LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Christ Episcopal Church members are an active congregation

By: Dear Editor: | SCNOW
Published: July 01, 2009

As an active member of Christ Episcopal Church, I would like to thank Dwight Dana for his article on June 4 about our 150th anniversary celebration, but I regret that the paper did not cover the actual service. What a glorious day it was! The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, Bishop of South Carolina, presided over our service, and the choir from St. John’s Episcopal Church provided beautiful music. Five new members were confirmed into our congregation. While your article included many interesting historical facts about our church, I am not sure it portrayed the message that we are a very active congregation. We have services every Sunday at 10 a.m., and we take immense pride in our church buildings and in our grounds. We cherish our history, savor our present, and plan for our future.
We have regular workdays throughout the year and most of our congregation shows up to do yard work and housekeeping. One couple paid to have the church professionally painted and their son provided new landscaping at his expense. The grounds now look amazing, and parishioners are working to maintain them.
Each first Sunday, we have a coffee hour that has evolved into a sit-down meal, providing us with a wonderful fellowship opportunity. Even though no one is assigned anything to do, it is truly a loaves and fishes experience, because we always have more than enough food for everyone, and we all pitch in toward clean up. We even have a parishioner who raises chickens and shares fresh eggs with all of us.
We are a generous, peaceful and welcoming congregation, and because we are small, we rely on the commitment of our parishioners, and we are never disappointed. Christ Church is indeed a historical building and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, but more importantly, Christ Church is its spirit and its people.