Diocese of South Carolina remembers Bishop Edward L. Salmon Jr
The crowd who gathered for the memorial service for the Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr. , 13th Bishop of South Carolina, held at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston, July 6, 2016, heard about “The faith of Christ that formed him, the man of Christ he became and the challenge of Christ Ed Salmon would offer.”
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall S. Harmon, the Diocese’s Canon Theologian who served under Bishop Salmon, gave the sermon. The two were friends and co-workers for more than 25 years in various settings.
The Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence, 14th Bishop of South Carolina, served as the celebrant at the service.
“He was a shepherd,” said Harmon. “He saw the church as precious and served the church out of love, devotion, respect and admiration, doing it for the one who brought the church into being in the first place.”
Harmon noted Salmon’s strength as a leader, his wit and humor, his willingness to take risks and develop clergy, sharing personal stories from his own life as well as stories from others’ encounters with the Bishop.
He told of Bishop Salmon’s generosity, his innovative efforts on behalf of the church, his ways of supporting clergy who were struggling. “He backed his clergy and he built his parishes,” said Harmon.
In the weeks prior to his death Bishop Salmon was still teaching a Sunday School class at St. Michael’s and St. George, noted Harmon, using a walker to get to the classroom where he taught on Raising Spiritual Children. “Why did he do it?” asked Harmon. “For the love of the church.”
In closing Harmon noted the hope Bishop Salmon had for the church; his tireless efforts and confidence in what God could do. “Ed (if he were here) would be saying ‘Lift up your eyes and see. Lift up your eyes and think. Lift up your eyes and take risks… It is the spouse of Christ…Are you expecting her to soar mightily enough – or have you settled for second best? Have you missed an idea, an innovation, a creative risk that might be something you can’t imagine can be true but that God could do?’”
