Archives for 2015

Ordination and Installation of Russ Blackwelder

As Dr. William Sheldon, Ruling Elder, First (Scots) Presbyterian Church, Charleston; Former Medical Director, provided our prayer of illumination, and reflected on his work at the Village dating all the way back to the 1970’s, we couldn’t help but recall his own mother who played piano for our devotions in Health Care, Pride Memory Care Area – sharing her gifts. Through his eyes too could be seen the vision that guided us from another Mother, the mother of Dr. William McLeod Frampton, Jr., Founder of Presbyterian Home of South Carolina (in memory of whom we receive the Mother’s Day Offering), who had a dream that the Church could provide a place — a Home for older adults, that they would want to come to by choice, a place to keep living life to the full.

The tears of sadness of the horrific events of the past week were still glistening within the eyes of those gathering to celebrate the Ordination and Installation of Russell Steven Blackwelder, M.D., M. Div. to the position of Associate Medical Director of Wellness, Education, and Pastoral Care at The Village at Summerville, Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina; and Assistant Professor and Director of Geriatric Education in the M.U.S.C Department of Family Medicine. The ties that bind our community were felt again and again, even as God was ministering unto us through the familiar routines of ordering worship and proclaiming God’s Word.

As Kathy Ligon, Ruling Elder, Bethesda Presbyterian Church, Camden, SC; President and C.E.O, Presbyterian Communities reflected on her 27 plus years of service to our communities, I could see glistening within her eyes from the sadness of these days, also the joys of this moment and the hopes yet to be realized.

As the Rev. Jeff Kackley, Pastor, Dorchester Presbyterian Church, where the Rev. Dorothy Blackwelder has also served as Associate Pastor, called us forward for the Prayer of Ordination and the Laying on of Hands, not only was the Unity, but the very Spirit – Holy Spirit – felt, interceding with sighs too deep for words. (Rom. 8:26)

After the service, as we were gathering robes and saying “God Be With You!” I remember asking the Rev. Dr. Donnie Woods, Executive Presbyter, Charleston Atlantic Presbytery if he would be able to make it to the Rally on the Bridge scheduled for later that evening (estimate 15000 attended) and he offered, as he had been on the front lines of providing pastoral care to our families and our churches, that he as I would be taking some time to be with his own family. Family, the connection of family was indeed and continues to be the connection we all cherish – the heart to heart, the flesh and the blood that ties us together as one.

As Inez Mitchum, Ruling Elder, Park Circle Presbyterian Church, First Female Moderator of Charleston Atlantic Presbytery, Resident of the Village, introduced and Presented Russ as Candidate for Ordination, she could reflect on her involvement in her invitations and invitations of Russ to preach at our community several times over the past few years.

PC(USA) Presbyteries Pass Marriage Amendment

By Eric H. Doss Leave a Comment

While the votes are not officially tallied and updated yet, the presbyteries of the PC(USA) have voted to approve a change to the Book of Order that allows, but does not require, teaching elders and congregations to perform same-sex marriages.

You can view a video from the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), Rev. Gradye Parsons regarding this vote.

You may also visit the PC(USA)’s webpage on marriage.

For official vote tallies, please visit this page and download the PDF.

For unofficial vote tallies related to marriage, you can check out the Covenant Network’s page. (This is not the official vote tally and the Covenant Network of Presbyterians has been vocal in their support of this amendment.)

This vote reminds us that we are called to be of one spirit, but not necessarily one mind. As the Charleston-Atlantic Presbytery, we understand that our members have different points of view on this issue. We, therefore, join with those who celebrate this development and we also join with those who mourn this change. We challenge every member, and every one who seeks God, to love each other, to be gentle and kind, and to remember Paul’s words: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39).

Black History Month Resources

By Eric H. Doss Leave a Comment

Throughout the month, we will be highlighting Back History Month resources available in the presbytery resource center:

African American Presbyterian Clergywomen: The First Twenty-Five Years by Karen V. Brown and Phyllis M. Felton- This book celebrates 25 years of service of African American Presbyterian clergywomen, whose ministries grace the PCUSA.

African American Congregational Histories– This notebook is a result of the Committee on Reunion and African American congregations in collecting their histories and putting them in written form.

All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou- In her third autobiographical book, Maya Angelou tells of her time in Ghana and what it means to be an African American on the mother continent.

Call to Worship: African American Liturgical Resources edited by Kimberly Long- The essays in this edition of Call to Worship offer readers a deeper understanding of the history, theology, and practice of African American worship. It grew from the work of a task force of African American Presbyterian musicians, pastors, and scholars convened by the Office of Theology and Worship.

Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by Bell Hooks- This book shows the unfolding of female creativity and one strong-spirited child’s journey toward becoming a writer. She learns early on the roles women and men play in society, as well as the emotional vulnerability of children. She sheds new light on a society that beholds the joys of marriage for men and condemns anything more than silence for women. In this world, too, black is a woman’s color—worn when earned—daughters and daddies are strangers under the same roof, and crying children are often given something to cry about. Hooks finds good company in solitude, good company in books. She also discovers, in the motionless body of misunderstanding, that writing is her most vital breath.

The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe- This collection of essays provides a vivid portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria; considerations on the African-American diaspora, glimpses into the author’s extraordinary family life, and thoughts on the potent symbolism of President Obama’s election.