Stories from EDUSC

Do you have something to share? We invite you to submit the stories of making, equipping, and sending mature disciples of Christ in your congregation and community. Click here to submit a story idea for us to share with the diocese.

The Discipline of Hope - Evangelism Matters 2021

Join us for this free, innovative, digital experience for those seeking to share, learn, and grow their own and the Church’s capacity and passion for evangelism. This spring’s Evangelism Matters conference invites you to turn off your comp...

Embracing Evangelism This Easter Season

Stories are the heart of evangelism, and everybody has one. Join us as we explore the moments when we’ve experienced God’s loving presence in our lives through Embracing Evangelism, a free, six-part course led by the Rev. Alan Bentrup...

Wisdom from the Past: Visions for the Christian Life after the Pandemic

Lent 2021 marks one year since the pandemic began, an experience often described as “unprecedented.” Yet God’s people have lived through plagues, wars, depressions, and exile in the past. Several congregations from across EDU...

From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference

“Conversation with others across difference is not just a nice thing to do. It is a spiritual practice of love in action.” - Presiding Bishop Michael Curry From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference is a cam...

Presiding Bishop Curry’s Word to the Church: Who shall we be?

A transcript of the statement follows: And now in the name of our loving, liberating, and life-giving God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. In another time of national crisis, another time of danger for our nation, in 1865 on March the fou...

Prayers in a Time of National Anxiety and Crisis

Brothers and sisters in faith and in citizenship, We find ourselves this evening in a time of national anxiety and crisis. A time which calls us in to prayer for this nation and for one another. Therefore I come to you offering these praye...

Bishop Waldo's 2020 Christmas Message

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Soon we’ll be in full celebration of the coming of Jesus into the world, born of Mary, and called by God as the Messiah, the Christ. I say “full celebration&...

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's 2020 Christmas Message

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come. In your hearts, in your homes, in your lives, prepare him room,” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry said in his Christmas Message 2020. The text of the Presiding Bishop’s m...

St. George's, Anderson, Displays Nativities from Around the World

St. George’s, Anderson, is hosting its second annual nativity display featuring over 100 nativity scenes from around the world. Tours are available by appointment only through December 27, 2020 The nativity scenes, or creches, on dis...

Advent in a pandemic? There's a virtual pilgrimage app for that!

If you have been wondering how to offer your parish a meaningful observance of Advent amidst the pandemic, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Columbia, has just what you need! St. Martin’s is offering a 98-mile virtual journey through the Holy La...

A True Partnership

Six years ago, the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Spartanburg, SC, re-established its partnership with a nearby Title 1 K-5 school, Mary H. Wright Elementary School. Since that time, the collaboration has flourished. Its strength is rooted in ...

A New Beginning for Trinity, Abbeville

Welcome Home Parishioners and neighbors shared this greeting with each other as Trinity, Abbeville, worshipped again in its historic church building on Sunday, October 25, 2020. The building had been closed since 2016 due to safety concerns, i...

Holding on to Hope

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will lead a live-streamed prayer service from Washington National Cathedral , Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness , on All Saints Sunday, November 1, at 4:00-5:30 p.m. EST. In the ...

Church of the Epiphany enriches Spartanburg community through outreach

Church of the Epiphany, Spartanburg has a history as rich as the city in which it is nestled. Formally established a few decades after the Civil War, the small African-American church once seated 50 members on Sunday. As of 2018, church attenda...

Emergency Food Ministry Plan

Kevin Mertens, Director of Faith in Action at Christ Church, Greenville, has developed an emergency food plan for those who wish to replicate their Project Host template. Discern the Need On April 1, 2020 I spoke with a minist...

Incarnation being the Church

The Rev. Jenny Gettys describes how the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation has adapted to be the Church during COVID: We’ve found a contact-free way to distribute food to our shoppers at Bread from Heaven, our monthly give-away: ...

Nominating Committee Appointed for Bishop Search

Dear Friends in Christ, As we continue the search and transition process begun earlier this summer, with Bishop Waldo's announcement of his plans to retire at the end of 2021 , the Standing Committee has appointed the Nominating Committee in ...

Email and text scam targets clergy, lay leaders

Diocesan House staff has heard from a number of clergy and lay leaders that they are receiving fraudulent emails or texts that ask for money, gift cards, or other favors posing as Bishop Waldo, or other clergy leaders. Please know that Bishop Wa...

Guidelines for Worship and Gatherings in Time of Pandemic

The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina has released the following updated guidelines for worship and gatherings in this time of pandemic. Click here to view the full document , and visit our main COVID-19 page for additional informatio...

Plant, Pray, Proclaim: Good News Gardens

Along with, and often because of, the issues facing our communities today, there is an immediate and widespread problem with the food supply. Sometimes it's a supply chain glitch, sometimes it's and economic calamity. The Episcopal Church...

Bishop Andrew Waldo Announces Plan to Retire, Calls for Election of Next Bishop

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) The Rt. Rev. W. Andrew Waldo yesterday announced plans to retire at the end of 2021 and called for the election of the Ninth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. The Standing Committee of the diocese gave thei...

ONE THOUSAND DAYS OF LOVE

Last fall, Episcopal Relief & Development launched a $3 million grass-roots, church-wide fund-raising campaign dedicated to improving the lives of children up to age six. ONE THOUSAND DAYS OF LOVE seeks to help communities nurture children...

How congregations can support communities during a pandemic

What’s happening in our communities? Healthcare systems stretched; record unemployment: grieving losses; families cooped up, adapting to working from home; everything moved online; churches and businesses retooling for social dist...

Project Host and Christ Church collaborate to better serve Greenville community

“On April 1, I was having a check-in with Tobin Simpson at Project Host. He told me the story of how its food truck took 100 meals out to a mobile home park in southern Greenville County. One thousand people showed up. It’s a horrible story, ...

Fresh Start Ministry aids in providing food security in the midst of COVID-19

St. Luke’s, Columbia’s Fresh Start Ministry is doing its part in providing food security to its clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, Fresh Start is the only operational food pantry in the Columbia area and one of ten ope...

Practicing the Way of Love with BINGO!

Kim and Furman Buchanan, from St. Peter's, Greenville, recently shared with us this great formation idea. He writes... "Well, the other night our daughter was telling us how her company has a ‘BINGO card’ with various activities their e...

The Emotional Lifecycle of a Disaster

Disasters and mass disruptive events can be extremely unpredictable and chaotic. Even though that is a valid characterization of catastrophe, disaster experts have discerned a general pattern or cycle of phases that a community and the individual...

Signs of New Life

We've asked folks around the diocese to reflect on where they see signs of new life in the families, communities, and congregations. We'll be adding new responses in the coming weeks, so check back to see where we find new life!

A Different Kind of Lent

The following piece was written for our monthly Environmental Stewardship newsletter. If you are interested in receiving these emails, please subscribe here . For more information on our Enviornmental Stewardship committee, check out their web...

Feast of Absalom Jones

Today marks the Feast of Absalom Jones, an African American abolitionist and clergyman and the first African American ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church. Students and faculty at Voorhees College, along with clergy and lay persons from thro...

Rooted in Jesus

In January, more than two dozen lay and clergy leaders from across EDUSC gathered with more than 1,000 Episcopalians in Atlanta for the first-ever Rooted in Jesus conference. This gathering was collaboration between several Episcopal organization...

Looking for God in the middle of everything

Clergy from across the diocese gathered this week at Camp Gravatt for our Pre-Lenten Retreat. Cameron Vivanco, EDUSC missionary in Ecuador and founder of Education Equals Hope , facilitated our conversations about where God is working in, thro...

What is it Like to Experience a Holy Hike? – A Personal Reflection by Laura Snow Hawkins

Environmental stewardship can play out in many forms. One intriguing and deeply meaningful way is by participating in a Holy Hike.In the following story, Laura Snow Hawkins, Coordinator for Holy Hikes Upper South Carolina, gives us a thoughtful e...

2020 Partnership Haiti Symposium coming February 22

Join us for the 2020 Partnership Haiti Sympoisum, recognizing and honoring our 40-year partnership in the country. Saturday, February 22, 2020 9:30am - 4:00pm Christ Church 10 N Church St. Greenville, SC 29601 Click here to register for t...

St. Martin’s donation to help alleviate $1.5 million in local medical debt

A gift of $15,000 has been made by St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church to RIP Medical Debt, which will enable up to $1.5 million in hospital medical debt to be forgiven in Richland and surrounding counties. “In the Old Testament, t...

“Everybody’s journey needs to be honored” - 2019 Fellowship of S.C. Bishops' Dialogue centers on "Confronting Hate"

Starting a conversation about racism and hatred in South Carolina is a daunting task, so how do people of faith go about confronting hate when it appears in our pews and in our classrooms? Recognizing the church’s role in “Confronting Hate�...

Feeding the Church with Cross-Cultural Ministry

By Linda L. Dienno, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Virginia Theological Seminary St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Columbia, SC, honored the Rev. Alfredo “Fr. Fred” Gonzalez by making a significant donation to ...

An Overview of the 2019 House of Bishops' Meeting

The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from September 17 - 20 for a four-day meeting, studying, discussing, and grappling with many challenging issues facing the Episcopal Church. Bishop Waldo was 1 of approxi...

Confronting Hate: 2019 Fellowship of South Carolina Bishops’ Dialogue

Churches and schools across our state are not immune to the rise of racist theology and rhetoric. So how do we, as Christians, confront this hate in our pews and classrooms? Recognizing the Church's role in confronting hate and working toward ...

Regina Ratterree honored with Order of the Palmetto award

Regina Ratterree, a long-time parishioner at All Saints’, Cayce, recently was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor given by the Governor of South Carolina. Rep. Micah Caskey, who represents the 89th District in the Sout...

Gravatt holds Staffer of the Year presentation

At the close of every summer at Camp Gravatt, the Frederick C. Byrd Most Outstanding Staff Award is presented to one male and one female staff member. This honor is decided upon by their fellow counselors, and it is always a very special presenta...

A Back to School Message from Bishop Waldo

As we approach another school year, Bishop Waldo discusses the opportunities that this time of new beginnings provides. And don't forget to stick around until the very end... For information on diocesan youth retreats, visit: https://www...

Mission in the Community St. Luke's, Columbia's Fresh Start Program

On October 14, 2016, St. Luke’s began a new ministry called Fresh Start. It was our mission to provide free laundry services, showers, clothing and food for the area’s homeless population and working poor. Since opening, our services have ...

Crossing Boundaries, Creating Community

For most of his tenure, Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry has touted the importance of recognizing and supporting the work of the two Episcopal-affiliated historically black colleges and universities as part of a commitment to racial reconci...

A Pastoral Letter from Bishop Waldo

Sisters and Brothers in Christ, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35) Over and over, Jesus calls his disciples to live with compassion for one a...

A Call To Prayer For An End To Gun Violence

Dear Family in Christ, This weekend, faith communities, civic organizations, and non-profit partners are joining together in the Wear Orange campaign for National Gun Violence Awareness Day (Friday, June 7). Bishops United Against Gun Violence, ...

Baptized for Life

The following report was written by Ann Marie Jones of St. Phillip's Greenville. We are “called to lives of meaning and purpose.” This statement aptly describes one objective of Baptized for Life (BFL), an Episcopal discipleship initiati...

Christ Church, Greenville hosts only Rhythms of Grace program in South Carolina

Ms. Hedrick Lewis started as the Director of Children’s Ministry at Christ Church, Greenville nearly 4 years ago and immediately noticed a void that needed to be filled. There were quite a few families attending Sunday services with children th...

Easter in a POW Camp

It began on April 9, 1942, but he was officially captured the very next day. Thousands of American and Filipino men were transferred from the Southern end of the Bataan Penninsula and made the march northward from the vicinity of Mariveles to San...

Who Is My Neighbor?

“Who Is My Neighbor?”, is a four-part Lenten Series beginning Sunday, March 10 at 4:00 p.m. sponsored by St. John’s Episcopal Church, 301 W. Liberty St., Winnsboro, SC. Speakers from the Episcopal, Jewish, Muslim and Greek Orthodox faiths w...

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