On Wednesday, September 23rd, at 10:30 a.m., the Diocese of South Carolina will enter into oral arguments before the South Carolina Supreme Court. The Court has agreed to hear TEC’s appeal of the trial court ruling in our favor that was announced by Judge Goodstein on February 3rd of this year. In that order, Judge Goodstein ruled that the Diocese and its parishes:

    •    Are the owners of their real, personal and intellectual property.
    •    TEC has no legal, beneficial or equitable interest in any of those properties.
    •    TEC and its officers and agents were permanently enjoined from using our names or symbols.
    •    All the TEC counterclaims in the trial were dismissed with prejudice.


It is our prayerful hope that the state Supreme Court justices will uphold this decision in its entirety, preserving for our posterity both our right to freedom of religious association and  the resources for ministry bequeathed to us by the faithful generations who have gone before us.
 
We have been abundantly blessed thus far by both the outcome of this litigation and the relative speed with which it has proceeded. Recognizing that divine favor which has overshadowed us from the beginning, I would commend to you once again the prayer that was prayed around the Diocese prior to the trial last summer. 

Consider incorporating this prayer not only in your personal devotions but in your public worship in the coming weeks.

Gracious Lord, we pray that your will would be done through this trial. May we want what you desire. Speak your words alone through Alan Runyan and the other attorneys who represent us. May the courtroom be filled with the pleasant aroma of Christ, and at the end of the day, protect this Diocese and its parishes that we might bring the redemptive power of the biblical gospel to the South Carolina low country and beyond. Let not our fear of outcomes tarnish our joy or deter us from the mission you have given us. Teach us to bless and never curse those on the other side of this conflict. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And make us victorious over-comers wherever this road leads. For we ask it all in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

It is by God’s grace we have come this far.  It is his grace that will bring us home.