S*1134 Concurrent Resolution, By Courson
 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE REVEREND DR. JAMES FRASER
 LYON IV FOR HIS MANY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE TO GOD, THE CHURCH, AND HER
 PEOPLE IN THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND TO COMMEND HIM
 FOR BECOMING THE LONGEST-SERVING RECTOR AT THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE GOOD
 SHEPHERD IN COLUMBIA.

   03/19/14  Senate Introduced, adopted, sent to House
                     (Senate Journal-page 4)
   03/20/14  House  Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence
                     (House Journal-page 14)

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE REVEREND DR. JAMES FRASER LYON IV FOR HIS MANY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE TO GOD, THE CHURCH, AND HER PEOPLE IN THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND TO COMMEND HIM FOR BECOMING THE LONGEST-SERVING RECTOR AT THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD IN COLUMBIA.

Whereas, the Church of the Good Shepherd is an urban parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, serving the City of Columbia and its metropolitan area since 1883; and

Whereas, the principal Anglo-Catholic parish in the diocese, the Church of the Good Shepherd had its beginnings in the principles of the Oxford Movement and exists to provide the facilities, environment, and rituals for the continuity of the catholic faith as expressed by the Episcopal Church and to promote the mandates of Jesus Christ's Great Commission; and

Whereas, during the course of its 130-year history and service to the Columbia community, the Church of the Good Shepherd has been blessed with a number of long-serving rectors, notably the Reverend Mr. Lewis Nathaniel Taylor, who served the parish faithfully for more than twenty-two years, from March 1, 1925, until his death on December 3, 1947; and

Whereas, the Reverend Mr. Taylor, of blessed memory, was beloved by the parish and the broader Columbia community and was remembered for more than six decades as the longest-serving rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd; and

Whereas, the Reverend Dr. James Fraser Lyon IV was born in Cheraw on July 14, 1956, and received bachelor's and master's degrees in history from Winthrop University, a master of divinity from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in education from the University of South Carolina; and

Whereas, the Reverend Dr. Lyon was ordained to the deaconate in 1983 and to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood in 1984 by the Right Reverend William Arthur Beckham, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, and served as a priest assistant at St. Martin's in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Forest Acres before becoming rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in York; and

Whereas, the Reverend Dr. Lyon was called to become the thirteenth rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Columbia on July 1, 1991; and

Whereas, the Reverend Dr. Lyon has been married since 1980 to the former Sallie Powers Leslie of Bennettsville, and they have two adult children; and

Whereas, like the Reverend Mr. Taylor, the Reverend Dr. Lyon has faithfully served God and the parish of the Church of the Good Shepherd, and he has become beloved by the parish and the broader Columbia community; and

Whereas, on April 4, 2014, the Reverend Dr. Lyon will succeed the Reverend Mr. Taylor as the longest-serving rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly are grateful for the presence of the Church of the Good Shepherd and for the long, devoted, and sacramental service of the Reverend Dr. Lyon to the parish and to the citizens of South Carolina, and wish him many more years of sacramental and pastoral service to the Church of the Good Shepherd. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and honor the Reverend Dr. James Fraser Lyon IV for his many years of faithful service to God, the Church, and her people in the Sacrament of Holy Orders of the Priesthood and commend him for becoming the longest-serving rector at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Columbia.

Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be provided to the Church of the Good Shepherd and to the Reverend Dr. James Fraser Lyon IV.