Safeguarding dominates the agenda for the first three days of the upcoming General Synod session, a five-day meeting beginning on Monday 10 February. The business will “help with the journey of improvement that the Church of England is on”, the secretary-general, William Nye, told a press briefing on Thursday.

In response to the Wilkinson (News, 11 December 2023) and Jay (News, 21 February 2024) reports, detailed proposals for a new structural model of organisations to deliver and scrutinise safeguarding on behalf of the Church of England, published on Thursday, set out two possible models, which will be put to the vote.

The first would see safeguarding officers currently working in dioceses, cathedrals and the national Church transfer to work for a new organisation. The second would see diocesan and cathedral officers remain with their current employers but most national staff move to a new body. In both cases, safeguarding work would be scrutinised by a second external body.

A motion responding to the Makin report (News, 7 November 2024) comes as early as Monday afternoon, with a presentation and debate on the proposed new structures beginning mid-morning on Tuesday and continuing into the afternoon if needed. 

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Safeguarding dominates the agenda for the first three days of the upcoming General Synod session. The business will “help with the journey of improvement that the Church of England is on”, the secretary-general, William Nye, told a press briefing today.https://t.co/bhm38pVuF4

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) January 23, 2025

From his immersive studies of the early centuries of the Church, marked by internal theological hatreds and violent disagreements, he [John Henry Newman] had come to disquieting conclusions. When bishops had contradicted one another on fundamental matters of doctrine, and the weakness, prevarications, and misguidance of a divided hierarchy threatened to eclipse the light of Christ, it was the body of the laity that clung to the narrow way. What they firmly believed sustained and illuminated their living, suffering, and dying

The essay was never intended as a rebuke to the church leaders of his day. Newman believed that the truth of Christ was mediated in various ways, including the utterances of the episcopate. But he also placed considerable emphasis on the consensus fidelium: the consent and attested witness of the faithful. Like the first apostles, they, too, had received and were guided by the Holy Spirit.

What the Church was, therefore, in its very essence, its nature, form, and possible futures, was shaped, in part, by the devotion and spiritual integrity that started from below, within the body of believers. The laity were to be listened to and consulted not simply because they, too, had their story, but, rather, because their collective experience reflected their graced instinct of the faith (sensus fidei). Together with priests and bishops, they shared a common mission and a call to holiness.

Newman’s prescience remains timely and even more urgent as the national Church begins the search for a new Archbishop of Canterbury. It should acknowledge, celebrate, and draw on “the spiritual gold reserves” (interestingly, a term first coined by the late Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks) of faithful congregations and prayerful souls, however small.

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"The laity are the Church, its treasures from below, indifferent in the best sense to the warring motions of the General Synod or the larger institutional preoccupation with numerical decline."https://t.co/eRGNzT0ozN

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) January 13, 2025

More Church of England leaders were aware of the John Smyth scandal and should follow the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to resign, according to the head of the official inquiry into child abuse.

Professor Alexis Jay said that abuse continued in the church and the cover-up of Smyth’s decades of wrongdoing could not be “down to one person”.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, 68, will stand down in January and pass his duties to the Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, who will act in a “caretaker” role.

Alexis Jay, who conducted the inquiry into child sex abuse, says more people must have known about John Smyth and that abuse is continuing in Church of Englandhttps://t.co/fgX70ALtCG

— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) November 25, 2024

What had originally been scheduled as a fall Diocesan Men’s Hike was transformed, this past month, into a Hurricane Helene Assistance trip. Seventeen men from 11 different churches travelled to the Lutheridge Camp and Conference Center in Arden, NC, to help make it ready for them to reopen.

“We had a group that planned to go hiking,” says Les Sease, Diocesan Coordinator for Men’s Hikes, who organized the trip. “But the trails were closed so we pivoted. I’m so glad we did!”

The men travelled caravan-style on October 10, 2024 with cars, trucks and trailers full of water, gas, food and other supplies.

“While the roads were passable, Lutheridge was a mess,” says Sease. “Piles of debris lined the main road.”

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#SouthCarolina Diocesan Men’s Group Pivots from Hiking to Relief Assistance https://t.co/YMfbQvLwFK '“It felt great to help Lutheridge out,” says [Les] Sease. “Our upcoming Men’s Conference, which will be held in February, will be there. This was a way for us to help them reopen… pic.twitter.com/3B0sK6BGEg

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 8, 2024

[Bill] Pannell loved Jesus and his church. As a preacher, his heart beat for the gospel and its biblically rooted values of evangelism, discipleship, and justice. His teaching was grounded in a strikingly honest understanding of how Christianity and the church really operate in the world. He was frank about how they are often accessories to the sins of racism and social injustice rather than proponents of reconciliation. 

A lack of real discipleship was at the core of our troubles, Pannell believed. “Christ’s parting command was that we go and make disciples of the nations,” he wrote in his last book, an expanded edition of his 1993 release, The Coming Race Wars? “It wasn’t build more churches; it was make disciples. It seems fairly clear today that we have far more churches and Christians than we have disciples.”

Before going into hospice care earlier this month, Pannell more or less worked until his 95-year-old frame could go no further. He preached via Zoom, finished a memoir, and conducted interviews for two documentaries, including one about his life and ministry. Throughout our three decades of acquaintance, he and I would periodically call or send a text to check in on one another. I never took the gift of his friendship for granted, but now that he’s gone, I’m appreciating those exchanges even more. 

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Remembering my friend Dr. William Pannell: https://t.co/61QiwrIzWw

— Edward Gilbreath (@EdGilbreath) October 14, 2024

A Churchgoer and former employee of Lichfield diocese who has been diagnosed with Stage 4 incurable bowel cancer has run 60 miles, between chemotherapy treatments, to fund-raise for the charity Refugee Action.

The runner, Pete Bate, 50, from Burntwood, near Lichfield, said this week that he had been feeling more stable since his cancer treatments were paused in May, and so he decided to take part in Refugee Action’s Race for Refugees challenge in September. He has raised more than £1200.

“I’m off treatment at the moment, and wanted to do something positive, to show there is life beyond and outside of cancer,” he said. “I’ve been a keen runner for years, but am gradually rebuilding my fitness due to the draining effects of chemo.”

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Pete set himself the challenge of running 50 miles for Race for Refugees, during a pause in treatment for Stage 4 bowel cancer. We’re thrilled to share that he reached his goal five days early! #RaceforRefugees pic.twitter.com/OF7ubvygKt

— Refugee Action (@RefugeeAction) November 1, 2024

Over the past two years, Professor Hope Hailey conducted interviews with 20 laity and clergy, who were nominated by “a handful of diocesan bishops”. The focus was on those who “work with varied complexities and challenges in the Church but need to establish high-trust working environments”.

The 49-page review concludes that “pervasive yet patchy distrust is manifest in different ways across the Church”, but that distrust is “most profoundly evident” in “the major and traumatising breaches of trust that have been of deep concern to the General Synod and many inside and outside the Church”.

“Racism, sexual abuse and issues relating to Living in Love and Faith all deeply affect the life and witness of the Church,” it says. “The serious breaches of trust and some of the profoundly inadequate ways they have been responded to, in terms of processes, procedures and decision making, are themselves acute manifestations of a wider culture of distrust.”

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I had a look at a new review of "Trust and trustworthiness within the Church of England"… one recurring theme was effect of social media

"What would Jesus think if he read your social-media posts, church review asks"https://t.co/UnDEZFyNLh

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) June 24, 2024

Beginning August 18, the people of Holy Trinity, Windemere will begin worshipping with the community of St. John’s Chapel on Hanover Street. The Revd David Dubay will lead the united congregations in discerning a new future together that will include outreach to the Hispanic community in downtown Charleston. The Bishop and Standing Committee have worked with all parties to discern a path forward that it is believed will lead to renewed and fruitful ministry for all.  Please keep them in your prayers as they begin this next season of life together.

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Bishop Chip Edgar called the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina to exercise hospitality in his address to the 2024 Convention. The event, which drew more than 300 clergy, delegates and guests to the Cross Schools in Bluffton, was held March 8-9.

“If we are true to our nature as the people God has called to himself, keeping our blessings to ourselves is not an option,” he said.

He urged those present to be ready to welcome the stranger.  “People by the thousands continue to move to South Carolina… Many are unchurched, and study after study suggests that unchurched folks are more likely to visit a church plant than an established church,” he said. “But many are churched, too, and churched folks are more likely to look for churches. To be hospitable, we have to both strengthen our existing churches and plant new ones.”

He made three proposals: “One, that we continue to encourage deaneries to work together to strategize church planting, and we set the goal for ourselves to add a new congregation to our diocese each year going forward; two, we reestablish our Congregational Development Committee to help our existing congregations; and three, that we, as a diocese, continue to raise up and emphasize the ministry and work of deacons in our diocese.”

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Join us this Sunday, July 23, 2023 as we, in The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, pray for Bishop Chip Edgar and Bishop Emeritus Mark Lawrence as they begin their summer respites. #ACNA #ADOSC pic.twitter.com/ipSeFrsA13

— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) July 21, 2023

Seven Ordained to the Diaconate

“From the moment I entered the cathedral, my heart soared with joy,” said the now-Rev. Scott Poelker, one of seven ordained to the diaconate at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul on January 27. “It felt like I was carried aloft by the household of faith to the banquet of our Lord. I was fed spiritual energy for the task that lies ahead.” Read the full story and view photo gallery. 

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Bishop Chip Edgar Ordains Seven to the Diaconate https://t.co/H0rYhqPyIg #anglican #parishministry #southcarolina #lowcountrylife #deacons #service pic.twitter.com/w4ycYFcVK2

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 13, 2024

LEGAL sanction, including the possibility of disqualification from holding office, is necessary to address bullying by lay officer-holders, a motion set to be debated by General Synod this month argues.

The private members’ motion, brought by the Archdeacon of Blackburn, the Ven. Mark Ireland, asks the Synod to recognise “the serious pastoral problems and unfairness that arise while clergy can be subject to penalties for bullying that include prohibition and removal from office but there is no means of disqualifying a churchwarden, PCC member, or other lay officer who is guilty of bullying from holding office”.

It asks the Archbishops’ Council to “bring forward legislative proposals which would enable a churchwarden, PCC member, or other lay officer who was found to have conducted him-or herself in such a manner to be disqualified from holding office”.

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Two motions set to be debated at Synod this month tackling bullying by lay officers and destructive behaviour on PCCs. Bishops said to be reluctant to recommend some parishes ‘knowing that a series of previous incumbents have been hounded out of office’ https://t.co/Cc0aAGaI9Z

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) February 9, 2024

Camp Jubilee Needs YOUR Help

We ask for your prayers and your financial contributions towards the purchase of property that we believe the Lord has shown us to be the new home for Camp Jubilee.  We have raised $1.5 M but still need to raise an additional $2.3 million by February 23.  We invite you to prayerfully consider helping us to acquire this land.  It will be a place for our diocese and beyond for generations to come!. Find out more here.

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The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/shzErlFAL4 'We ask for your prayers and your financial contributions towards the purchase of property that we believe the Lord has shown us to be the new home for Camp Jubilee. We have… pic.twitter.com/QyvSbhNuSp

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) January 24, 2024

A great topic–“Speaking the Truth in Love:The Church and the Challenge of the New Morality”

You may find the list of speakers there and the conference schedule here.

Run, don’t walk, to register for the 2024 Mere Anglicanism Conference! We have an incredible lineup of speakers: D.A. Carson, John Dickson, @RebeccMcLaugh, @amyorrewing, Vaughan Roberts, @calvinrobinson, and Carl Trueman, and more! Register and learn more https://t.co/HMhInevD1D!

— Constantine (@SinnerSaved45) July 26, 2023

The 2023 ADOSC Convention Begins in 10 Days!

Our Diocese will gather at the Cross Schools in Bluffton March 10-11 for our 2023 Convention. This gathering is always a time of connection, inspiration, worship and fellowship! We’ll get an update from the leadership on the state of the Diocese, hear an inspiring message from our Bishop, elect those who will serve in the coming years and more.

As Bishop Edgar noted in a message to clergy and convention delegates, we are streamlining the Convention this year. The Bishop’s address and a video update on the churches in transition will be part of Friday evening’s events. The elections, presentation of the budget and business portion of the meeting will be held on Saturday. Learn more. View the nominations booklet. 

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The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter 'Our Diocese will gather at the Cross Schools in Bluffton March 10-11 for our 2023 Convention' https://t.co/q32upenGLA [Cross Schools Blufton website photo] #parishministry #religion #BluftonSC pic.twitter.com/kL9zGCu31s

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 28, 2023

‘She also served in ministries of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, including Daughters of the King and Cursillo, and served on the Commission on Ministry for over 35 years.’

One of those years on the COM was way back in the 1980’s when I came through the process.

What a servant and what a legacy, she will be greatly missed!

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This past month, Bishop Edgar changed the way we, as a diocese, provide ministry support, moving from staffing certain positions full-time to working with Canons who are “in the trenches” serving in a church. This “seemed to me a strategic way for our diocese to move forward,” said the Bishop. “Compared to full-time diocesan ministry staff, Canons are more cost-effective, increase cooperation between parishes and the diocese, and allow us to focus on a greater number of potential ministry emphases.”

While his plan was to fade out the full-time positions over time, the financial uncertainty introduced by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision, led him to move that time-frame forward.

As a result, both Dave Wright, our Diocesan Coordinator for Youth Ministry,, and Peter Rothermel our Coordinator for Faith Formation, are stepping down from their positions.

“I am grateful for the years of service in the areas of Student Ministry and Faith Formation that Dave Wright and Peter Rothermel, respectively, have offered the diocese,” said Bishop Edgar. “Both are good and godly men who have advanced those ministry areas across the diocese during their tenures. I, together with the whole diocese, am grateful for their work.”

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We welcome our new Bishop, the Rt Revd Chip Edgar, who was consecrated March 12, 2022. Let's pray regularly for our new bishop, his wife and family and labor alongside him to produce fruit in the vineyard to which we're called. View the service: https://t.co/4dRKj3inei pic.twitter.com/ShByUuXRIk

— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) March 13, 2022

Walking Together With Those who Are Leaving their Property

Give to the Jerusalem Fund

In the new season that lies before us, working together as the Body of Christ calls for a new task: providing assistance in replanting the eight congregations required to leave their historic properties….

To that end we would like to raise $1,000,000 to be used exclusively for this initial work. To date, $250,000 has already been committed. We plan to raise the balance (and hopefully more) through generous individual donations from parishioners, through grant and foundation applications, through tithing from planned parish capital campaigns and through a planned Diocesan Ingathering scheduled for early in 2023.

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The Church of England, beset by fears of scarcity and chasing a vision of “something bigger and better”, should look to the experience of the Church in Iran, which has survived being stripped of everything that it possessed, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, told a Church House webinar this week.

Finances and buildings were “both a huge gift to us but also a great curse; they are like nooses around our necks”, she said. “And I think if something were to happen, and they were all to be swept away, we would find at that point new life coming.”

Her comments were made during the first in a series of webinars exploring the Church’s Vision and Strategy for the 2020s: “Has strategy eaten theology for breakfast?” Introducing it, Dr Nick Shepherd, a senior vision and strategy consultant at Church House, acknowledged the existence of concerns about the salience of strategic terminology and planning (Comment, 1 July 2022).

Dr Francis-Dehqani offered episcopal solidarity with such concerns in June (News, 8 July 2022), when, in an address to her diocesan synod, she warned against “putting too much emphasis on our human powers — that if only we try hard enough and pull together well enough and all follow the same programme, then we can solve the problems and challenges and ensure the future survival of the Church, either much as it has been in the past, or preferably producing a shinier, bigger, better version.”

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“I don’t see it [growth] as our primary Christian calling, which is actually about valuing what is small and fragile and vulnerable, and I think the language has put a lot of pressure on some of our clergy and lay leaders, who then feel they are failing.” https://t.co/2q5pw7WWRo

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 26, 2022

Revell Called as Rector of Christ the King Grace Church

The Rev. Roger L. Revell has joyfully accepted a call to serve as the next Rector of Christ the King Grace Church, Pawleys Island. With this appointment, Roger will be returning to his home state of South Carolina, having been born and raised in Rock Hill. Roger is married to Cindy, who is French, and they have two children: Audrey (age 4) and Hugo (age 2). Cindy has worked in the international development and relief sector for upwards of 15 years and is a trained Stephens Minister. After several years of work in electoral politics, followed by a stint in international business, Roger discerned a call to ordained ministry, which was confirmed by the church. He took his Holy Orders as an Anglican deacon and then priest in Canada and has served as a congregational pastor, church planter, and chaplain… Roger’s first Sunday as the Rector will be October 2, 2022.

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The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/WEg8bjdYaX #parishministry #pawleysisland #clergytransitions pic.twitter.com/a8jY9JgV0K

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 28, 2022