WHO WE ARE

Our History

In 1956, the Diocese of South Carolina was given a gift of land off 11th. Avenue North in North Myrtle Beach by the Tilghman family. In late 1968, the rector Rev. Herbert C. Gravely and the parish of Trinity Church in Myrtle Beach began planning a summer chapel on the property. After many months of work, the ground-breaking ceremony was held on Palm Sunday, March 31, 1969. On Sunday, August 31, 1969, the first Holy Eucharist was celebrated in the unfinished building. Until June 1974, vacationing clergy conducted worship services while enjoying the use of the apartment in the original building. St. Stephen's became a year-round congregation organized as a mission of the Diocese of South Carolina in April, 1974.

The congregation of 32 who had transferred their membership from Trinity, called the Rev. Edward M. Covert to be their first full-time priest. On August 1, 1981, the Rev. Preston B. Huntley, Jr., succeeded Rev. Covert as Priest-in-Charge. In 1985, St. Stephen's was granted parish status by the Diocese and Rev. Huntley became the first Rector. In April 1997, the Rev. J. Grafton Cockrell succeeded Rev. Huntley. In October 1999, Rev. Cockrell called Rev. Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant, II to serve part-time as Director of Christian Education, and his Assistant. On Easter Sunday, April 15, 2001, Rev. Cockrell retired.

St. Stephen's entire congregation, through its wardens, implored the Bishop to allow Dr. Merchant to become their next rector. On March 18, 2002, with the support of the whole parish, the Vestry unanimously elected the Rev. Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant, II, to succeed Rev. Cockrell. Dr. Merchant was officially installed as the third rector of St. Stephen's on August 31, 2002, which was 33 years after the first Holy Eucharist was celebrated in the unfinished building, which today is the Parish Hall. Dr. Merchant had served St. Stephen's in various positions from October 1999 until he was elected. Dr. Merchant is the first black priest to be called by a parish that was 99.9% white in the more than two-hundred year history of the Diocese. As a growing parish, we invite you to come and grow with us.

OUR RECTOR
The Very Rev. Canon Dr. Wilmot T. Merchant, II is a native of Liberia, West Africa. His paternal great-great-grandparents were among the freed slaves who were returned to Africa from the United States during the 1800's. His maternal ancestors were indigenous of the land that became known as Liberia.

He is a 1986 graduate of Cuttington University, Liberia, with a BA in Theology. He was ordained a Deacon on December 30, 1986, and advanced to the Priesthood on December 30, 1987, in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia, Province of West Africa. He is now a resident priest in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. In 1987 he received a Certificate from St. George's College, Jerusalem, Israel. In 1992 he received his Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and in 1993 he received his Master of Theology degree from the Weston Jesuit School (Roman Catholic) of Theology also in the City of Cambridge. Weston is now a part of Boston College. In 2000, he was awarded his Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.

Dr. Merchant has served churches and institutions in Liberia and the United States. He has continued to serve St. Stephen's since 2002 as their Rector. In 2012, the Diocese of SC experienced a split, and St. Stephen's was the only Episcopal Church remaining in Horry County, SC. Dr. Merchant has served in various leadership capacities within The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and The Episcopal Church. He was elected President of The Standing Committee of the Diocese of SC in 2013. He was elected Deputy to the 2015 General Convention of The Episcopal Church. In 2022, he was elected to Executive Council as the Clergy Representative of Province IV of The Episcopal Church. In 2023, he was appointed Dean of the Pee Dee Waccamaw Deanery of the Diocese of South Carolina, and he was re-elected to the Standing Committee. In 2024, he served as Sergeant-at-Arms of The House of Deputies which afforded him the opportunity to escort the newly elected Presiding Bishop, Sean W. Rowe, into The House of Deputies. In 2025, he was made a Canon of The Episcopal Church of Liberia.