The sermon begins around 22:20 in. You can also download or listen directly to the audio at the link provided here.

Monday, July 13 Judge Dickson denied the TECSC Motion for Reconsideration of his ruling.  They promptly filed their Notice of Appeal and a further motion requesting the S.C. Supreme Court to take the appeal directly.

The Diocese continues to give thanks for the clarity of Judge Dickson’s ruling and forward progress towards the conclusion of this litigation.

(Sermon starts about 22 minutes in).

I received an email last week that included a brief message that I’ve been ruminating on ever since. It was from an acquaintance of mine, Bishop James Wong, who is the Anglican Archbishop of the Indian Ocean. Let me share part of it with you.

“In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, “You want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians, I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money, I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don’t want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can’t go to church.”

I imagine he could have mentioned others: You want to worship health; I will empty your gyms and fill your hospitals. You want to worship recreation; I will close the Magic Kingdom and gate your parks. You want to worship travel and exotic places; I will dock your cruise liners and ground your planes. You want to indulge in the nightlife; I will close your restaurants and bars and shutter your cities.

Well that has the ring of truth to it—mostly! Yet not entirely. It could be understood to mean God sent this coronavirus as a judgement on the world. Yet I for one am not ready to say that. I am inclined to say it is a judgement upon our idols. It reveals to us how frail life can be and how vain at times our pursuits. You will remember the first two commandments of the Decalogue. “God spoke these words and said: I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods but me. You shall not make for yourself any idol.” The reformer John Calvin said, “The human heart is a factory for the making of idols.” When we give ourselves to idols, embracing God’s good gifts separate from Him they invariably turn empty and let us down—whether as individuals, communities, or even nations. “Claiming to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man….” (Romans 1:22-23)

Read it all.

When a man/woman/church/diocese finds the right vocation under God, it is as if a caged eagle soars — Bishop Mark Lawrence #Assembly2017 pic.twitter.com/yLkLMLj51G

— Kimberley Pfeiler (@CanonKimberley) June 27, 2017

By now, just about everyone in South Carolina is familiar with the graph charting the state’s new coronavirus cases. The trend line looks like a child’s drawing of a mountain cliff or a letter ‘L’ in repose, with a plateau followed by a sharp vertical flourish.

It also perfectly mirrors the fear and anxiety that food-and-beverage employees across downtown Charleston say they experience at work.

With positive tests for the coronavirus progressively thinning out local restaurant staffs, workers say they have less time to keep up with new sanitation protocols and more reason to worry about contracting the potentially deadly virus.

In interviews conducted over the past week by The Post and Courier, multiple employees at half a dozen leading Charleston restaurants have shared a remarkably similar story: They feel abandoned by public officials who championed reopening without restriction and endangered by patrons who mock their masks and flout social distancing rules.

Many front-of-house workers are so tired and stressed that they wish restaurants would revert to offering takeout exclusively, even if it would cost them tips.

“The restaurant industry feels unsafe,” says a former Leon’s Oyster Shop server who last month quit after learning co-workers who were exposed to the virus at a dinner party were still on the schedule.

Read it all.

“The restaurant industry feels unsafe. A lot of people want to get out of there, but it’s so hard to find another job,” a former Leon’s Oyster Shop server said.https://t.co/gU3ORr6ZBT

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) July 2, 2020

South Carolina’s public health agency reported another large batch of confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the eve of a holiday weekend that has state health officials warning large Fourth of July crowds will only cause the virus daily counts to further surge.

The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 1,629 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing South Carolina’s total ahead of the long weekend to 39,587 — roughly 27,000 of which were logged by the agency after June 1.

Officials also reported an additional 19 South Carolinians have died as a result of the virus, putting the state’s death toll at 777.

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The second day of July marked another large batch of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Carolina. https://t.co/jLTrY60rGW

— The State Newspaper (@thestate) July 2, 2020

Brian McGreevy’s much-touted CS Lewis class on The Screwtape Letters now has 33 episodes available. Find them here.

Class participant, Libby Lewis says,

“First and foremost, Brian knows his CS Lewis, inside and out and his enthusiasm to communicate that knowledge in the manner of a Young Life meeting makes this class infectious, witty and fun. I love how he structures the class to meet everyone’s needs: from those who “sit on the beach“ and just soak it in to those who “snorkel” and initiate a bit more learning to providing extra material, readings, etc for those who want to go deeper and “scuba dive”. His guest appearance on the CS Lewis podcast “Pints with Jack” was loads of fun.”

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The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter– Brian McGreevy’s much-touted #CSLewis class on The Screwtape Letters now has 33 episodes available https://t.co/Jo1XhcXINu #parishministry #lowcountrylife pic.twitter.com/VYIXVu6D1a

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 2, 2020

As the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaches, South Carolina reported its deadliest day yet of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday.

State health officials announced 24 new confirmed deaths, bringing South Carolina’s death toll to 759 since the outbreak began in March.

The state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control also reported 1,497 new cases of COVID-19, the eighth day in a row more than 1,000 new cases have been added. That brings that state’s total to 37,809.

Read it all.

DHEC announced 1,497 new confirmed cases and 6 new probable cases of COVID-19, 24 additional confirmed deaths and 4 new probable deaths. https://t.co/BgJ187Tyoy

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) July 1, 2020

Read it all.

Major League Baseball is working to begin its season in late July, with a plan to play without fans in the stands because of COVID-19. The Fireflies, along with the rest of the minor leagues, have been prevented from playing this year because of the coronavirus.

Katz, the Fireflies president who has worked in professional baseball for nearly three decades, tells Free Times the announcement that Major League Baseball wouldn’t be providing players for the minors, thus putting a nail in the coffin of the 2020 season in Columbia and 159 other cities, was a “gut punch.”

“Personally and professionally, for the 30 people who work here [full-time], it just hurts,” Katz says. “Our planning process never stops. We started planning for 2020 as soon as we closed the books on the last night of 2019.”

Read it all.

“The depth and breadth of the pandemic has touched every aspect of our lives, America’s pastime included.” – @SteveBenjaminSC https://t.co/Uf9RSxNFKe

— Chris Trainor (@ChrisTrainorSC) June 30, 2020

South Carolina logged 1,741 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, breaking the state’s previous daily high and bringing the total of confirmed cases to 36,297 since March, when health officials announced the state’s first outbreak.

The case numbers mark the 10th day out of the last 12 that daily coronavirus case numbers have exceeded 1,000.

And an additional 19 South Carolinians have died after contracting the virus, bringing the state’s death toll from COVID-19 to 735. Tuesday marked the second highest death toll since March.

Read it all.

SC reports new #COVID19 record with 1,741 confirmed cases | ⁦@thestate⁩ https://t.co/69vIptKrLs

— Steve Benjamin (@SteveBenjaminSC) June 30, 2020

Watch and listen to it all.

Traci Testerman, an immunology and microbiology professor with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, is concerned about the way things are going in South Carolina.

“The state is absolutely headed in the wrong direction, and we do need more rules and support from the governor,” she said.

If everyone had access to N95 masks, then it wouldn’t be a big problem for a few people to walk around without a mask, Testerman said. But since that is not the case, one of the solutions is to reduce the amount of virus circulating in the air and contaminating uninfected people.

Read it all.

South Carolina is reporting more COVID-19 cases than ever before.

We broke down the data to figure out why the virus is rising here so quickly.https://t.co/tWp1iWpDYg

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) June 30, 2020

Mount Pleasant has joined neighboring municipalities in mandating that face masks be worn in certain public spaces, effective at noon on Wednesday. Just three days prior to the celebration of Independence Day.

On Monday afternoon, Mount Pleasant Town Council met for an emergency special council meeting that would consider requiring face covering in “certain circumstances.” Council voted in favor 6-2, two-thirds majority, to pass Ordinance 20037.

Councilmember Brenda Corley was not present for the vote. Council explained the reasoning for Corley’s absence was due to showing COVID-19 symptoms.

Read it all.

Mount Pleasant #SouthCarolina mandates face masks at select establishments, effective July 1 #covid19 #publichealth #economy https://t.co/2H4QuWu60Q

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 29, 2020

After five days in a row with more than 1,000 South Carolinians testing positive for the coronavirus, state health officials reported Monday they had identified another 1,320 cases.

Since March, 34,546 COVID-19 cases have been positively identified in the Palmetto State.

Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also counted four more people who died after contracting the virus, bringing the state’s death toll up to 717.

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1,320 new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Carolina.
Total: 34,546

4 new confirmed deaths
Total: 717

Percent positive: 15.5% https://t.co/ZUbt4Dwd2M

— Maayan Schechter (@MaayanSchechter) June 29, 2020

South Carolina continues to report a surge of coronavirus cases, with 1,599 new infections identified Saturday, a daily record.

The previous record of 1,290 was set Tuesday. Since the virus first reached South Carolina in March, state health officials have recorded 31,850 total cases.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control also announced 15 new deaths related to the virus, bringing the state’s death toll from COVID-19 to 707.

Read it all.

South Carolina tops 1,500 new #coronavirus cases Saturday for new record https://t.co/alVfRg0X3a, @GregHadley9 reports #sctweets

— Joseph Bustos (@JoeBReporter) June 27, 2020

If you’ve been to the beach lately, you probably need to get tested for COVID-19.

That’s essentially what Department of Health and Environmental Control Director of Public Health Dr. Joan Duwve said during Gov. McMaster’s press conference on Friday.

Read it all.

“If you’ve gone to the beach, you’ve likely come into contact with someone who is positive, but probably asymptomatic.”

The DHEC Director of Public Health said if you’ve gone to the beach, you should probably get a COVID-19 test.https://t.co/01DOAVd3z5

— ABC News 4 (@ABCNews4) June 26, 2020

The City of Charleston voted unanimously on Thursday evening to enact a face mask ordinance.

In the ordinance, people must wear a face mask when entering any restaurant, retail store or any other building open to the public. Employees must also wear the face masks at all times.

People don’t have to wear a face mask if they have underlying health conditions, while driving in their cars, when participating in outdoor activities and while actively drinking or eating.

It will take effect on Friday at noon.

Read it all.

Charleston votes to pass face mask ordinance https://t.co/yOntgLRufC

— Marjory Wentworth (@MarjWentworth) June 25, 2020

South Carolina health officials reported Thursday that 1,106 more people tested positive for the coronavirus across the state, bringing the statewide total number of identified cases to 28,962.

Department of Health and Environmental Control officials also reported eight more South Carolinians died after contracting COVID-19. The statewide death toll has now reached 691.

The announcement comes after the state broke its record for the largest single-day increase in cases Wednesday, after DHEC confirmed almost 1,300 cases.

Read it all.

DHEC announced 1,106 new confirmed cases and 3 new probable cases of COVID-19, and 8 additional confirmed deaths and 2 probable deaths.
https://t.co/YFUYw9AM0C

— SCDHEC (@scdhec) June 25, 2020

[Via email] Dear St. Michaelites and Friends:

What a blessing it has been to have live worship during the month of June, seeing so many of your faces has been truly a gift! We miss you when we can’t see you! Indeed, Three weeks ago on June 7th, and based on the recommendation of the Re-Opening Task Force of St. Michael’s Church, we opened the church doors for worship after being closed for 11 Sundays due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. We reopened on several conditions, including the key condition, that the Covid-19 cases would flatten and decline in South Carolina as well as right here in Charleston.

Since that time, the Re-Opening Task Force, led by Dr. Jerry Reves (Epidemiologist at MUSC) has continued to monitor and meet together. In the last two weeks, Covid-19 cases have sky rocketed both in our state and in our region, with hospitals filling up quickly and new spaces being created for patients. As promised, the Re-Opening Task Force kept meeting to assess, including Monday, June 22. At that time and based on original criteria, the Re-Opening Task Force recommended to the Vestry a pause in our re-opening process. The vestry, wardens and I accepted their recommendation to pause all live-in-person worship taking effect Sunday, July 5.

Beyond the original criteria, we also made the decision based on three other factors:

1). With hospitals filling up so fast, we as St. Michael’s Church cannot contribute to the problem of overflowing Covid-19 units. We want to be part of the solution to flatten the curve.

2). After having been opened for what will be four Sundays, including the funeral for the Rev. Dr. Peter Moore and Carolina Day, this will allow us to have the time to completely sterilize the church and prepare for our eventual reopening.

3). We will also use this time to complete several projects in the Sanctuary including the final installation of our live stream capability to make sure when we do come back in person we will simultaneously also be live on computer.

Personally, I am so glad we had the month of June to be open and see so many of you! That re-opening was a test run to help us be even more effective when we do open up.

In the meantime, we will continue to produce our weekly worship videos and all our zoom discipleship offerings. That continues regardless of any circumstance. I know that for many (including me) this is a very difficult decision. However I want to assure you it is the right decision. As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 10: “We have the right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything, but not everything is constructive.” How do we serve the other? I believe right now the answer is to worship in our homes and participate in the zoom offerings and do our part to help flatten the curve.

You are loved, we are a phone call away. Stay faithful dear friends!

Blessings in Christ,

The Rev. Alfred Zadig, Jr.
Rector

Mr. Leland H. Cox
Senior Warden

Mrs. Laura Waring Gruber
Junior Warden

Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church. Built 1751-1761. #Charleston pic.twitter.com/0uvUO7xpEu

— Charleston photos (@charlestonphoto) January 24, 2016

[Linda Bell]….told council members she was “alarmed and disheartened” at the number of people not wearing masks, particularly young adults.

While most teenagers and young adults are most resistant to becoming seriously ill from the virus, “you’re imposing that risk . . . on others.”

She added: “These measures from the local jurisdictions are badly needed.”

Under the new emergency ordinance, masks would be required for anyone:

▪ Inside a public building or waiting to enter a public building

▪ Interacting with someone within six feet in an outdoor space

▪ Engaged in business in a private space

▪ Using public or private transportation

▪ Walking in public where maintaining a six-foot distance from others may not be possible.

Read it all.

Columbia now requires you to wear a mask to combat coronavirus. Here are the details https://t.co/hOxML4r56N

— Teri Browne (@TeriBrowne) June 23, 2020

South Carolina health officials warned that cases will continue to skyrocket if people don’t wear masks after announcing Wednesday that 1,291 more people across the state tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest number of cases reported in one day so far.

“Quite frankly, it’s troubling that not enough people are taking this pandemic seriously,” said state epidemiologist Linda Bell, talking to reporters on a conference call.

The newly identified cases bring the statewide total number of cases to 27,842.

Read it all.

Palmetto State sets record for most positive coronavirus tests reported in one day. https://t.co/10GJqDyd9Y?

— Willie Smith (@willie_t_smith) June 24, 2020