Melissa Maxine Skelton (born March 14, 1951) is an American Anglican bishop who served in the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

and the Episcopal Church. She was the 9th Bishop of the

Anglican Diocese of New Westminster The Diocese of New Westminster is one of five dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon of the Anglican Church of Canada. The current see city is Vancouver; previosuly New Westminster. The current bishop is the Most ...

, a diocese in the

, and was the 12th

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of the

Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon The Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was founded in 1914 as the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia, but changed its name in 1943 when the D ...

. She was the first woman to be elected a metropolitan and archbishop in Anglican Church of Canada. Skelton was succeeded in her ministry as Bishop of New Westminster by John Stephens on February 28, 2021.

Early life and education

Skelton was born in 1951, and raised in the US South, specifically,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. She came to faith in the Episcopal Church in her 20s. She studied at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

from where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English in 1973, and then at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

where she earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in English in 1989, after which she served as a teaching assistant. Years later she earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in Marketing and Finance from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. She enrolled at the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

from where she earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

in 1990. She was for a time brand manager at

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

between 1992 and 1993.

Career and ordained ministry

Skelton was ordained deacon in 1991 and priest in 1993. She served as associate priest at Trinity Church,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from 1993 to 1994; associate priest at St Andrew's Church in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

between 1994 and 1996; vice president for administration at the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

from 1993 to 1997; vice president of Brand and Systems Development at

Tom's of Maine Tom's of Maine is a U.S. manufacturer of natural personal care products. Tom's of Maine has been a majority-owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006. The company was founded in 1970 by Tom Chappell and Kate Chappell (née Cheney) in Ma ...

from 1997 until 2001; congregational development consultant for the Diocese of Maine between 2002 and 2004; and rector of Trinity Church in

Castine, Maine Castine ( ) is a town in Hancock County in eastern Maine, United States.; John Faragher. ''Great and Nobel Scheme''. 2005. p. 68. The population was 1,320 at the 2020 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institut ...

from 2002 to 2005. She then was rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church,

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

from 2005 to 2014, and also canon for Congregational Development and Leadership – Diocese of Olympia, Seattle, Washington from 2008 to 2014. As canon, Skelton developed a congregational development program that adopts the gather–transform–send model, and this program was established as the core curriculum for the College for Congregational Development in the

Episcopal Diocese of Olympia The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, also known as the Episcopal Church in Western Washington, is a diocese of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church in Washington (state), Washington state west of the Cascade Range. It is one of 17 ...

, the college that she founded during her nine-year incumbency at St. Paul's. In mid-2016 the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago added the College for Congregational Development to its program roster. As of May 2018, the School was active in four Episcopal church dioceses in the United States and one other diocese in Canada, the Diocese of Ottawa.

Episcopal ministry

On November 30, 2013, Skelton was elected the 9th Bishop of the

: it was on the third ballot and by a substantial majority at an electoral synod held at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was consecrated and installed in Vancouver on St. David's Day, March 1, 2014. The consecration event was a three-hour liturgy that took place in different locations, beginning at the Vancouver Convention Centre, followed by a procession through downtown Vancouver and then at the procession's destination, Christ Church Cathedral. Skelton was the first woman, the first American and the first person to have had a career outside of the church prior to ordination to be Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster. April 27, 2018, Skelton was named episcopal visitor to the North American province of the

Society of Catholic Priests The Society of Catholic Priests (SCP) is a religious society of clergy in the Anglican Communion which draws its membership from Anglicans who consider themselves a part of the liberal Anglo-Catholic tradition. Founding and early history The so ...

, which at the time was predominantly a group within the Episcopal Church in the United States. On May 12, 2018, she was elected

of the

, an office that comes with the title archbishop. She was elected by the members of the provincial house of bishops and the electoral college of the province on the first ballot. She is the first woman to become an archbishop in the Anglican Church of Canada. Skelton was installed as Metropolitan on Holy Cross Day, September 14, 2018, during a celebration of the Eucharist prior to the opening of Provincial Synod in Sorrento, British Columbia. She announced by letter to the diocese on April 21, 2020, that she would be retiring as archbishop on February 28, 2021, as required by the Provincial Canons, under which bishops must retire by age 70. Skelton returned to the Diocese of Olympia as an assisting bishop and in 2023 began serving as bishop provisional following the resignation of Gregory Rickel and until the installation of Philip N. LaBelle.

Personal life

Skelton married Seattle-based family counsellor Eric Stroo on August 15, 2015, in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Stroo is also a non-stipendary deacon serving in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia and currently on loan to the Diocese of New Westminster serving at St.Michael's Multicultural Anglican Church in Vancouver, British Columbia. She has three siblings: a brother in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and two sisters in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

References

External links

Biography at diocesan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelton, Melissa 1951 births Living people American Episcopalians Anglican bishops of New Westminster Metropolitans of British Columbia Women Anglican bishops University of Georgia alumni University of South Carolina alumni University of Chicago alumni Virginia Theological Seminary alumni