AC closes six churches, merges two into one

The Rev. Fran Elrod leads the body in the closings. Photo by Matt Brodie.

GREENVILLE—In a moment of solemnity Wednesday, the South Carolina Annual Conference remembered the ministries of six United Methodist churches who have closed since the last Annual Conference.

The churches who have closed are Grace UMC, Abbeville, Anderson District; St. Mark UMC, Columbia, Columbia District; Trinity UMC, Smoaks, Walterboro District; Good Samaritan UMC, Lake Wylie, Rock Hill District; Ebenezer UMC, Moncks Corner, Charleston District; and Woods Chapel UMC, Greer, Greenville District.

“In a Kairos moment, God planted the seeds of these churches,” Cabinet Secretary the Rev. Fran Elrod said. “Today we celebrate the lives of each of these churches and are thankful for their ministries and community involvement.”

Elrod invited all who had been in relationship with the churches to stand as the church name was read.

“We give thanks for each of these congregations, for the many ways they have shared the good news of the gospel,” prayed Bishop Leonard Fairley. “And now we need to change the status of each of these churches. May we remember what they have meant to us and give thanks for who they have been and who they are because the light and the hope of their ministry still shines.”

Elrod also reported the merger of Bethlehem UMC and Mount Nebo UMC to become Triune UMC, St. Matthews, Orangeburg District.

Charge Line Changes

The following charge line changes were approved and will be effective June 25:

In the Anderson District Grace, Abbeville, was closed ad interim, effective Feb. 1.

In the Columbia District, Shady Grove was attached to Capers Chapel, Pomaria, to form the Shady Grove-Capers Chapel Charge, and St. Mark UMC was closed.

The Florence District had multiple changes. The Lake City Circuit was dissolved, making St. John and St. Luke station charges and attaching Lake Point to Ninevah to form the Lake Point-Ninevah Charge. The Johnsonville Charge was also dissolved, with Vox Memorial being attached to the Bethlehem-Johnsonville Charge and Brown’s Chapel attaching to Lake City to form the Lake City Charge.

Greenville District saw three changes. St. Mark, Greenville, was attached to Berea Friendship to form the Berea Friendship-St. Mark Charge, and Salem was attached to St. John, Greenville, to form the Salem-St. John Charge. Woods Chapel, Greer, was closed.

Multiple changes happened in the Greenwood District. The Pomaria Charge was dissolved, making New Hope a station church and attaching Capers Chapel, Pomaria, to Shady Grove in the Columbia District. The St. John-Warrenville Charge was dissolved, making St. John a station church and attaching Warrenville to Langley and Capers Chapel to form the Langley-Warrenville-Capers Chapel Charge. The Ebenezer-Mathews Charge and Lowell-Street-Panola Charge were both dissolved. Ebenezer and Panola become station churches, while Matthews, Lowell Street and St. Paul, Ninety Six, were attached to form the Lowell Street-Mathews-St. Paul, Ninety Six, Charge. The Ridge Spring Charge was dissolved, with both Ridge Spring and Spann becoming station churches.

In the Hartsville District, both the North Sumter Charge and the Jefferson Charge were dissolved, with all four churches—Antioch, Shepherd, Fork Creek and Jefferson—becoming station churches. Hebron was attached to McBee to form the Hebron-McBee Charge.

Six charges were dissolved in the Orangeburg District. The Livingston-Pine Hill dissolution makes Livingston and Pine Hill station churches. The dissolution of the North Circuit makes North and Trinity, North, station churches. The Edisto Charge was dissolved, with St. John, Orangeburg, and Wesley Grove, Cordova, continuing as Edisto Charge and Union, Cope, becoming a station church. The dissolution of the Pelion-Sharon Charge allows both churches to become station churches. The Eutawville Circuit was dissolved, with Eutawville becoming a station church and attaching Target and Gerizim to form the Target-Gerizim Charge. The Orangeburg Circuit was dissolved, merging Bethlehem and Mount Nebo to form Triune UMC, which was then attached to St. John, Orangeburg, to form the Triune-St. John Charge.

In the Rock Hill District, Good Samaritan was closed effective Sept. 17, 2024.

Walterboro District had two dissolutions: the Allendale Charge and the Smoaks Circuit Charge. The Allendale Charge dissolution allows Swallow Savannah and Gillette to become station churches. Green Pond and Little Swamp will continue as Smoaks Circuit, but Trinity, Smoaks, was closed.