By HEATHER RUPPE
A long-awaited ruling passed down last week by the S.C. Supreme Court has the future of one of Walterboro’s oldest and most historic churches hanging in the balance.
St. Jude’s Church members in Walterboro will be losing the rights to their property and to their church. The church was established in 1855 and are in the historic district of downtown Walterboro.
This ruling was passed down by the S.C. Supreme Court, which has been listening to the legal battle between the Anglican and Episcopal churches for the last 10 years. According to the legal opinion, some parishes broke away from the Episcopal Church more than 10 years ago, prompting the ongoing legal battle about property rights. Before the split, all churches were a part of a trust that belongs to the national Episcopal church.
The S.C. Supreme Court issued their ruling on April 20th.
As part of their ruling, 14 of the 29 now-Anglican churches involved in this legal decision – impacted churches are scattered throughout the Lowcountry, from Charleston to Colleton counties – will lose all rights to their property and must begin the legal process of handing over their properties to the Episcopal Church. The other half of the churches involved in the lawsuit will keep their personal property and are unaffected by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The reason that 15 of the 29 churches can keep their properties is because those churches never conceded to the church law, through the way in which the individual church laws, or “canon,” were written.
St. Jude’s is the only Anglican church in Colleton County impacted by the ruling.
“The decision from the Supreme Court is a difficult one to have learned. Our hearts mourn at the loss of historic buildings where we have worshipped for generations,” said Rev. Newman H. Lawrence, rector of St. Jude’s Church in Walterboro. “But, we know the church is more than a building. We will continue to gather and worship the risen Lord wherever that may be,” he said.
While the ruling has been handed down, details of this case still remain in limbo as legal counsel for both sides continue to weigh in. These details include many “what ifs,” such as how the Anglican churches who are losing their properties will be reimbursed or compensated for “betterments” that were made during the last 10 years while this court case was being heard. These “betterments,” as they are called in the ruling, refer to physical improvements or expansions made to the church properties. They also refer to general upkeep.
Other “what ifs” that are still being decided as part of an ongoing legal conversation include the future of parishioner grave sites that have been bought and planned for by Anglican members; current graves and graveyards; and whether or not the new owners of the property will allow some of the Anglican churches to remain as lease-holders.
According to a letter issued on April 20th by the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina to the church’s clergy and parishioners,
“The ruling raises many issues that will have to play out in the coming weeks before any actions are taken, so our first response must be to quiet our hearts before the Lord as we pray for grace to meet the days ahead. Some of our churches are relieved that the court ruled their property does indeed belong to them. Some are grieving deeply, as the courts ruling went in the opposite direction,” stated The Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar, in his letter to all Anglican churches in the area. “ … The Lord has provided – and always will provide – all we need to proclaim the gospel, bind up the brokenhearted, heal the sick, set the captives free, do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with our God,” Edgar wrote, in part, in his letter.
Edgar also asked for continued prayers “… for those of us who are called to lead as we sort thorugh the difficult decisions of the days ahead.”
According to the S.C. Supreme Court, the 14 Anglican Churches that must hand over their properties to the Episcopal Church are:
The Church of the Good Shepherd in Charleston;
The Church of the Holy Comforter in Sumter;
St. Bartholomew’s Church in Hartsville;
St. John’s Parish Church on Johns Island;
St. Jude’s Church in Walterboro;
Saint Luke’s Church in Hilton Head;
St. David’s Church in Cheraw;
St. Matthew’s Parish Church in Fort Motte;
Old St. Andrew’s Parish Church in Charleston;
The Church of the Holy Cross in Stateburg;
Trinity Church in Myrtle Beach;
Holy Trinity Church in Charleston;
Christ Church in Mount Pleasant;
Saint James Church in James Island.
