“A federal judge in South Carolina has been told to hear a case stemming from the Episcopal Church split in eastern South Carolina,” the AP reports. The judge “had postponed the case while a lawsuit over control of church property was decided in state courts. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week there was no reason to delay the case.”
That case went to trial in July 2014 in Circuit Court in St. George before Judge Diane S. Goodstein. In February, the judge ruled in favor of the breakaway group. Tuesday’s filing is an appeal of that decision. Also on Tuesday, TECSC attorneys filed a “Motion to Certify” with the state Supreme Court, asking the high court to bypass the appeals court and hear the appeal, given the importance of the case and “the desire to streamline the litigation.”
Racial segregation is the de facto standard for American Christian worship, but some churches are making a concentrated effort to integrate their communities. Writing for the Post and Courier, Adam Parker and Jennifer Berry Hawes profile integrated worship at several churches in Charleston, South Carolina.
A press release from the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the diocese loyal to The Episcopal Church, announcing its expected motion for reconsideration Motion asks court
Mary Frances Schjonberg reports from Executive Council for Episcopal News Service:
The lawsuit filed by a breakaway group against The Episcopal Church and its local diocese in eastern South Carolina will be heard in state court, not federal court, U.S. District Court Judge C. Weston Houck ruled today.
The next time someone tells you that the church is beset by factions that will tear it asunder, tell them this story from the Post