Talk:Anglican Diocese of South Carolina

Pre-2012 history

The section on pre-2012 history has been deleted and reverted a couple of times so I would suggest discussing it here. My view is that it doesn't belong in this article. The whole thing was moved to the article about the old diocese. Repeating the exact same material in this article seems silly to me. Moreover, it has been decided that the Anglican diocese is not the same organization as the pre-2012 diocese. The Anglicans used to claim they were the successor diocese, but they no longer make that claim (having been legally prohibited from doing so). In my view, this article should be equally clear that today's diocese is a different entity than the old Episcopal diocese. IF the pre-2012 history is mentioned here, it needs to be clear that today's Anglican diocese is a different entity from the old and new Episcopal diocese. That's my opinion, anyway. Dunncon13 (talk) 20:46, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

My view is that a reader should not have to click to another article to get the basic background needed for this article to make sense. I am the editor who has re-added one section of the pre-2012 history (not the entire pre-2012 history) back into the article merely for the sake of providing context. There is no confusion as to which diocese we are talking about, especially after recent edits. Ltwin (talk) 01:25, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

SC Anglican Cursillo

Back in 1949 a group of young men from the Spanish Catholic Action movement were attempting to renew the church in Palma, Majorca, Spain. They had worked long and hard to get people more involved and to heal the wounds of a long, hard war. They sought to counter the non-Christian world they were living in with its rise of secular values by escorting pilgrims on the Camino De Santiago, or the path across northern Spain to the Cathedral of St. James in Santiago. Pilgrims had traveled this path for more than a thousand years, stopping at shrines and holy sites along the way. The idea was to accompany pilgrims on the journey and teach them about the basics of true Christianity as they walked the almost six-hundred mile route over a period of about a month. But all their efforts floundered. In fact, each attempt seemed worse than the one before. They were at the point of giving up. Then one evening, one of the men who had been working to develop the program received an unexpected call from the chaplain of the local prison asking for a couple of volunteers to come to the prison and help with a difficult problem. Two young men were to be executed the next day, but they would have nothing to do with the chaplain. The chaplain thought perhaps a layman could reach them.

The man who received the call was frightened at the prospect of entering a prison, but after considerable prayer, he called a friend to join him in responding to the chaplain's call. Neither man had ever been to a prison, but they agreed to come. As the two men entered the cell, they encountered the condemned pair playing cards and gambling with the guards. Prison rules dictated that two guards must stay in the cell with the condemned men on the last night before execution. Their cell was littered with pornographic magazines and pin-ups. The condemned men seemed bent only on swapping dirty stories and gambling the night away. One of the two men the chaplain had called was Eduardo Bonnin. He asked for permission to let them take the place of the guards. When this had been granted, they began talking to the prisoners, listening to their stories. Gradually, they won the prisoners' confidence and eventually, Eduardo said to them: "We came here to ask a favor of you."

At this point, the two men laughed loud and long. "A favor? Don't you realize that later this morning we..." and he made a gesture across his neck of being executed. "But there is something you can do," said Bonnin. "We only wanted you to recommend something to the Lord for us. You are the only people we have met who know when they will meet the Lord face to face. Neither the Pope nor rulers nor rich nor poor know when they will meet God, yet you do. We want you to say something to Him. We feel it is so urgent. We have this wonderful project from which we expected great fruits, but so far we have failed miserably to get it going. We want you to ask the Lord to help us." And Bonnin proceeded to explain their hopes and anxieties concerning the program.

As the night worn on, they spoke of Christ and His love and mercy. They spoke of how the good thief had "stolen" heaven, and they talked about forgiveness. In the early hours of the morning, the young men repented and received Jesus as their Savior. The chaplain heard the confessions of the inmates and held a private mass. The two inmates, Bonnin and his friend all received the Eucharist.

One of those men wrote to his family that night, and this is a translation from the Spanish:

Dearest family, so close to my heart, These lines I am writing are the last you will receive from your son and brother. I am writing them more with my heart than my pen. I am in the condemned cell and have only a few hours remaining before I leave this life. After my life of ill luck, God has granted me the extraordinary grace of enabling me to recognize my past faults and making peace with Him. He has given me this opportunity for sincere confession, which has opened, little by little, the gates of heaven.

It only remains for me to ask your pardon for all the heartaches I gave you during my life, with my straying, to recommend to my brothers whom I love with all my heart never to stray from the path of duty that you, my parents, taught us to follow. I never remembered you with such affection as at this moment. The end of my life has arrived. Praise be to God, who gave me these moments to ransom my life and to die, as do those men who have faith.

My last thoughts on Earth are with you. Adios, until eternity. When invited to have breakfast with the condemned men, Bonnin could not eat. He was too nervous. A short while later, they were led to the execution. One of them cried out for Eduardo Bonnin, and Eduardo told of how that man died, holding Eduardo's crucifix in one hand as Eduardo knelt beside him, praying for him. These two inmates were executed in January 1949. The project that Eduardo Bonnin and his companions had in mind, and that they were unsuccessful in launching despite all their trials and efforts, was referred to as "Cursillos de Christiandad", Cursillo.

Apparently, the condemned men did as they were asked. Soon afterward, the Cursillo Movement began to experience success after success. In fact, the movement became so successful, it was adapted into at three and a half day experience held at various places around the world. Today, Cursillo is on every continent and held in churches of various denominations.

As we now know, God indeed did bless the efforts of Bonnin and his fellow evangelists in the years to come, and from that meager beginning, grew what is now a worldwide movement in the church that drastically changes lives today….known to us here in the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, as Cursillo! Cursillo is still alive and well in the world and is still making an impact for the Kingdom of God, particularly here in South Carolina where over 5000 "pilgrims" have attended a Cursillo Weekend. May God continue to bless this movement and may we all appreciate the wonderful opportunity God gives His people, of all denominations, to attend and realize a deeper understanding of each of our own apostolic callings.

Father Tom Woodle The Well by the Sea

SC Anglican Cursillo