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 By the Rev. Jonathan Bennett, Associate Rector & Daniel Island Campus Pastor, The Church of the Holy Cross
You may have heard that there was a flood at Holy Cross’ Daniel Island location on evening of Saturday, June 6th. Not one of biblical proportions, but certainly significant! And while it certainly caused some challenges, there were good outcomes in the end.
It all began when a rubber gasket in our sprinkler system dry rotted and failed. This caused a highly pressurized stream of water to puncture through a closet wall and quickly begin to flood the Parish Hall building.
By God’s grace there’s an AA group that meets at the church on Saturday night. As they arrived they found water streaming out of the building, and one or two inches on the floor inside. Immediately they contacted the fire department, who came and shut off the water. While some AA members began sweeping out the water that was inside the building, our Rector, Chris Warner, and our Facilities Manager, Hal Rose, were contacted. They were joined at the church by Leslie Rose, Robert Boyles and his sons Robert and Andrew, who collectively were able to clear out most of the water lying on the floor before Disaster Plus arrived. Their clean up efforts required us to move the Sunday 9am Contemporary Service. Therefore, we held it outside, setting the altar and band on the porch, and putting about 100 chairs on the lawn. Despite a little humidity to deal with, the service was a hit, and attracted a good deal of attention from passers by!
What a great image of what it means to be the church! That in the midst of adversity we pull together, we continue to worship God, and in fact, we begin to worship beyond our walls, in the heart of our community. This is the kind of church body that attracts attention from passers by. A people that loves each other, serves each other, and seeks to love their neighbors as an act of worship to God.
A huge thank you to all those who helped in the clean up and in making Sunday morning such a success, but particular thanks to the AA group who modeled to us what it means to love our neighbor.
View a video
View photos of the flood.
To the Faithful across the Carolinas:
Greetings to you in the matchless Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
As the eyes of the nation turn toward Charleston we commend her to your prayers. Our hearts are crushed by this violent act. Our minds reel as we consider the pain of our brothers and sisters who have lost loved ones—mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren, family and friends—as well as for those who have lost faith and hope from such a senseless act of hatred and insanity. Among those killed was one from our own Anglican family, Myra Thompson, the wife of The Rev’d Anthony Thompson, a priest in the Reformed Episcopal Church.
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At this time of grief and mourning for our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the shooting at Emanuel AME, and to allow everyone to attend memorial services tonight, Bishop Lawrence has cancelled the Diocesan Night at the Riverdogs. We have rescheduled that outing for August 21. If you purchased tickets for the event see a notice here.
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples and races of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near: Grant to those who have lost love ones your hope, comfort and peace; grant to those members of Emmanuel AME Church a sense of your presence; look with compassion on the whole human family here in Charleston and across our nation; show us how to respond to one another’s hurt and suffering; shed abroad your Spirit on those who have lost faith, hope and trust in You and one another; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that in your good time all peoples and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen .
The following message from the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, XIV Bishop of South Carolina, was sent to the Diocese of South Carolia June 18, 2015.
Dear Friends in Christ,
I have spoken to the Rev. Jimmy Gallant, one of our black clergyman and a leader in the Charleston community, earlier this morning in the wake of the horrific shooting at Emmanuel AME Church last evening. Unconfirmed reports have nine dead from the shootings including the pastor, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney. The African American community in Charleston is crushed. The larger community staggers wondering how to respond. Many priests and lay persons in the diocese and elsewhere have contacted me this morning desiring some way to meaningfully respond.
Frankly, our hearts are crushed by this violent act. Our minds reeling as we consider the pain of our brothers and sisters who have lost loved ones—mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren, family and friends—as well as for those who have lost faith and hope from such a senseless act of hatred and insanity. My heart and thoughts also reach out to all our brothers and sisters in Christ in this diocese, especially those of African American descent, as we grieve in the aftermath of this horrific event and from whatever root causes lie beneath it.
I know some of the priests and lay persons from the diocese are planning to attend the prayer service at Morris Brown AME Church today at noon. I too am planning to attend. I humbly request all the clergy and laity in the area attending the prayer service to join me at the Cathedral afterwards at 2 p.m. We shall seek God’s face on how he will have us respond as a diocese, as congregations, and as individual members of the Body of Christ—ambassadors of reconciliation—in this broken and fallen world for which His Son our Savior, Jesus Christ, has died that He might redeem.
Prayer for all involved would seem the primary thing we can offer at this point:
For Emmanuel AME
Their members
The injured
The families and friends of those killed
The community, as it responds to this tragedy
Law enforcement, for a speedy apprehension of the person responsible
Protection from those who would attempt to exploit this crisis
Restraint of further violence in response
For the Church... to be a witness in the midst of this tragedy... to redeem it
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples and races of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near: Grant to those who have lost loved ones your hope, comfort and peace; grant to those members of Emmanuel AME Church a sense of your presence; look with compassion on the whole human family here in Charleston and across our nation; show us how to respond to one another’s hurt and suffering; shed abroad your Spirit on those who have lost faith, hope and trust in You and one another; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that in your good time all peoples and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Diocese of South Carolina disassociated with The Episcopal Church in complete accord with South Carolina law and Constitutional precedent.
CHARLESTON, SC, JUNE 16, 2015 – After the Episcopal Church publicly announced an illegitimate settlement offer to parishes of the Diocese of South Carolina, the Diocese filed its brief responding to the denomination’s appeal documents. The Diocese of South Carolina filed its brief with the South Carolina Supreme Court. The Diocese’s brief supports the Feb. 3 decision by Judge Diane Goodstein, who ruled that the Diocese, its trustees and parishes are "the sole owners of their real, personal and intellectual properties" and that TEC has "no legal, equitable or beneficial interest" in any properties of the Diocese. TEC had appealed the ruling and the state Supreme Court agreed to consider the appeal. The Diocese’s brief supports Judge Goodstein’s ruling on the basis of state and federal precedent, as well as established church history. After first filing its own appeal brief with the State Supreme Court , TEC sent parishes in the Diocese letters offering to stop its legal action if – in exchange – the Diocese would give up the symbols, trademarks, assets and property protected by Judge Goodstein’s decision. Recognizing this as a way to try and create dissension among Diocesan churches, distract attorneys and as a publicity ploy, the illegitimate offer was turned down.
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