South Carolina’s largest United Methodist Church and two others in Lexington County are no longer affiliated with the denomination.

On June 6, at its 2023 Annual Conference, the South Carolina Conference for the United Methodist denomination approved the departure of  Mt. Horeb (1205 Old Cherokee Rd. in Lexington), Chapin UMC (415 Lexington Ave.), Pond Branch UMC (1913 Pond Branch Rd. in Gilbert), as well as Rehoboth UMC (located at 939 Holley Ferry Rd. in Leesville, just over the Saluda County line). 

Statewide, the conference approved a total of 113 churches' departure from the denomination.

The Chronicle recently became aware of Rehoboth UMC’s departure. According to a Facebook post, the church had 72 of its 177 members participate vote in the vote to leave, with 52 voting to depart.

Pond Branch voted unanimously to leave, while Mt. Horeb and Chapin UMC were nearly unanimous in their votes.

“I believe this was the right decision for the long-term best interest of our church and I hope you concur with that,” said Pond Branch Pastor Drew Martin in a Facebook post.” A lot of work went into the process of getting us ready to take that vote.”

Both Mt. Horeb and Pond Branch listed issues related to sexuality among the reasons for their departure, with Mt. Horeb emphasized that marriage is between a man and a woman and Pond Branch emphasized that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teachings.

“We believe in celibacy in singleness and fidelity in marriage, with marriage being defined between a man and woman,” Mt. Horeb’s discernment guide reads. “Mt. Horeb relies on the Scriptures and what orthodox Christians have always believed about God to guide all matters of human relations, including sexual ethics.”

Caroline Fogle, director of communications for Chapin UMC, shared that while issues surrounding human sexuality are capturing headlines, there are far greater issues dividing denominations in terms of scriptural authority.

Churches that have completed the discernment process are no longer affiliated with the UMC and can remain independent or choose to affiliate with a new denomination. — KK

Council considers new traffic study for Smallwood Cove

As pushback continues from some parts of the community in response to a proposed lakefront resort, Lexington Town Council is considering a new traffic study of the area.

At its regular June 12 work session, the council moved an item calling for a new traffic study for the area around the 93.53-acre Smallwood Cove development onto the agenda for its regular meeting on July 10.

If approved, the new study will be conducted by Bowman, an engineering and consulting firm out of Charleston. 

Mayor Pro-tem Hazel Livingston said buildout for the development is scheduled for 2027, adding that this needs to be made clear to the firm’s traffic engineers and anyone else involved.

The council discussed that the scope of the traffic study is still unknown, mentioning a meeting with the firm is likely.

At a special called meeting held May 30, many residents presented concerns as to why Corley Mill Road, which connects North Lake Drive to Sunset Boulevard, and the intersection between North Lake Drive and Sunset Boulevard coming into the heart of Lexington weren’t included in an initial traffic study, conducted before the project was announced at a council meeting last month.

The original study was commissioned by the property owners and included Andrew Corley Road, which sits past Beekeeper Court., and Pilgrim Church Road, which sits past Andrew Corley Road and turns into Old Cherokee Road. Smallwood Cove is set to be located off Beekeeper Court and North Lake Drive.

Pushback from many residents has been continuous since the development was announced, who mention concerns about traffic, over-development and parking.

The latest evidence of this resistance comes in the form of multiple billboards along major local thoroughfares U.S. Highway 378 and U.S. Highway 1 and near the Lake Murray Dam, close to where Smallwood Cove is to be built.

The billboards — which read, “Got traffic? STOP NORTH LAKE ANNEX” — went active June 12. — KK

Peebles to expand to Irmo and beyond

A local chicken wing chain is looking to expand to five locations, including one in Irmo.

Peebles, which started with a location on Rosewood Drive in Columbia and expanded with a second location in the city’s Vista neighborhood in 2022, is set to open the first of the new locations at 10708 Broad River Rd. in Irmo, the Post and Courier Columbia’s Mike Fitts reports.

“The restaurants will have variations on their menus from place to place, with the Irmo location having seafood dishes such as catfish and crawfish, while the Five Points location will have barbecue,” Fitts writes.

The chain hopes to open a location in Columbia’s Five Points by August and another in Camden before the year is out.

The spot Peebles is moving into in Irmo, located just past the intersection where U.S. Highway 176/Broad River Road splits off from U.S. Highway 76/Dutch Fork Rd., was previously occupied by Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant, which closed in 2022. — JL