Who We Are

OUR HISTORY
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church originated as a summer chapel of Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach in 1969. Until 1974, when it became a year-round mission, vacationing clergy would conduct worship services and make use of the apartment in the original building. The congregation of 32 which had transferred its membership from Trinity, called on the Rev. Edward M. Covert to be its first full-time priest. In 1981, the Rev. Preston B. Huntley, Jr., succeeded Rev. Covert as pastor and in 1985, St. Stephen's was accepted as a Parish in the Diocese of South Carolina. Under the guidance of Reverends Covert and Huntley, construction of a Columbarium and Bell Tower was begun in 1980 and completed in 1985.

In 1997, the Rev. J. Grafton Cockrell succeeded Rev. Huntley and called on the Rev. Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant II to serve as his assistant. Upon the retirement of Rev. Cockrell in 2001, the congregation of 250 parishioners implored the Diocese to allow Rev. Merchant to become their new Rector. Under his guidance and leadership, St. Stephen's continues to be an active and growing church. Come grow with us.

OUR RECTOR
The Rev. Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant, II is the third Rector and fourth full-time priest of St. Stephen's. A native of Liberia, West Africa, he received his formal education there and in the United States. His Doctorate of Ministry is from Drew University in Madison, NJ. Ordained in 1986, he has served parishes in Monrovia, Liberia; Cambridge, MA; Paterson, NJ; and the Bronx in NY. Dr. Merchant served St. Stephen's in various capacities from October 1999 and was elected our Rector in March 2002.

THE COLUMBARIUM
Throughout its history, it has been the function of the church to baptize us when we are born and to bury us when we die. Concerned with its outreach ministry to the community and wishing to provide a dignified Christian burial at a nominal cost, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church offers the privilege of burial in its parish Columbarium. The Columbarium is a vault with niches for urns containing the ashes of the cremated.

Front-lit and shining white against the night sky or rising against a clear blue morning, the bell tower and surrounding Columbarium walls are St. Stephen's most outstanding architectural features. The five Columbarium walls are named for the four Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and the Apostle Paul. Simple and dignified in its concept, the structure expresses the ideal of Christian burial and evokes a vision of an old English churchyard.

Niches in the Columbarium are available to anyone desiring a Christian burial. The Columbarium at St. Stephen's is only the second one built in South Carolina and is the first built on church property. We invite you to spend a few quiet moments in our Contemplation Garden near the Columbarium. If you would like more information, please call the Church office at (843) 249-1169.