This lively mix of one-on-one reflections on scripture and group conversations is an opportunity to spend time with Bishop Daniel P. Richards and his guests over a hot cup of coffee. Hear stories about life as an Episcopalian, meet friends from our diocese, take a front-row seat in rousing theological debates, and study scripture all with our diocese's chief pastor. And, as a former professional coffee cupper, you can count on some deep-dives into the world of coffee. The Rt. Rev Daniel P. Richards is the ninth bishop of EDUSC, an avid runner, and keeper of a vast array of trivia.
A lot of us know her as Deacon Mary or MJ, but recently she’s gotten a new title: The Venerable! In the spring, the Rev. Deacon Mary Jeffers was elected Archdeacon of the diocese by her fellow deacons. Grab your mug and sit down as Archdeacon Mary tells us about serving the diocese, honoring the whole person with whom we do ministry, what a deacon does, a little about the history of the role of archdeacon, and other fun tidbits!
Relevant links:
NAMI - https://www.nami.org
Temple Roasters - https://templecoffee.com
13 Aug 2026
A Cup with the Rev. Susan Heath
This one is meaty, folks. Sit down for a cup and conversation with the bishop and the Rev. Susan Heath. In this episode Susan covers her journey to the priesthood, her involvement with the Bishop's Education Initiative, and the inception of the Voorhees Scholars program.
Later in the episode, Bishop Daniel draws a direct connection between the duty of the church and Christians to provide and support public education.
Learn more about:
Indah Coffee (https://www.instagram.com/indahcoffee/?hl=en)
The Philadelphia 11 (https://www.philadelphiaelevenfilm.com)
15 Jun 2026
The Percolator | Benedict's Guide to Life
Today's episode is the first of The Percolator: not an interview, but a conversation that brews deep thoughts and fills you with energy.
Today we're discussing some personnel changes at the Diocesan House. The Rev. Canon Janey Wilson's new role, welcoming the Venerable Mary Jeffers, our new archdeacon.
Later in the episode Bishop Daniel talks about our Q2 book from The Bishop Reads, The Rule of St. Benedict (https://www.amazon.com/Rule-Benedict-Image-Book-Original/dp/0385009488) (with an accompaniment (https://www.amazon.com/Rule-Benedict-Spirituality-Century-Spiritual/dp/0824525949) by Sr. Joan Chittister).
Oh, and don't forget your spiritual swim buddy (you'll know what that means if you listen...or you can read a detailed description from the bishop in his Notes Along the Way (https://mailchi.mp/edusc/notes-along-the-way-15876091) from November 2025!)
5 Jun 2026
A Cup with Melody Wilson
Meet Melody Wilson, our new Administrative Assistant for Transitions, Diocesan Governance, and Finance. That long title is a fancy way of saying she's here to be a friendly face and helpful to you, our diocese!
Melody comes to us with expertise in data management from the transportation industry. She'll be managing our SafeChurch certification database and helping congregations with background checks and be working with our new diocesan transition officer (when he or she arrives). We love her gentle presence, can-do attitude, and positivity. She is a great addition to our staff family.
Also listen to the end for shrimp and grits recommendations and the story from convention about the hotly contested question: do you eat your cornbread sweet or savory?
We hope you enjoy meeting Melody!
In this episode we talk about the yearly Chrism Mass and luncheon for our clergy family. See pictures from that service and lunch from 2026 here (https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCQrEQ).
21 May 2026
A Cup with The Vivancos
In this second international edition of our podcast, the bishop sits down with our Diocesan Missionaries, Cameron and Roberto Vivanco for an update on their ministry in Ecuador. Hear from them about how Education Equals Hope (e=h) got started, how Cameron and Roberto met (they did not like each other at first!), and how you can be transformed by mission work in Ecuador.
Helpful links:
e=h website (https://educationequalshope.org)
Casa Gabriel, Second Chances, Ecuador (https://secondchancesecuador.org/casagabriel)
This episode is paired with last episode, A Cup with Brenda Martinez.
Inside you'll hear:
The story of Cameron getting involved with ministry in the Upstate (shout out to Church of the Advent, Spartanburg (https://churchofadvent.org))
Cameron meeting Roberto and starting ministry in Ecuador
Cristo Librador (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100015416375011) - a congregation in Quito
An update on the Estévez family and Casa Gabriel
Plus, how you can get involved
Enjoy pictures from the trip here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCTcgM (https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCTcgM)
8 May 2026
A Cup with Brenda Martinez
This episode Coffee with the Bishop goes international! The bishop and a group from EDUSC recently spent time in Iglesia Episcopal del Ecuador - Diócesis Central (The Episcopal Diocese of Central Ecuador) based in Quito. While there, he sat down with Brenda Martinez, founder of Health Initiatives, a partner of education=hope (https://educationequalshope.org)(e=h).
Hear Brenda's story about her ongoing journey of faith from a teenager whose grandmother prodded her to attend church on Sundays to discovering her place in the church as a lay volunteer translator to a vital part of the body of Christ bringing dignity and hope to her community.
Inside you'll hear:
Bishop Daniel's account of the visit (including our visitation team getting decimated by a young friend at UNO)
Brenda's connection to Holy Cross, Simpsonville
Brenda's English tutor (the American TV show Friends)
What ways our work in the States helps our friends in Quito
How you can get involved
Enjoy pictures from the trip here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCTcgM
28 Feb 2026
A Cup with Charles Egleston
Welcome to this episode, where Charles Egleston, seasoned researcher and archivist shares a bit about his discoveries around the history of Black Episcopalians and congregations made up of people of color who were enslaved during the 19th century in South Carolina.
Topics discussed include the first Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the Wateree Chapel in 1820 by William Clarkson and the first Black Episcopal clergy person, Thaddeus Saltus in 1881. The bishop and Charles also talk about the humanization of people who were enslaved through the recording of marriages in sacramental registers, sometimes the only existing historical record of those people of God, and how the memorization of The Lord's Prayer and Nicene Creed (along with a written copy of those prayers) was a surreptitious way to open the door to literacy.
Other tidbits include small histories for some of the Black congregations in our diocese, the proper way to say Huger Street and the Huguenots coming to Columbia, and the bishop talking about the joy he felt reading the past bishops' journals and discovering how similar his schedule is now to what his predecessors were doing 200 years ago (hint: they were all BUSY!).
Join us on this rich journey through our South Carolina history.
To see pictures from the bishop and Jessica's visit to the archive as well as some research materials provided by Egleston, click here (https://www.edusc.org/blog/a-peek-into-south-carolina-episcopal-history-with-charles-egleston/).
To see the archive, or to inquire further, contact Egleston at his e-mail address (chaegleston@hotmail.com).
15 Feb 2026
The Percolator | Light and Darkness at the Well
Today's episode is the first of The Percolator: not an interview, but a conversation that brews deep thoughts and fills you with energy.
Join us as we consider the middle of the Gospel of John - specifically a contrasting look at Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well. This discussion includes how we approach Jesus and share our faith, from a place of light or darkness, and how we show up as witnesses to that faith in our world during challenging times.
Later in the episode, we briefly lift up two black saints of the church, Moses the Black and Augustine of Hippo as we remember that our tradition is rooted in the Middle East and North Africa and to keep our picture of Christ global.
01:28 - Gospel of John review
15:40 - Lifting up the work of the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Moses the Black and Augustine of Hippo.
19:15 - A sneak peek of our next guest, South Carolina Black History researcher Charles Egleston.
16 Jan 2026
A Cup with Sister Ellen Francis, OSH
In today's episode the bishop sits down with Sister Ellen Francis, Order of St. Helena (OSH) to do a bit of demystification of monastic orders of The Episcopal Church. What does monastic life look like in our church? Do they pray "the hours"? Do they wear their habit all the all? As part of their discussion, they'll also talk about the ways in which the OSH has de-gendered prayer language in the daily office, what people could expect if they visited their home for a silent retreat weekend, and other interesting tidbits...listen for the story of the fiercely-loved cookie jar!
00:02:45 - Inclusive language in the daily office
00:08:00 - The prayer life of the monastic community
00:14:05 - The stability of living in monastic community
00:20:00 - Religious Life Sunday in the church
00:24:30 - You're invited to silent retreat weekends at the OSH
00:26:00 - Questions from the diocese
•••
Mentioned in today's podcast is The Order of St. Helena's Daily Office prayer app. Get that at the App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/osh-daily-office/id1414572848) or on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.osh.OSHDailyOffice&pcampaignid=web_share).
Relevant Links:
The Order of St. Helena can be found on line at their website at https://www.osh.org (https://www.osh.org).
ReligiousLifeSunday.net (ReligiousLifeSunday.net)
15 Jan 2026
Welcome to Coffee with the Bishop
Have a quick cup with the chief pastor of The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina as he explains our new podcast, Coffee with the Bishop. Each month, two-to-three episodes will drop as he talks with people all over our diocese and the world about all things Episcopal and coffee, too. Grab your favorite blend and pull up a chair.
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Spotify
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