Prayer Chapel

Continuing an over 300 year tradition of serving the spiritual and physical needs of the Edisto Island community, The Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island’s vibrant and growing congregation provides a welcoming face to the Island’s visitors and new residents alike. The recently renovated Prayer Chapel offers people a quiet place for personal communion with God and opportunity to ask congregational prayer support for themselves and loved ones. Many of those who make use of the Prayer Chapel have stopped to visit the church’s historic graveyard. Others are responding to a personal need when seeing the sign on the highway pointing to this unique Prayer Chapel. Each Sunday, prayer requests left in the Prayer Chapel are brought to the congregation during the People’s Prayer portion of the worship Service.

To meet some of the other needs of the community, the church operates a preschool. A monthly food pantry, organized and managed by The Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island and supported as well by other local churches, distributes groceries to members of the broader island community, enabling church members to reach out to local residents less fortunate than themselves. Operation of an annual free dental clinic two weekends each summer for the area’s migrant workers and their families draws volunteers not only from congregation members and other island residents, but from dental professionals from Edisto and the greater Charleston area. Moreover, the Church makes its dental equipment and clinic organizing experience available to other churches in the Presbytery to expand the outreach of this ministry.

Each summer, the church provides a church home-away-from-home and a home-away-from-home, in fact, in its activities building and Omni center for church youth groups who come to Edisto Island from around the country to participate in area youth mission work.

The Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island, its pastor and its members are deeply involved in a variety of ecumenical activities on the island as well, including active participation in the island interfaith Ministerial Alliance, the annual Easter sunrise service on the shores of Edisto’s beach, World Day of Prayer, the annual Edisto Island Women's Conference, and a special celebration of Friendship Sunday, when the church not only welcomes new residents and visitors, but also provides an oyster roast for members and church visitors after the Sunday service.