The South Carolina Supreme Court announced yesterday that it has denied the Petition for a Writ of Prohibition submitted on February 21st by The Episcopal Church (TEC) and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), which sought to prevent Judge Edgar W. Dickson from ruling on the Diocese’s and parishes motion to clarify the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling. If granted, the petition would have prevented Judge Dickson from ruling on the case as he has indicated he was about to do. The Supreme Court’s order succinctly states: “Petitioners seek a Writ of Prohibition to prevent the circuit court from clarifying this Court’s decision in Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of S.C. v. Episcopal Church, 412 S.C. 211, 806 S.E. 2d 82 (2017). The petition is denied.”

This ruling by the Supreme Court allows Judge Dickson to proceed with clarifying the Court’s earlier August 2017 ruling, which was comprised of five separate opinions. That situation is unprecedented in the history of the court. This open-ended denial of the petition by the Supreme Court places no restrictions upon the appropriateness of Judge Dickson’s work in interpreting the meaning of the original ruling.

Ironically, this ruling comes almost exactly a year after TEC and TECSC filed a similar Petition with the high court for a Writ of Mandamus meant to force Judge Dickson to rule in the case. The Mandamus Petition asked the Supreme Court to require the Circuit Court to interpret the Supreme Court’s August 2, 2017 ruling favorably for TEC and TECSC. That petition was also denied by the Supreme Court in July of last year.

As before, the Prohibition Petition was an attempt to end run Judge Dickson’s exercise of his discretion in interpreting the August 2, 2017 decision in a manner that may differ from TEC and TECSC’s interpretation.

The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina welcomes this decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court affirming that the Circuit Court is the proper venue to resolve the many uncertain issues arising from the August 2, 2017 decision.

The Rev. Marcus Kaiser, President of the diocesan Standing Committee observed, “In this time, our focus is on caring for our people and praying for a world deeply rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, we are profoundly grateful that the Supreme Court has denied the request for a Writ of Prohibition, and hope this ruling helps move things along. We pray for Judge Dickson and the complex issues he has to deal with, even as we continue to focus on concerns far more pressing to most people.”

The brief in support of the motion by the Diocese to dismiss this Petition can be found on the Diocesan website, along with further background on the earlier Petition for Mandamus. The August 2, 2017, ruling by the Supreme Court may also be found here.

(#Anglican Diocese of SC) #SouthCarolina Supreme Court denies Petition for Writ of Prohibition by The Episcopal Church https://t.co/PZYCugWZhQ #law #religion #parishministry #history #lowcountrylife #stewardship #ethics pic.twitter.com/v5BuyYENTM

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) April 1, 2020

A 30-year-old high school baseball coach in New Jersey died Monday from the coronavirus after being discharged from the hospital.

News of Ben Luderer’s death was shared by Cliffside Park superintendent Michael Romagnino in a letter to families.

Read it all.

This story is chilling: https://t.co/1SQJslTvty

— Paige W. Cunningham (@pw_cunningham) April 1, 2020

South Carolina officials recorded hundreds more positive coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 1,293 cases and 26 deaths.

The new numbers include 210 new positive test results, more than the state has announced in a single day since recording its first case March 6. Forty-eight of the newly identified patients live in Charleston County, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Four more patients died after contracting COVID-19. They were elderly residents of Anderson, Beaufort, Lee and Richland counties, DHEC said.

“Every day that we unfortunately have to report these losses is a reminder of how serious this situation is and the obligation we all have to help prevent the loss of additional South Carolinians,” said DHEC medical consultant Dr. Brannon Traxler. “Social distancing and staying home can help save lives.”

Read it all.

With 210 new coronavirus patients, #southcarolina records 1,293 total cases and 26 deaths https://t.co/HEgqUUIsxj #covid19 #publichealth #pandemic

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) April 1, 2020

This is a real patient’s story. In fact, it is a lot of people’s story — at least some version of it. Across the world, people with signs and symptoms of Covid-19 are testing negative and wondering what it means. They are not showing up in the statistics, and they are left in limbo about what to do next.

The problem may be with the test. Current coronavirus tests may have a particularly high rate of missing infections. The good news is that the tests appear to be highly specific: If your test comes back positive, it is almost certain you have the infection.

The most common test to detect the coronavirus involves a process known as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, a jumble of words that describes a method capable of detecting virus particles that are generally present in respiratory secretions during the beginning of an infection. From a technical standpoint, under ideal conditions, these tests can detect small amounts of viral RNA.

In the real world, though, the experience can be quite different, and the virus can be missed. The best the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can say is that if you test negative, “you probably were not infected at the time your specimen was collected.” The key word there is “probably.”

Read it all.

“Research coming out of China indicates that the false-negative rate may be around 30 percent. Some of my colleagues, experts in laboratory medicine, express concerns the false-negative rate in this country could be even higher.” https://t.co/JgoEiN4F4Q

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) April 1, 2020

In his contribution to The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology, Reinhard Hütter describes two approaches to the Christian life. One approach views God as standing behind the human being, with the world lying before him as his ultimate field of engagement. The other approach views the human being as standing before God, with the world coming to him as a gift from God’s fatherly hand in order that it, along with the human being, might ultimately be ordered to God.

In too many cases, contemporary Reformed and evangelical approaches to anthropology exhibit the former approach rather than the latter. Renewing theological anthropology will, above all, require recovering the latter approach, which locates human beings where they should be located: a little lower than the angels, over the animals, in Christ, in the presence of God, from whom and through whom and to whom are all things (Rom 11:36).

This, in the end, is the awe and wonder of what it means to be human. “What is man?” The psalmist asks. Following Scripture, the Westminster Shorter Catechism answers: man is the creature whose chief end it is “to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

Read it all.

“What is man?” Psalm 8:4 asks. Theological anthropology can help us address this question. Dr. @ScottRSwain, President and Professor @RTSOrlando, shares his thoughts. https://t.co/t73XgZM0FQ

— Reformed Seminary (@ReformTheoSem) April 1, 2020

Imagine you are in a small boat far, far from shore. A surprise storm capsizes the boat and tosses you into the sea. You try to tame your panic, somehow find the boat’s flimsy but still floating life raft, and struggle into it. You catch your breath, look around, and try to think what to do next. Thinking clearly is hard to do after a near-drowning experience.

You do, though, realize two important things: First, the raft is saving your life for the moment and you need to stay in it until you have a better plan. Second, the raft is not a viable long-term option and you need to get to land.

In April 2020, the storm is the Covid-19 pandemic, the life raft is the combination of intense measures we are using to slow the spread of the virus, and dry land is the end to the pandemic.

Read it all.

This, from two who understand #COVID19 as well as anyone, is frightening. And a must read:
We’re just clambering into a life raft. Dry land is far away https://t.co/LauUrTJSXK via @statnews @mlipsitch @yhgrad

— Rick Berke (@rickberke) April 1, 2020

Assume that everyone you see is infected with the coronavirus.

If you absolutely must leave home, keep your distance from others. And limit where and how often you go.

Don’t touch anything you don’t have to outside your home. Don’t touch your face unless you just washed your hands.

Assume that you are one of the many people with symptomless COVID-19. Cough into your elbow, not your hands. If you don’t feel well, stay home….

Read it all.

About a week ago, South Carolina had just eclipsed 300 coronavirus cases.

That number has since grown to over 1,000.

(visual by @nathanielcary) pic.twitter.com/pQf7jRvUAZ

— Jason Clary (@IamJClary) April 1, 2020

Almighty God, who hast restored our human nature to heavenly glory through the perfect obedience of our Savior Jesus Christ: Keep alive in thy Church, we beseech thee, a passion for justice and truth; that we, like thy servant Federick Denison Maurice, may work and pray for the triumph of the kingdom of thy Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

#OTD 1 April 1872: death of F.D. Maurice, Christian Socialist. https://t.co/ImYbDd8HmB pic.twitter.com/miwXewurfP

— Caroline Murray (@Prof_hedgehog) April 1, 2019

Listen to it all and the composer’s website is there [I first learned of this through Preston Trombly].

Thanks be to thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which thou hast given us, for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may we know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, now and for evermore.

St Richard of Chichester, bishop, Chancellor of Oxford University, & patron of Sussex, died #OTD in 1253. This was the site of his shrine: pic.twitter.com/xIvbgg0NF7

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) April 3, 2017

But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

–Mark 10:14-16