September 27, 2010
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

Comparing his dispute with the Episcopal Church to a military battle, Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Mark Lawrence has told the diocese that it is "engaged in a worldwide struggle for the soul of Anglicanism in the 21st century."

Lawrence's comments came Sept. 23 in response to a request made the day before by members of an Episcopal Church advocacy group that the church's leadership "investigate" a series of actions which they say "are accelerating the process of alienation and disassociation" of the diocese from the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Forum of South Carolina Sept. 22 sent a five-page letter to the Executive Council and the House of Bishops that lists a series of what are called "recent actions and inactions on the part of the diocesan leadership and leaders in parishes and missions within the diocese."

For instance, the letter said, the diocese has "taken no disciplinary measures or legal action" against the leaders of St. Andrew's Church, Mt. Pleasant, since they claimed in March to have led the parish out of the Episcopal Church, or attempted to stop other parishes that appear to be moving in the same direction.

In addition, the letter said, Lawrence has charged that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is intruding on the diocese's "sovereign" nature by asking questions about the diocese's intention regarding such parishes. The group also expresses concern about Lawrence's treatment of what it calls a group of "loyal Episcopalians" who have formed St. Mark's Chapel in Port Royal.

The letter also claimed that the diocese and more than half of its 44 parishes have removed references to the Episcopal Church from their names and websites, and that some list links to breakaway Anglican organizations.

The letter listed past diocesan convention actions as well as the six proposed resolutions the diocese will consider on Oct. 15.

The diocese has said that each of the six proposed resolutions "represents an essential element of how we protect the diocese from any attempt at un-constitutional intrusions into our corporate life in South Carolina."

Lawrence's statement gives his view of each of the seven concerns the group listed and calls its letter "a teachable moment" for the diocese.

"Not unlike a battalion in a military campaign which is ordered to hold a pass even against overwhelming odds, we are called to resist what appears is a self-destructive trajectory by many within the Episcopal Church," Lawrence said in conclusion. "We are called to stand our ground and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ until it is no longer possible; and at the same time to continue to help shape the emerging Anglicanism in the 21st century, which is increasingly less provincial, less institutional and more relational."

Lawrence wrote that "numerous dioceses and provinces around the world" support the diocese's efforts to do so, adding that "archbishops and bishops from Ireland to Australia, Southeast Asia to Tanzania, from England to Egypt have pledged us their prayers and their hearts." He called on the diocese to "hold fast to the best of our Episcopal heritage while sharing Christ's transforming freedom – with hearts set free – to a needy world today."

Episcopal News Service
The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is a national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service and editor of Episcopal News Monthly and Episcopal News Quarterly.