S.C. bishop distances diocese from Episcopal Church

(RNS) Upset over the Episcopal Church’s recent moves to lift a ban on gay bishops and allow blessings for same-sex couples, the bishop of South Carolina has suggested that his diocese withdraw from the denomination’s governing bodies. “We face a multitude of false teachings,” Bishop Mark Lawrence told clergy from the 75 congregations in his […]

(RNS) Upset over the Episcopal Church’s recent moves to lift a ban on gay bishops and allow blessings for same-sex couples, the bishop of South Carolina has suggested that his diocese withdraw from the denomination’s governing bodies.

“We face a multitude of false teachings,” Bishop Mark Lawrence told clergy from the 75 congregations in his diocese last Thursday (Aug. 13), “which like an intrusive vine is threatening the Episcopal Church as we have inherited it and received it from our ancestors.”

Lawrence was elected bishop in 2006, but failed to gain adequate approval from a majority of dioceses amid fears that he would lead the conservative-leaning diocese to secede. In 2007, Lawrence was elected a second time and gained approval after offering assurances that he would try to keep the diocese in the denomination.


The bishop walked a fine line in his address to clergy Thursday, proposing that the diocese clearly distance itself from the Episcopal Church, but not advocating a full break with the denomination at this time.

“While I have no immediate solutions to the challenges we face, it is certainly neither a hasty departure nor a paralyzed passivity I counsel,” Lawrence said. “Either of these, I believe … would be for us a false peace and fatal security.”

Lawrence proposed several resolutions to be debated at a special diocesan convention Oct. 24. One would alter the ordination ceremonies of incoming priests to include a dissent with the recent pro-gay actions. The other would lead the diocese to withdraw from “all bodies of governance” in the Episcopal Church that have assented to the pro-gay moves “until such bodies show a willingness to repent of such actions.”

The Rev. Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the diocese of South Carolina, said those bodies could include the church’s General Convention and House of Bishops. “What we want to do is start down the road of significant differentiation,” he said.

Harmon likened the situation to a domestic dispute.

“This is the moment when the wife moves to the bedroom down the hall because the husband was engaged in some infidelity,” he said.

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