The Church of the Holy Comforter, Sumter, is opening its doors providing shelter to the area’s homeless this winter. The church has been welcoming from 7 to 12 guests and is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. when the temperature drops below 40 degrees.

Sumter United Ministries (SUM) is overseeing the effort. The group provides a platform for Sumter churches to meet the needs of the elderly, working poor, disabled and homeless.

Ginny Corley, who serves as the chair of Holy Comforter’s Missions Committee reflected on how the church first decided to serve as a shelter. “We are the first church Mark Champagne (Executive Director of SUM) approached, and the timing was auspicious,” she said. “The first meeting with Mark Champagne was in August 2022 in response to a request from Mark to Fr. David for some space to use as an overnight winter shelter. During that meeting the ad hoc committee discussed the risks on both sides of using Walker Hall as a winter shelter for the unhoused. The main risk to SUM was we may lose the building at any time (SC Supreme Court ruling pending). As we were walking out of the meeting in general agreement that Walker Hall and the bathrooms could be suitable, Fr. John (Sosnowski) received a phone call letting us know that the buildings were ours. There was a definite sense we should share what had so graciously been returned. The vestry unanimously passed the subsequent proposal.

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Sumter winter shelter to help people experiencing homelessness https://t.co/aEDK2EgxsE

— News19 WLTX (@WLTX) November 30, 2022

The Economic Innovation Group report is the most detailed effort yet to steer that selection, by trying to balance the needs of left-behind areas with their potential for an economic rebirth. It measures that potential using data on regions’ industrial composition and economic complexity, along with two key human ingredients for innovation: the number of working-age science and technology graduates and the number of patent authors in an area.

To measure need, the report looks at the share of a region’s prime-age adults who are not employed or are looking for work, two measures of so-called “brain drain” — the flight of college graduates from an area — and the distance from a “superstar” city like New York or Chicago.

The top 10 cities on the list are a mix between higher potential (like Phoenix and Salt Lake City) and higher need (like a pair of Ohio cities, Toledo and Akron). Many are college towns, Mr. Fikri noted, that are not quite large enough to have yet sustained a thriving industrial sector that grows out of scientific research.

Greenville, S.C., tops the list with a score balanced almost evenly between potential and need, followed by Provo, Utah, and Tucson, Ariz.

The report’s researchers say their data suggests policymakers could — and should — spread the hubs across various areas with different bases of technological expertise and differing levels of need, in hopes of maximizing both the advancements and the regional economic gains they produce.

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Innovation Hubs Aim to Lift Distressed Areas. Congress Just Has to Fund Them https://t.co/b5pSZTkNjb "20 newly created research centers could revitalize struggling economies and accelerate new technologies" #RiseOfRest @InnovateEconomy pic.twitter.com/r22B8zYErk

— Steve Case (@SteveCase) December 5, 2022

A compilation of the beautiful engravings of Gustave Doré paired with quotes from the works of literature they were inspired by.

Starting with Dante's Paradiso:

"In fashion then as of a snow-white rose
Displayed itself to me the saintly host." pic.twitter.com/LhWvX077jh

— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) June 12, 2022

Only 1 in 5 people in South Carolina are vaccinated against the flu as the virus continues to fill doctors’ offices and hospitals. But with the holidays now in full swing, it is a good time to get a shot and get protected, doctors say.

With a heavy early surge of flu, the worst start to the season in a decade, only 21.2 percent of the Palmetto State’s population had received their seasonal vaccination, about 1.1 million people, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

That includes only 14.5 percent of children and 14.9 percent of adults under age 65. Nearly half of seniors — 49 percent — were vaccinated, DHEC reported. Those low rates can have consequences, particularly for kids, said Dr. Elizabeth Mack, chief of pediatric critical care at Medical University of South Carolina.

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Just over 1 in 5 people in South Carolina have been vaccinated against the flu as the state faces down an early surge that is the worst start to flu season in a decade. https://t.co/S9qUi1wCRN

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) November 25, 2022

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Today is The Sunday next before Advent, which is celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King and marks the end of the annual cycle of the Church's year: https://t.co/vRyBVupzpU

Image: Christ the King window by Christopher Webb in St Lawrence Jewry. Photo: Lawrence OP, via Flickr pic.twitter.com/JFwy80WPrF

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) November 20, 2022

We would appreciate your prayers.

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#GRACE #TRUTH @JohnMPerkins speaks @walnuthillcc Rev/Dr. Clive Calver. @ServeDanbury @mzlizblossom @DebPerkinsJVMPF pic.twitter.com/yBVpfdhgse

— Priscilla Perkins (@PriscillaPerk17) November 8, 2015

You may listen directly or download it if you prefer.

Postcard-Farm-Fresh done in Adobe Illustrator
Proverbs 3:9 NIV

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. #EncouragingArt #Fruit #AdobeIllustartor pic.twitter.com/GQrG0KX0na

— Encouraging Art (@CharlesBriley3) September 18, 2020

From there:

Woodbridge, VA (October 15, 2022) – The clergy and lay delegates of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (DOMA) elected on the second ballot the Rev. Chris Warner to be the next diocesan bishop at a special electing Synod at All Saints’ Church in Woodbridge, VA. Pending the consent of the Anglican Church in North America’s College of Bishops in January, Bishop-Elect Warner will be consecrated at The Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, VA on February 18, 2023.

Bishop-Elect Warner is the Rector of the Church of the Holy Cross, Sullivan’s Island/Daniel Island, SC. Prior to his time as Rector, he was an Associate Rector at Church of the Holy Cross, Rector at St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, and Curate at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, GA. He married Catherine in 1993, and they have three children (27, 24, and 23).

Bishop-Elect Warner addressed the delegates saying, “I’m honored and humbled to have been selected to serve DOMA as bishop-elect. I’m aware that those of us who serve the Lord in vocational ministry must never believe we do so because we ‘qualify.’ We serve because the Lord calls. And those whom He calls, He then equips. This keeps us dependent upon the Lord and Jesus receives the glory he rightly deserves. I ask your prayers and I pledge my prayers for you. I’m truly excited to see what God will do as we serve together in the years to come.”

On Sept. 14, 2021, Bishop John Guernsey called for the Diocese to begin the process leading to the election and consecration of his successor and to his retirement. On July 17, 2022, the Committee on Nominations announced the final slate of three candidates. As part of the process leading to the election, the candidates participated in two events on September 27 and 28 where they joined in a live Q&A session with delegates. For election, the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese require a majority of the votes cast by each order (lay and clergy) on the same ballot.

The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic is a regional diocese of the Anglican Church in North America dedicated to reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic consists of 40 Congregations, Missions, and Mission Fellowships in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, eastern West Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. Several more are in formation.

Two years of huge rent increases in the already-expensive Charleston area have caused some tenants to take extra jobs, consider relocating to the rural edges of the suburbs or leave altogether for more affordable cities.

Stress-inducing monthly rates have radiated out from the pricey Charleston peninsula and Mount Pleasant to once-affordable places such as West Ashley, North Charleston and Summerville.

In September, according to Apartment List, the median yearly rent for an apartment in Ladson — some 20 miles from downtown Charleston — was $5,292 higher than it was two years earlier.

“I went in (to the rental office) today in tears,” said the Rev. Jo Anna Fallaw, a disabled single mother on leave from her work as a Methodist pastor. “I can see how someone could end up on the street.”

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Huge rent increases have #CharlestonSC-area residents questioning if they should move #southcarolina #economy #housing #inflation #personalfinance #lowcountrylife https://t.co/aKER0cOoCH

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 8, 2022

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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Alexis Temple started teaching English and Language Arts in Columbia at the height of a pandemic.

Her third grade students had fallen far below the S.C. Department of Education’s academic standards. The Greenville native said she was in survival mode.

In the capital city’s historic Waverly district, Carver-Lyon Elementary School serves nearly 400 students. Over 95 percent of the students are minorities and all come from low-income households, two groups whose academic progress was disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. School administrators anticipated that their students’ learning was likely to suffer during remote learning. The school had to figure out a way to use what little resources they had to their full potential.

Carver-Lyon came up with a game plan. School administrators knew that by third grade, standardized tests look at whether students could read, but on how well they understood the material. They decided to help students with their reading comprehension through a combination of collaborative group exercises, freedom of choice in literature and the acceptance of toggling between dialects.

This combination ultimately raised their third grade students’ English Language Arts test scores by 78 percent over three years ending in 2021….

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A Columbia elementary school raised it reading scores by over 78 percent during the pandemic.

Here's how it did this: https://t.co/duztdjbHWC

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) September 29, 2022

Reflecting on the agreement, Bishop Edgar said, “This settlement agreement allows us to invest our diocesan energy, time, focus, and resources in gospel ministry rather than litigation. While the losses we have experienced, including those of St. Christopher and several of our parish buildings are painful, I am grateful that the work we have done has brought an end to litigation between our dioceses. I am grateful, too, for the willingness to work to avoid further litigation that Bishop Woodliff-Stanley showed throughout this process. These hard past few months were made easier by her kind and generous willingness to compromise to reach this settlement.”

Bishop Woodliff-Stanley echoed this sentiment: “From the very beginning of this process, I have been grateful for the gracious spirit of Bishop Edgar in doing just this work with us. I am grateful for his leadership and his generosity. While each diocese has had to leave things on the table to get to this moment, and while we experience pain over losses of some of the historic churches our members hold dear, even still, we have seen the Spirit at work in drawing us toward God’s redemptive way of love at every juncture.”

While we give thanks that the legal disputes at the diocesan level are being brought to a close, we nevertheless recognize that a number of our parishes await a final resolution of their legal concerns. It is our prayer that these issues will soon come to a resolution as well as we move forward together as a diocese into this next season of ministry.

What does this next season look like? For some, it will be full of new challenges – and opportunities – as they as they learn to minister outside the walls of their beloved church buildings. For others we’ll seek to pull together as a diocese and grow in our roles as supportive brothers and sisters. For all of us we’ll continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and pursue the work of the gospel in South Carolina and beyond out from under the shadow of litigation with a renewed focus on our mission and ministry. Therefore, let us move forward prayerfully, in thanksgiving for this Spirit-led settlement, and in hope for the work of the Gospel and continued in-breaking of the Kingdom of God.

The Rt. Revd Chip Edgar, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina
The Revd B. Tyler Prescott, President, ADOSC Standing Committee

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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

There’s a short stretch along the Charleston waterfront, just a few hundred yards from the South Carolina Aquarium, where tens of thousands of enslaved people took their first steps in the New World.

The site, Gadsden’s Wharf, was among the most prolific international slave trading ports in the United States. But until recently, the site bore no mention of its slave-trading past. It was only during the development of the International African American Museum — a landmark $100 million project that has been in the works for more than 20 years — that researchers brought to light the full history of Gadsden’s Wharf.

“We were part of how Gadsden’s Wharf was coming into community recognition and community conversation,” said Dr. Tonya Matthews, the museum’s president and chief executive. While Gadsden’s Wharf has long been acknowledged as a historic site, she said, “we weren’t actually talking about what that history was.”

The I.A.A.M., which opens in January, will change that. Dedicated to “telling the full story of the African American journey, from ancient African civilization to modern day,” the museum’s nearly 150,000 square feet of space will include nine galleries as well as a genealogy center where visitors can get help researching their family histories. Dr. Matthews said she is already seeing a strong response from the public.

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‘We Tell The Whole Truth’: A Talk With the Head of Charleston’s New African American Museum https://t.co/twzyHY5Xef

— Black History Heroes (@HistoryHeroes) September 23, 2022

The Rev. Henrietta Rivers can name the handful of male pastors who helped shape her approach to ministry. But perhaps the most influential person to impact her pastoral career was a woman — N.C. Williams, an instructor at the predominantly Black and now closed Charles A. Brown High School.

Rivers recalls how Williams would tell the freshmen students that their worth didn’t come from their material possessions. She also taught the importance of being proud of one’s African American heritage.

“She allowed us to see our human value,” said Rivers, 55, who now preaches a similar message to middle school students in her role as chaplain at Porter-Gaud School.

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SC Anglican Diocese's first Black female priest reflects on symbolism of moment | Features | https://t.co/UK6ZVNAItY https://t.co/pvKaDWpgKy

— Margo Ellis (@margo_usmc) September 14, 2022

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Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 8:1 NIVhttps://t.co/IsIAGZlxhQ. Poster credit: @youversion pic.twitter.com/wvggAViYKa

— John Mmbaga (@johnmmbagaKE) April 5, 2021