Ministries
The ECW maintains continuing ministries in the areas below. Two of our ongoing ministries are specific to our diocese, and two are national relationships.
To learn about our Church Institutions and Centers which we promote and support each year, please click here.
To learn more about our annual mission projects, please click here.
United Thank Offering
United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Through United Thank Offering, men, women, and children nurture the habit of giving daily thanks to God. These prayers of thanksgiving start when we recognize and name our many daily blessings. Those who participate in UTO discover that thankfulness leads to generosity. United Thank Offering is entrusted to promote thank offerings, to receive the offerings, and to distribute the UTO monies to support mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and in invited Provinces of the Anglican Communion in the developing world.
Although everyone can participate in the United Thank Offering, it is administered through the Episcopal Church Women.
The UTO collects funds at the branch level twice yearly. These two ingatherings are set by the Diocesan UTO chair, and are usually the Sunday following the Ascension and the Sunday closest to All Saints’ Day. At these ingatherings, parishioners from Episcopal Churches everywhere offer their Blue Boxes for thankful prayers and blessings received.
With the funds collected at these two ingatherings, the United Thank Offering supports many grants both here and abroad. Without the United Thank Offering, many worthwhile endeavors would not be possible. These grants are offered annually to programs “that significantly impact the lives of women and children because of Christ’s love.”
UTO’s mission and ministry continue to ask us to be thankful at all times and in all places. As we continue to bless others through our offerings, we help those less fortunate. Help expand the circle of thankful people by telling them about the United Thank Offering.
To donate to the UTO of Upper South Carolina, please make checks payable to UNITED THANK OFFERING and mail them to the UTO Representative (see the diocesan board contact list for address). For more information, please email upperscuto@gmail.com.
Church Periodical Club (CPC)
The Church Periodical Club is an Episcopal institution. Its mission is to supply books, magazines, tapes, videos, and computer programs FREE to those who cannot otherwise obtain them and to raise money to support this ministry. The ECW of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina is an annual, dues-paying member of the Church Periodical Club.
CPC was founded in 1888 at the Church of the Holy Communion in New York City. Mary Ann Drake Fargo and a small group of women began sending bundles of church periodicals, prayer books and Bibles via the Wells Fargo Stage Coach Line to missionaries in the Dakotas and farther west. Our delivery methods have changed, but not the commitment to supplying theological and educational materials in support of mission efforts around the world. The Church Periodical Club continues to respond to needs throughout the Anglican Communion.
Through the national granting program, grants are allocated worldwide based on contributions available in two funds.
The first fund is the CPC NATIONAL BOOKS FUND. Since 1922, this fund has helped meet religious and secular needs by providing printed and audio visual materials to individuals, churches and organizations affiliated with the Anglican Communion. There is a granting process which distributes the contributions two times a year.
The second fund is CPC MILES OF PENNIES FUND. This fund became the second national granting fund of CPC in 1989. This fund is for children only, pre-school to grade 12. In addition to providing printed or taped books and related materials, Miles of Pennies gives grants for the shipping costs of recycled children's books. The MOP Committee distributes the contributions through a granting process from the Miles of Pennies fund year round.
To donate to the Church Periodical Club, please mail your check with a notation for CPC to the Diocesan ECW Treasurer (see diocesan board list for address). For more information, please email uppersccpc@gmail.com.
Bena Dial Scholarship
The Bena Dial Student Fund, established in 1926 in honor of Mrs. George Dial, is open to active Episcopalian residents of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, who will attend, full time, an accredited vocational school, college or graduate school.
The fund is supported solely through contributions from ECW branches and individuals.
The Bena Dial Committee decides the number and amount of scholarships awarded each year based on contributions received. The criteria for judging the winners of the scholarships are: 30% academic (must have at least a "B" average), 20% extracurricular school/community activities, 25% church activities, and 25% financial need.
Applications are posted annually by November 1st. The annual deadline for applications is March 1st. Applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by June 1st. Applications that are not chosen are not kept on file for the next year, but candidates can re-apply each year they meet the criteria above.
For more information, please contact the chair of the Bena Dial Fund and College Work: benadialscholarship@gmail.com.
To donate to the fund, please make checks payable to ECW-EDUSC with a notation to the Bena Dial Fund, and mail to the treasurer of the ECW Diocesan Board (see contact list for mailing address).
The 96th Diocesan Convention approved a standing resolution that one Sunday annually would be considered "Bena Dial Sunday," and that the loose offering from that Sunday would be sent to the Bena Dial fund. The 2019 suggested Bena Dial Sunday is August 25, 2019.
Diocesan Seminarian Ministry
The Episcopal Church Women of this diocese recognizes the importance of our seminarians. We lift them up in prayer, and we minister to them by sending words of encouragement, birthday greetings, and special holiday greetings.
We also administer a Book Fund for our seminarians (the Diocesan Seminarian Book Fund, or DSBF). We raise money annually for this purposes, and twice a year, the diocesan board sends them checks from this fund. Our hope is that we can offset the high cost of books that is often a strain to our seminarians who live on so little. We hope that each branch will set aside some funds for the DSBF.
To donate to the fund, please make checks payable to ECW-EDUSC with a notation for DSBF, and mail to the treasurer of the ECW Diocesan Board (see contact list for mailing address). For more information about the fund, please email our CPC/DSBF chair at uppersccpc@gmail.com.