South Carolina statement on rival clergy conference called by the Episcopal Church

November 8, 2012
By Diocese of South Carolina

The Diocese of South Carolina has been completely open about the concerns it has with the direction of the Episcopal Church (TEC) in areas of theology (the uniqueness of Christ and their understanding of the authority of scripture), morality (especially in issues pertaining to sexuality) and polity (and the self-governance of individual dioceses). We have expressed those concerns clearly and in good faith and have explained in detail the actions which led to the disassociation of the Diocese from the Episcopal Church.

So it was extremely disturbing to learn that on Wednesday afternoon, November 7, 2012, a majority of the clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina received an email that pretended to be from the Diocese of South Carolina but in fact was not. The sender of the email was not identified beyond an email address registered to an organization in Florida named “Domain Discreet Privacy Service”. The corresponding web page is hosted by a San Francisco organization stating: “This temporary landing page will be replaced when you publish your site.”

The email was an invitation to a “Clergy Day for the Diocese,” to be hosted at Holy Communion, Charleston and presided over by Bishop. Charles von Rosenberg (A retired bishop from Tennessee).
There are several crucial facts that need to be addressed regarding this announcement.

First, this message did not come from the Diocese of South Carolina.

The sender intentionally impersonated the diocese with an unauthorized use of our Diocesan seal and by stating that the sender was the Diocese of South Carolina.

The sender intentionally impersonated the diocese with an unauthorized use of our Diocesan seal and by stating that the sender was the Diocese of South Carolina.  the rest