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Church History
CHURCH OF
OUR SAVIOUR TURNS 25!
On November 20, 2005,
the Church of Our Saviour
on Johns Island celebrated its 25th anniversary with a
festival eucharist celebrated by Bishop Salmon. Past Rectors of the
Church, including Father Ladson “Punchy” Mills and Father Colton Smith,
were there to celebrate. To most South Carolina Episcopalians, a
25-year anniversary may not seem very significant, but for one of this
Diocese’s newest congregations, this was an event to celebrate! Our
Saviour’s mission “at the crossroads” of Kiawah, Seabrook and Johns
Islands is to “know Christ and make Him known on these islands,” and as we
moved into our second 25 years, we were committed to continue and
strengthen that ministry!
Most Lowcountry
Episcopalians know that the first Anglican Church in South Carolina was
founded in 1670, when the Parish of St. Philip was established in the
Carolina colony. More than a generation later, the Parish of St. John was
established in 1734 to serve the sea islands to the south of Charleston. St. John’s has faithfully served these sea islands ever since.
Early in the 1970's, with the development of the resort
areas of Kiawah and Seabrook
Islands at the southern coastal end of Johns Island, the need for a place
of worship was recognized by the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. In
1976, under the sponsorship of St. John’s, a congregation began to meet at
the Chapel of Palms at Camp St. Christopher. Through the care and
dedication of The Reverend Richard Belser, who at that time was Rector of
St. John’s, and with the assistance of dedicated laypersons of St. John’s and summer seminarians, the chapel’s congregation began to grow.
In 1979, seminarian Ladson F. Mills III acted as the summer
minister at the chapel, and upon his ordination in 1980, Father "Punchy"
Mills was assigned to the new congregation as Vicar of the mission.
Several names for the new mission were considered, and Father Punchy
suggested “Our Saviour,” the name of his home parish in Rock Hill. The mission was officially established as The Episcopal
Church of Our Saviour at the founding service for the new mission parish
on November 20,
1980. The
spelling “Saviour” was chosen to emphasize our Saviour.
The need for a larger facility became a necessity and in
1982, the Church purchased nine acres of property along Bohicket Road (now Betsy
Kerrison Parkway), just outside the entrances to Kiawah and Seabrook. The
multipurpose building was completed in May of 1986 and officially
dedicated in October of that same year. August of 1986 brought John R.
(“Jack”) Dover,
III to the Church as Priest Associate.
With the departure of Father Mills in March of 1991, "Father
Jack" served as interim Rector. In December of 1991, The Reverend Dr.
Colton M. Smith, III became the Rector. The Reverend Marilyn Powell joined the staff in the
fall of 1992 as the Deacon coordinating the outreach ministries and
assisting with liturgical and pastoral services. Then in 1997, a Parish
Hall with a first-rate kitchen, a new nursery, and three classrooms were
added to the Parish Hall.
Under Father Smith’s leadership, Our Saviour saw an increase
in the ability to minister both to its congregation and to the greater
community with the additional physical space. The Neighborhood Learning
Center was established primarily to meet the educational needs of a large
segment of the population on Johns Island. Marilyn Powell retired in 1998,
and in 1999, Bill Anderson joined Our Saviour as Deacon to assume her
responsibilities for the outreach ministries.
Our Saviour was recognized nationally as
one of two Jubilee Centers in our diocese for mission and ministry with
the poor of Johns Island.
The Rev. Dr. Colton Smith retired in
2001, and the Rev. Dr. Alfred T. K Zadig, Sr. served as interim rector
until 2002. In the spring of 2002, the Vestry called Father Patrick Finn
to become Rector of Our Saviour.
Many exciting new programs began and Our Saviour’s Outreach
flourished. The ministry to Camp St. Christopher grew, and several of
their staff are active members at Our Saviour.
Our Saviour is now
active in the Alpha program, and has a powerful ministry partnership with
St. James AME Church on John’s Island. A 7:30 am summertime beach service and an 11:00 am contemporary
service were added to Sundays. Healing prayer is offered at the Wednesday noon,
9:00 and 11:00 services. More people were confirmed in 2003 than any
other year in the history of Our Saviour. There was even a baptism in the
ocean. Our Saviour hired an Associate Rector late in 2004, the Rev. Marshall
Huey, to respond to the needs of the growing congregation.
Many people in this
Diocese have experienced the love of Jesus Christ at Church of Our Saviour.
Whether as a full member, a visitor to Kiawah or Seabrook, a Cursillo
participant, or a part-time resident, Church of Our Saviour wants to be
your Church home when you are here. .
