Local parishioners appear ready to resolve the rift that has divided the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and the national church since 2003, after the Episopal Church consecrated an openly gay bishop.
The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, bishop of the state diocese, and other conservative local church leaders have protested what they see as the national church’s increasingly liberal leanings. The Episcopal Church last month declared that Lawrence had abandoned his sworn duties to uphold the constitution and canons of the church, and it restricted him from exercising his ministry.