Luke’s parishes, all in the Charleston area, were facing financial challenges and unable to, on their own, call a full-time priest. Joining to share an interim priest, we began conversations about how to work together. In two years, we worked on a joint budget, struggled with sharing a priest while still worshipping in three locations, as well as working through the Appreciative Inquiry process, t
o identify our shared core values and what gifts each congregation brings to the table. In 2006, The Church of the Good Shepherd inKanawhaCity joined our conversations. At that time, the Bishop challenged us to become one worshipping congregation, with four mission outposts (buildings and people), and to spend two years talking about what God might be calling us to do and be together — or face the possibility that one or all of our churches might need to close. Over and over again God has called the faithful to “Choose Life!” We decided to take a risk and choose new life! The Epiphany Episcopal Fellowship (EEF) was formed in January 2007, with a governing council made up of all four vestries. We chose one of the senior wardens as Council Facilitator. On March 4, 2007, we held our first joint service, with the Bishop presiding. We had an attendance of 140, a full choir and compliment of acolytes, a joint altar guild, and Christian Education. For the next several months we experienced each other’s worship space. Rotating the joint services between the four church buildings. In the Fall of 2007, we worked together to choose a name and a site for the newly merged church. From November to December the Bishop presided over closure liturgies for all four churches and on December 30, St. Christopher was born!
