Meet our Priest-in-charge
The Reverend Courtney Davis-Shoemaker
The Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley called the Reverend Courtney Davis-Shoemaker as priest-in-charge of St. Peter’s, Charleston, in October 2024. Rev Courtney began her work on November 1, 2024. Ordained to the priesthood in 2009, Rev. Courtney has served for the past five years as assistant priest of St. Stephen’s, Charleston.
The Rev. Davis-Shoemaker looks forward to creatively moving the church forward. “With Bishop Woodliff- Stanley’s support, I will explore alternative times for worship and how we may best engage non-churchgoers and Episcopalians who may have left the church,” said Davis-Shoemaker. “This will be a time to experiment in how we spread the message of God’s unending love and invite people to bring their authentic selves into a new community. I do not know exactly how God will use this new space and what will come but I am excited to prayerfully explore what God may be up to in West Ashley!”
A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Courtney graduated from The General Theological Seminary in 2008 and was ordained a priest the following year in the Diocese of Massachusetts. She has served as the urban resident at St. Stephen's in Lynn, MA; a vicar at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Haw River, NC; Episcopal/ Lutheran chaplain at Elon University; and most recently as the assistant priest at St. Stephen's, Charleston. Having moved to Charleston in 2017 with her spouse, the Rev. Adam Shoemaker, she has also served on the Standing Committee and Commission on Ministry in the Diocese of South Carolina. Courtney and Adam have three children and their family moved to West Ashley in June 2024.
Deacon for St Peter’s
Deacon Marionette Bennett is a Charleston native and cradle Episcopalian. In her own words:
“Since childhood, I have always been active in the Church, which I’m sure influenced my decision to become a deacon. Even though my calling came while I was living in Augusta, Georgia, I responded to the call at my church in Colorado. Thus, I was ordained to the permanent deaconate on November 2, 1996, in Denver, Colorado.
I was assigned to St. Stephen’s in Aurora, the very parish that had supported me throughout the deaconate process. While serving at St. Stephen’s, my main objective was to embody Christ’s love and presence to all. I worked with Hospice of Metro Denver as a volunteer for many years. I also volunteered at the Gateway Battered Women’s Services working with children and later serving as a relief counselor. At St. Stephen’s, my priest and I created and implemented a two-week expense-free summer program for children in the community. We also began “Messy Church” which drew in a large number of Hispanics, allowing us to work on our goal of becoming a more inclusive church.
I returned to Charleston in 2020, and in 2021 I was licensed to serve as a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, and was made Canonically Resident. I was assigned to Calvary, my home Church. Very recently, I was asked by Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley to also assist at St. Peter’s with the Reverend Courtney Davis-Shoemaker.
What an honor! At both places I will strive to be the heart and hands of Christ to all I meet and show God’s love by word and deed.