The Chapel of Ease (1890)- in McClellanville South Carolina

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

The James-Santee Episcopal Church in McClellanville was built in 1890 as a chapel-of-ease for the Wambaw Church within the St. James-Santee Parish. I loved the huge tree with the draping Spanish moss.
When I was taking images of the church two nice ladies walking asked if I wanted it opened to go inside to take some pictures. Well that really made my morning !
Don
http://www.stjamessantee.org/about.html

 

[Asher Kelman]

The James-Santee Episcopal Church in McClellanville was built in 1890 as a chapel-of-ease for the Wambaw Church within the St. James-Santee Parish. I loved the huge tree with the draping Spanish moss.

Don
http://www.stjamessantee.org/about.html

This is a very humbled structure. It fits in with nature so well. I think this would also look especially impressive in B&W as one can separate closely similar tones by adjust them from the separate colors.

Perhaps you've already considered that?

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

When I was taking images of the church two nice ladies walking asked if I wanted it opened to go inside to take some pictures. Well that really made my morning !
Don

http://www.stjamessantee.org/about.html

These pictures are impressive with the filtered light illuminating the stain glass windows so richly! Is this still used or just when the congregation gets packed at Easter and Christmas?

It seems like you had a high window behind you, or you just opened up the shadows to get the interior lit well?

Asher

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Asher,

Is this still used or just when the congregation gets packed at Easter and Christmas?

Traditionally, a chapel of ease was a separate, smaller chapel that was located where it would be easier for congregants that were elderly or disabled to reach (as when the main church was high on a hill). Sometimes is is the building that had been the original church, but now there is a big new one (in a less convenient location) and the original one is placed in this special service.

Of course I have no idea about the present circumstances of the lovely building depicted here.


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Well, I see from the parish Web site that at least the current situation is a bit different from the classical one. The chapel of Ease is not in the same town as the "main church" and is considerably newer.

************

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina has suffered from a "secession" much as happened in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.

The "Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina" is in fact not a part of The Episcopal Church. In 2012, the bishop and most of the clergy left The Episcopal Church, motivated by what they found to be an unacceptable (in fact, "un-Biblical") shift in the liberal direction in the policies and practices of The Episcopal Church (such things as ratifying the election by the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire of a homosexual priest in a committed relationship as their bishop, and favoring moving toward the acceptance of same-gender marriage). They adopted the name "Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina" for the religious organization they formed.

"The Episcopal Church in South Carolina", of which St. James-Santee Episcopal Church is a part, is in fact a part of The Episcopal Church, in effect a "reconstructed Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina".

A number of years ago Carla and I were involved in a similar maneuver in The Episcopal Diocese of Fort worth, and in fact helped to found a new parish church, the Episcopal Church in Parker County, part of the "reconstruction" of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth after the bishop and most of the clergy left The Episcopal Church.

Those with an interest in this whole silly and repulsive matter may find this article interesting:

http://dougkerr.net/Pumpkin/articles/Episcopal_Civil_War.pdf

Its current issue dates to before the South Carolina "secession".

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

Thanks, y'all. Asher, this was behind me and I will have to play with B&W on the first picture.

This church is used regularly now. In fact there were Vacation Bible School flyers on the door I had to clone out from the first photo. It was taken before the nice ladies opened the church door.
They have a 11:00 am service at the old ''Brick Church" the Sunday after each Easter.

Wambaw Church did not escape the desolation characteristic of most of the South after the Civil War. By 1877 the majority of the congregation (only 13 families at that time) had relocated to the village of McClellanville and, once the Chapel of Ease in the Village was built, only occasional services were held in the “old Brick Church.” By 1918 an annual service was being held by the congregation who still welcome friends and relatives the Sunday after Easter for an 11 am service followed by a covered dish picnic in the graveyard. http://www.stjamessantee.org/-a-brief-history.html

I took a photo of the ''old Brick Church" located on old Georgetown Road in 2004 with a Canon PowerShot S60 that had raw. LOL

This is an excellent read that brings together the history of the area.
http://www.scwildlife.com/articles/mayjune2014/kingshwy.html
Don

 

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

Here is one that shows you how big the Live Oak tree is with this big limb stretching out to the left and check out the old chimney. Too bad the nice cross above the doors is blocked.
Don