Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley convened a Strategic Visioning process for the diocese in 2023 which led the 233rd annual convention of the diocese to adopt 

  • A mission statement: 

Through the liberating Gospel of Jesus, we are seeking justice, spreading Christ’s love, and walking humbly with our God.

  • A vision statement: 

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina: Beloved Community for All

There were 12 lay members of the Visioning Team, chaired by Ray Sabalis and Deb Harris, plus additional support from our consultant Katie Ong, staff liaison Canon Ryan Currie, other members of the bishop’s staff, deans and members of leadership bodies, and additional working groups with a total of 22 members. The team held 13 listening sessions in person and on Zoom, addressed to each deanery, diocesan institution, affinity group, and the churches designated for catalytic, post-schism investment. Altogether approximately 250 members of the diocese from at least 19 different congregations participated in listening sessions. Not only did this process represent a truly lay-led, grassroots effort to discern God’s call to the Diocese of South Carolina–it helped us to identify new leaders who have continued to serve at both the local and diocesan levels.

Since 2023, the bishop’s staff and the leadership bodies of the diocese have continued to center the Strategic Vision and its themes of justice, welcome, formation and service in our collective work and growth. Many of the initiatives of the plan have been accomplished; some will be ongoing permanently; and some are still in early stages or preparation and adjustment. In the report, the Visioning Team stated the following: 

“Finally, we affirm that what follows is a living document. That is, as this initial work begins to take shape and bear fruit, we know that our plan represents a starting point for ongoing and substantive discernment about how we work together to become Beloved Community here and now.”

It was understood from the outset that some aspects of the plan would need revision as we began living into it. To that end, in the first quarter of 2026 the bishop’s office is working to create a new and updated version we think of as “Strategic Vision 2.0,” which will be shared with the diocese when it is complete. This update will show not only what has been accomplished but what is being fine-tuned, honoring the spirits, aspirations and planning of the original vision while addressing the evolving needs of a diocese which–more and more–is becoming Beloved Community.