Bishop Emeritus Mark Lawrence

The Rt. Rev. Mark Joseph Lawrence

BISHOP Emeritus OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Bishop Mark Lawrence accepted Bishop Edgar’s invitation to serve as Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese in January of 2023, assisting with Parish Visitations.

“A year ago I had the privilege of spending multiple hours with Bishop Lawrence, as he handed the keys to the diocese over to me,” said Bishop Edgar. “During that time my already deep respect for him grew deeper, and my appetite to spend more time with him was only whetted. I’m so grateful for his willingness to return. I checked with his wife, Allison, first – so we’re good!”

Bishop Lawrence stepped back from diocesan life when Bishop Edgar was consecrated in March of 2022. Lawrence began as Bishop Emeritus in January of this year.

“Having served this incredibly lively diocese, which loves its bishop’s presence as part of its common life, I understand the enormous workload upon Bishop Edgar,” says Lawrence, “and I am glad to come alongside to help with parish visitations at this time.

Bishop Lawrence is also serving as the Interim Executive Director of the Anglican Leadership Institute which is in session from February 1-22.

Bishop Lawrence served as Bishop of the Diocese from his consecration at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul on January 26, 2008 until the consecration of Bishop Edgar on March 12, 2022.

Bishop Lawrence was born in Bakersfield, California, on March 19, 1950. A fifth generation Californian he was educated at California State University, Bakersfield (BA, 1976) and Trinity School for Ministry (M. Div. 1980). He has also received honorary degrees from Nashotah House (D.D. 2008) and Sewanee (D.D. 2009). He has ministered in a wide variety of parish settings from suburban church plant, rural mission, inner city church, to downtown parish in California and Pennsylvania. These include Holy Family, Fresno, CA; Saint Mark’s, Shafter, California (1981-1984); Saint Stephen’s, McKeesport, Pennsylvania (1984-1997) where he also established on Mon Valley Tri-Church Ministry taking two smaller congregations under a multi-staff network; and Saint Paul’s, Bakersfield, California (1997-2007). Known for being a dedicated pastor-teacher, he is a frequent speaker at retreats and conferences within the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina and elsewhere. He has also published articles on devotional and ecclesial concerns in various periodicals.

Bishop Lawrence has also been a participant at Lambeth 2008, GAFCON 2008 in Jerusalem and GAFCON 2013 in Nairobi and at the 2018 GAFCON in Jerusalem. In addition, he has been an invited observer at several of the most recent Global South gatherings internationally. He has been a member of the Anglican Church in North America College of Bishops since 2017 and presided over the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Convention’s vote to join the ACNA.

He is the founding Chairman of the Anglican Leadership Institute; and serves on numerous boards including Trinity School for Ministry; Cummins Theological Seminary; Canterbury House Board of Trustees; Porter-Gaud School Trustees; and Governors Board of Holy Trinity Classical Christian School.

Mark has been married to Allison Kathleen Taylor since 1973. They have five children: Chad, an Anglican priest and headmaster in Beaufort, SC, married to Wendy, they have four children; daughter Adelia, married to Stephen Matson who is the pastor of Family Ministry at Grace Anglican in Grove City, PA and parents of three children; middle daughter, Emily, married to Jacob Jefferis, parents of five children live in Grove City, PA; Joseph, ordained priest, serving as an Instructor at Holy Trinity Classical School and as a priest associate at the Parish Church of St. Helena in Beaufort, SC, married to Joette, they have three children; and Chelsea, married to Jason Hamshaw, is Rector of All Saints Church, in Florence, SC, they have four boys.

Mark enjoys reading on various subjects, particularly literature, biography, and history; out-of-door activities such as hiking, backpacking, canoeing, fishing, and jogging. (revised 5-6-19)

Photographs

Download high resolution photos of Bishop Lawrence: Bishop Lawrence by Sue Careless. Bishop Lawrence with Clergy at Renewal of Vows (2015) by Joy Hunter. Formal portrait by Abe Thomy.

View e-mail messages from Bishop Lawrence.

Visit the Bishop’s Blog: http://bishopmarklawrence.org/

An Interview: “With You in Fear and Trembling”

Bishop Lawrence Looks Back on 14-Year Episcopacy On January 6, 2022, I had the opportunity to sit down with Bishop Lawrence to talk about his ministry within the diocese over the last 14 years. The following is a condensed version of our conversation. -Joy Hunter, Editor How has being bishop differed from what you thought it would be coming in? What surprised you? In a nutshell, I would say the breadth of the office. Because of the realities on the ...
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Clergy Reflect on Lawrence’s Leadership

“A Loving and Gracious Pastor to All” Thank you to the clergy who submitted reflections about Bishop Lawrence’s leadership. Unfortunately we did not have space to include them all. The Rev. Gary Beson One memory of Bishop Lawrence that I hope I never forget came while I was still a student in Seminary. Susan and I had become close friends with his son Joseph, his wife Joette and at the time their two daughters, Samantha and Sophia. The Joe Lawrence ...
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Swallows on line by Hassan Pasha Unsplash

Before Worrying, Consider…

Recently I finished re-reading Mary Oliver’s Owls and Other Fantasies, a book of poetry and essays about birds—hawks, hummingbirds, herons, and a dozen others. It reminded me of a day in the middle of May twenty years ago when swallows arrived en masse in my neighborhood in California. I first noticed them on a Friday morning; it was my day off. They flit above the broad street separating our house from our neighbors. As I studied their activities, there seemed ...
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Bishop Lawrence: A Lenten Discipline for a Shuttered Season

Lent begins today, and as the effects of this pandemic continue to shutter and mask so much of life, I search about for a fruitful Lenten discipline to embrace. I found mine from last Sunday’s gospel reading. The Transfiguration narrative (Mark 9:2-9) has left me like the disciples longing to see Jesus alone and upon hearing the voice from heaven—“This is my beloved Son”—to listen to him. To see Jesus, to really see him is to follow him. To listen ...
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The Marriage of the Virgin

An Advent Meditation Until I was standing before Corrado Giaquinito’s Marriage of the Virgin, I had never thought about the wedding of Joseph and Mary. Certainly, I had read countless times in Matthew’s Gospel how Joseph took Mary to be his wife, but of the wedding, I had given little attention. Seeing the Italian painter’s rendition changed that. He portrays Joseph looking humbled, stooped—as if bent by life—weighed down by burdens. Mary, conversely, stands upright, aglow and with an otherworldly ...
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