[Episcopal Church in South Carolina press release] Bishops from the largest province in The Episcopal Church are gathering with Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg in Charleston for a Province IV House of Bishops meeting June 25-27, where they will hear firsthand from local groups that are working to provide ways for Episcopalians to worship together in eastern South Carolina.

Twenty-five bishops and one bishop-elect are attending, including Bishop vonRosenberg – an  unusually high turnout for the twice-a-year meeting and a demonstration of support for local Episcopalians. Province IV is the largest of the nine provinces in The Episcopal Church, and includes 20 dioceses in nine Southeastern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Two main events are on Wednesday’s agenda: A series of presentations by “worshiping communities” – organized groups of continuing Episcopalians – and a public Choral Eucharist at 5:30 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, where the bishops will worship alongside parishioners from around the diocese.

Presentations by worshiping communities are scheduled for most of Wednesday. The bishops will hear the stories of several groups of people who have organized so they can continue to worship as Episcopalians after their church leaders distanced themselves from The Episcopal Church. Groups from Conway, Summerville, Edisto Island, the Florence/Pee Dee area, West Ashley, Beaufort/Port Royal, and the Okatie/Ridgeland area will be represented.

These groups, along with 20 other parishes and missions, are part of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, which is the working name for the diocese that is continuing as part of The Episcopal Church in the eastern part of South Carolina. That reorganization came after a group of local church leaders announced in October 2012 that they had separated from the church.

Bishops planning to attend the Province IV House of Bishop’s meeting, and the dioceses they represent, are:

The Rt. Rev. Dabney Smith, Bishop, Southwest Florida (President of the Province IV House of Bishops)
The Rt. Rev. Scott Benhase, Bishop, Georgia
The Rt. Rev. Greg Brewer, Bishop, Central Florida
The Rt. Rev. John Buchanan, Bishop Provisional, Quincy (resides in South Carolina)
The Rt. Rev. Rogers Harris, retired, Southwest Florida
The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, Bishop Suffragan, North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, Bishop, North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Charles Duvall, retired, Central Gulf Coast
The Rt. Rev. Michael Garrison, retired, Southwest Florida
The Rt. Rev. Douglas Hahn, Bishop, Lexington
The Rt. Rev. Don Johnson, Bishop, West Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. Charles Keyser, Assisting Bishop, Florida
The Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, Bishop Provisional, East Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Henry Louttit, retired, Georgia
The Rt. Rev. Alfred Marble, Assisting Bishop, North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Santosh Marray, Assistant Bishop, Alabama
The Rt. Rev. Henry Parsley, retired, Alabama
The Rt. Rev. David Reed, retired, Kentucky
The Rt. Rev. William Skilton, retired, South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor, Bishop, Western North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Morris Thompson, Bishop, Louisiana
The Rt. Rev. Charles vonRosenberg, Bishop Provisional, TEC in South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Waldo, Bishop, Upper South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Keith Whitmore, Assistant Bishop, Atlanta
The Rt. Rev. Robert Wright, Bishop, Atlanta
The Rt. Rev. George Young, Bishop, East Tennessee