the Baptismal Covenant as a justification of some point in our discussions. The last question in the Baptismal Covenant gives us an appropriate Christian Anthropology – who we are as God’s Children. And the question goes, "Will you strive for justice among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?" Notice it said "every human being." That’s who we are. We’re made in the image of God and made his children by adoption and grace. That humanity is who we are; our identity before God and each other. That's why the Scripture says that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female.
Now, the world opinion does not adopt that Christian Anthropology. Our world doesn't believe that. Our Culture believes that our real identity is that we are American, or male or African-American or homosexual or Arab or whatever. In a racist world, do people see an African-American as a human being just as they are? A racist does not see an African-American as a human being. Does an Arab terrorist see an American as a human being like himself or herself? Does a Palestinian terrorist see a Jew as a fellow human being? Can sexuality define who I am? Is a person a homosexual, or is a person, a person? Christian Anthropology unites us in a common humanity. Our world redefines who we are.
The ultimate inclusivity for Christians is that we are all human beings for whom Christ died - all the same. When we make sexuality the same as identity, we can't even talk about it, and that’s why we can’t talk about it in this culture. Reconciliation is going to be tough work, but important work. We as Episcopalians are fundamentally at odds, not over the acceptability of every human being as described in the Baptismal Covenant, but whether all life is under the fall and has the potential to be transformed into new life.
The Holy Scripture says "yes," but some people say no. It is not necessary. It is that fundamental disagreement that has divided the Communion. We are not talking about whether some people are acceptable and some people are unacceptable – everybody is acceptable on the basis of their common humanity. That is not where disagreement is. Is it possible every any sinner to get new life? Now, of course, we also believe that a person becomes a sinner just by committing a sin, but the Scriptures say that we sin because we are under conviction of our sins and that’s an entirely different matter. So when we begin to look at this, we see where the place of our disagreement is.
In that division, we can certainly work together for limited opportunities, but in the economy of salvation it becomes impossible to entrust the care of souls to those whom some believe are not providing what is necessary. For instance, a medical doctor and a Christian Scientist can work together to provide housing for the homeless, but neither could hand over his practice to the other. They are fundamentally at odds in their practice. Reconciliation makes the image of the cross emerge as we count the cost. The Primates, Windsor, the Archbishop….everything points to reconciliation, and that we must seek.
There is one last barrier to reconciliation that I must mention. You have heard it before - talk. I don’t know what it is about talk, but people just love to talk. If they can’t hear something they will invent it, and it happens all the time! And as most of you know in the 15, now going on 16 years that I’ve been her, I have picked up the telephone and checked out "talk" and more accusations thank I could count in a year. Because talk is destructive.
What we say, and the way we say it, creates great barriers to reconciliation. We are going to have to demand from each other that what we say we know is the truth. Name-calling, making charges about a persons intentions which cannot be seen or known, instead of dealing with issues, facts, and behavior is destructive. It happens on all sides of the fence. Just recently a letter was placed on my desk which was sent by e-mail to a number of people, then spread from there. It described the Diocese under my leadership as "preoccupied with angry and uncompromising rebellion against the leadership of the Episcopal Church". It went on to describe disagreements that have risen to levels of bitterness that seem to have brought out the worst in surrounding parishes. It suggests that we need the Network because we fear for our own survival and are threatened by people different from us. Now, we can’t do that, and many people have done that, not just one. And I use that without a name, because it’s just an example that was put on my desk and became object of fear here in the Diocese of South Carolina.
Naming events and behaviors, which do such things, can be dealt with, and repented of where there are facts to back up the charges, and relationships can be restored. Charges about anger, bitterness and fear only make the problem of reconciliation greater, and are irresponsible, and are not descriptive of our congregations or the Diocesan leadership. I must say that people get exercised about things that are going on, but we need to be responsible about how we talk to each other. Every person in this room needs to be respected as a human being for whom Jesus Christ died.
What about the mission of the Church here in the Diocese of South Carolina? According to the statistics of the National Church we are one of a handful of dioceses who have continued to grow in church attendance, baptized members and financially.
The Diocesan budget for 2005 is up over $100,000 and congregational income is up well over a million dollars. Sadly the budgets of most of our neighboring dioceses are down, and down significantly. Our vision when we began together in 1990 was simply to build up the congregations for the work of the Gospel. We have expanded that vision with the decision four years ago to seek to develop a number of very large congregations along the seaboard where there has been a population explosion.
We put in place a strategy to enable our congregations to grow:
1. We began a program of leadership training for our clergy and lay leaders. No congregation does any better than its leadership - dynamic, strong, clear, and godly leadership is a necessity. It must be supported by the bishops.
2. We reduced the asking for the diocesan budget from 20-25% to 10%. As of today there is 19 million dollars more in our congregations after their giving to the Diocese than there was in 1990. This empowers mission and ministry.
3. We began Builders for Christ, which has collected $1,452,387. We have invested a million dollars in our congregations and spent $179,505 for leadership training.
4. We reduced the size of the Diocesan staff and focused a major portion of the bishop's time in the field rather than in the office. This rests on the understanding that the Diocese is the basic unit of our church and the congregations are the diocese. If you want to find the diocese of South Carolina, Go to one of our churches.
5. In the last few years we have had twenty-two major building projects in our congregations, not including the building or purchasing of a significant number of rectories. We are paying the interest on 5.5 million dollars for the development of 4 major congregations. We have paid $1,000,000 to Blufflon for the construction of the new church at Buckwalter and we have $1,500,000 in escrow to build the new church facility on Daniel Island.
6. We have developed a Youth Ministry in the Diocese with 30 full-time and 5 part-time youth workers and two in the calling process. David Wright is the Coordinator. The blessing that this has been for our young people and the impact on the growth of our congregations is beyond measure.
7. We have begun to build the same type system for Christian Faith Formation and last August hired Peter Rothermel to head that department. Christian Education and Formation for all ages is vital to strong congregations. We have created a strong leadership team.
8. We have been able to mange this significant growth without a bloated bureaucracy, with the Congregational Development Committee, the Deans, and the Council working together. Hence, we have more money to invest more in our congregations.
9. A few years ago we began to experiment with yoking smaller congregations, which had been in decline, with vital ones. Our first experiment was yoking St, Matthew's, Fort Motte, with Redeemer, Orangeburg, with excellent results. St. Matthew's has remodeled its Parish Hall facilities and has prospered. It is once again a strong vibrant congregation. Congregational Development now has the policy of no longer starting mission churches on the Diocesan level, but to have new work tied to vital and growing congregations. Our policy is now parochial missions only, meaning new mission work only through existing congregations. In 2004, we asked St. Andrew's, Mt. Pleasant to take over St. Mary's, Goose Creek, which had seriously declined, even though the Diocese and Bishops had invested significant time and money. The Rev. Willie Stewart, who is part of the clergy team at St. Andrew's, is in charge of St. Mary's. I am pleased to say that Sunday attendance is now between 70 and 90 with new families and individuals beginning to come.
Church of the Cross, Bluffton, is well underway with the construction of the new church and parochial school at Buckwalter Campus on 64 acres acquired from International Paper Company. The Diocese has contributed one million dollars to construct the new church, and the parish is building the parochial school. Attendance there has already reached 250 on a Sunday, with the Church of the Cross congregation still growing at the original location. The Vestry at Holy Apostles, Barnwell, has voted to enter into a partnership with the Church of the Cross as well. The Clergy leadership at Church of the Cross will work with the Barnwell Vestry to find a priest to replace Hank Avent, who has gone to St. Philip's, Charleston. The new priest will live in Barnwell, but be a part of the clergy team at Church of the Cross. The vitality at Church of the Cross and its many resources are now available to Holy Apostles.
Holy Cross, Sullivan's Island, will be responsible for the new church on Daniel Island. Land has been given and more is available. The Diocese is contributing 1.5 million dollars to build the new church and support the clergy salary until the congregation is able to do so. The priest and congregation are wholly a part of Holy Cross. The Vestry of Holy Cross has also committed to work with the Vestry of St. Peter and St. John to begin to establish a supportive relationship there by summertime.
We have also begun talks between Advent, Marion and St. Paul's, Conway, a congregation where there is significant development and strength. Our parochial model for mission is making a huge difference in the development of our congregations.
We have one area in the Diocese where significant work needs to be done. That is in Camp St. Christopher. Because we have the Barrier Island Program, we are able to operate the camp without resources from the Diocesan budget. Without that program we would have to subsidize the operation of Camp St. Christopher by over $200,000, money which would have to come out of our Diocesan budget and be unavailable for Congregational Development. It is significant when we realize that around the American church, ten conference centers have been closed or are being sold. We have a new chair of the Camps and Conferences, Mr. Eric Nielsen, a member of Our Saviour, Johns Island. Under Eric, the Board is working to make the camp a better and better servant of our people. You will hear from them and see three short videos about the camp and its ministry. We have some fine new facilities which enhance our ability to serve the congregations of the Diocese, thanks to the significant work of Canon Mike Malone.
At the same time, we need to raise approximately $1.2 million to pay for this construction. A number of congregations have made commitments, and have not paid them, some have not yet made commitments. Others have made and paid their commitment for which I am deeply grateful.
In March it is my intention to begin a campaign to raise this money by asking those individuals and congregations who have not already done so to make a contribution.
Earlier in my address I said that the Diocese of South Carolina was one of only a handful of dioceses still growing numerically, financially and in church attendance. In the decade between 2002-1992 church attendance grew by more than 30%, and we were first in the whole Episcopal Church. The good news is that that is true in most of our congregations. St. Matthias', Summerton is applying for parish status. With the help of the Diocese they have begun a Montessori School. The population of Summerton is slightly less than 1,000. And we understand that the exact figure is subject to more births in the rector’s family… [large laugh]
The church can grow anywhere when it proclaims and lives out the Gospel, and keeps its eyes focused on its mission. Congratulations to the people of St. Matthias'. Can you imagine that Trinity, Eutawville is building a community youth center across the street from the church? They just finished and paid for a new Parish Hall connected to the church a few years ago with the help of the Diocese and Builders for Christ. Their old
parish house managed by Toni Scott has a restaurant, gift shop and antique shop, and is the center of that community. All this has brought that congregation to be a major focus of the Eutawville community and the lake area. Vision empowers the people. The Diocese is supporting a youth worker for Calvary Church and St. Andrew's Mission in the person of Jimmy Gallant. Some of you all didn’t recognize him up here under my noce because he’s become bearded. As he gets back to full health that ministry will make a huge difference in the Charleston community. So you can see that there is a lot that is happening.
On Tuesday morning, the Post and Courier had an article that said the greater Charleston area population by the year 2030 would increase by 67% to 700,000 people. If the church here just stood still and welcomed the newcomers, the church in this area should grow by 67%. If we are missionaries, 100%. Think of that. We have a number of churches who are focusing on the un-churched, a number greatly increasing in our culture. Many are just satisfied to transfer in those who are already Christians, many of them within the Diocese looking for an expression of the church suitable for them. When I think of folks who are "church shopping" to use a phrase, I have a picture in my mind - I sometimes wonder that if when they get to the pearly gates, if they will ask St. Peter for a brochure to see if everything suits them.
The Diocese will need to acquire property for new churches before the price of land becomes prohibitive. We need to work with our congregations to develop long-term expansion plans, where that is possible, and to strengthen and expand our system of parochial missions. In churches where there is lack of space for expansion, the system of parochial missions makes more and more sense. It's the ancient idea of Chapels of Ease coming back to life in a new form. We need to remain clear about the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and continue our strategy to raise up a faithful priesthood. We have ordained 12 permanent deacons, and 71 priests since 1990, a number of whom are below the age of 40.
I have absolutely no concern about the future of the Diocese of South Carolina. We are internally strong. Those who do not agree are treated by the bishops and leadership with respect, and if legitimate complaints are raised, Bishop Skilton and I are committed to deal with them. We have strong connections in the Church of England and in the whole Anglican Communion. No one knows how all these issues will work out. I feel certain that the burden, will increase. When we were baptized we were not promised that things would work out the way we wanted them to work. The church from New Testament times until today has had controversy and division, sometimes to levels of extreme peril. I am as energized about the Gospel of Jesus Christ today as the day I was ordained. There are no circumstances where Gospel witness is not called for. Both St. Paul and Detrick Bonhoffer witnessed from prison and died there.
Last Sunday's lessons should encourage us. Some people love to complain and blame like the Israelites: "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" "They put the Lord to the proof saying, "Is the Lord among is or not?"' Has anything really changed?
Then last Sundays Epistle - "Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through out Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace which we stand, and we rejoice, in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us."
My closing words to you - friends in this diocese - are: Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
