By Kelly Marshall Fuller - The Sun News
May 26, 2007
Members of a historic, pre-Revolutionary War church on the Waccamaw Neck have now moved to a new location, but the ongoing dispute over religious beliefs and property ownership that split the congregation continues.
Members of All Saints Parish, Waccamaw, have moved to the former Twist and Turns furniture store on U.S. 17 in Pawleys Island, said church member Pookie Oates.
Those members hope one day for a ruling that will allow them to return to their former sanctuary, she said.
Meanwhile, members of the Anglican Mission in the Americas, another branch of the Episcopal Church, continue to worship at All Saints Church, just off Kings River Road.
The legal battle began in 2000, when All Saints sued after the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina filed a public notice that the congregation was subject to the church rules and that its land belonged to the Episcopal Church.
The 2003 election of a gay bishop in New Hampshire turned the church upside down. More than 400 people upset with the Episcopal Church's views voted to join the conservative Anglican Mission in America, a movement started by the Rev. Chuck Murphy at All Saints.
About 40 members voted to stay with the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
"We're not the rebel church," Oates said, referring to the church split. "Our name has always been All Saints Parish, Waccamaw."
The most recent development in the court battle came last week, when the congregation that remained with the Episcopal diocese appealed an April ruling by Judge Thomas Cooper to deny the diocese ownership of the church property.
However, Cooper said the group that stayed loyal to the Episcopal Diocese are the true representatives of the historical church and have the right to use the All Saints Parish, Waccamaw, name.
He ordered the Anglican Mission congregation to return items such as furniture, books and historical church documents, since those belong to the Episcopal Diocese.
But he upheld a 1745 deed that said the church real estate is held in trust for the benefit of the people of the Waccamaw Neck, for the establishment of an Anglican church.
That means that neither the Episcopal Diocese nor the Anglican Mission in the Americas can lay claim to the church property.
The Anglican Mission congregation will continue to call their church All Saints Church, said Senior Warden Dan Stacey.
No real estate or real property will be transferred while the case is on appeal, Stacey said. "I'm not surprised [about the appeal]," Stacey said. "The judge ruled that they didn't have any interest in the real estate and I'm sure that was a surprise to the national church."
A two acre site adjacent to the church campus is not covered under the original 1745 deed, is not held in trust, and does belong to the Episcopal Diocese, according to Cooper's ruling.
The property is less than two acres and is not developed, Stacey said.
The Episcopal Diocese has lost previous battles to claim the property, but has appealed earlier decisions.
The Anglican Mission group won the first battle in a summary judgment. But an Appeals Court panel overturned that decision and sent the case back for a full trial.
Cooper made a ruling in March and earlier this month issued additional rulings on motions for reconsideration.
All Saints Parish, Waccamaw, member Guerry Green purchased the former furniture store to give the congregation a place to gather, Oates said.
The remodeled building will have a kitchen, meeting rooms and a sanctuary.
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