Born and raised in a military family in Georgia, Canon Skelton spent most of her early life in the US Southeast and in Germany. She did not have a formal church connection growing up, but came to faith through the Episcopal Church when she was in her twenties.
She received a B.A. in English (Honours) from the University of Georgia, an M.A. in English from The University of South Carolina where she also served as a teaching assistant, instructing first year students. Twelve years later her education goals took a different direction as she received an M.B.A. in Marketing and Finance from the University of Chicago, a host of academic honours and awards during this time and an internship at Procter & Gamble. While working towards the M.B.A., Canon Skelton was also enrolled in theological studies through the Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) but doing course work at the University of Chicago Divinity School and Seabury-Western Seminary. She was awarded the M. Div from VTS and was ordained to the transitional diaconate in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and subsequently priested in 1991.
Some highlights of Canon Skelton's career from 1991 to the present include:
• Brand Manager - Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, 1992-93• Priest Associate - Trinity Wall Street, Manhattan, 1993-94
• Associate Priest - St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Trenton, NJ, 1994-96
• Vice President for Administration – The General Theological Seminary, New York, NY, 1993-97
• Vice President of Brand and Systems Development - Tom’s of Maine 1997-2001
• Congregational Development Consultant – Diocese of Maine, 2002 - 2004
• Rector - Trinity Church, Castine, ME, 2002-2005
• Rector - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Seattle, WA, 2005-Present
• Canon for Congregational Development and Leadership – Diocese of Olympia, Seattle, WA, 2008-Present
• Director for the Diocesan School for Leadership and the College for Congregational Development - Diocese of New Westminster, Vancouver, BC, 2011 – Present; Diocese of Olympia, Seattle, WA, 2008-Present
To access Canon Skelton's COMPLETE CV please click the link.
Of particular interest to the Diocese of New Westminster is Canon Skelton’s initial connection to Bishop Michael Ingham, the 8th Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster. She first met him in 1994, soon after his ordination as bishop, as she was facilitating the training for new bishops at The General Theological Seminary (GTS), one of the principal seminaries of the Episcopal Church, based in New York City.
Our diocese has a very healthy and active Education for Ministry (EfM) presence and Canon Skelton was a Mentor Trainer for EfM based out of the US southeast from 1981-1996. Not to mention as listed in the selected CV above that Canon Skelton is currently the Director of the Diocese of New Westminster’s Diocesan School for Leadership.
Canon Skelton leads an extremely active and busy life in ministry. Her current ministry positions in the Diocese of Olympia have her 60% as Rector of St. Paul’s and 40% Canon for Congregational Development and Leadership for the diocese.She does take time to share her life with a West Highland White Terrier named Teddy. Canon Skelton has three siblings: a brother in San Francisco and two sisters in Atlanta, GA. She also has an adult son, Evan who lives with his wife and two sons in Washington, DC.
Image: Canon Skelton's headshot - PHOTO: Dot Cellini, Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey