Episcopal priest who served Diocese of Long Island named as canon to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

December 21, 2015 By Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers. Photo courtesy of The Episcopal Church

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The Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry announced on Monday that the Rev. Stephanie Spellers has been named canon to the presiding bishop for Evangelism and Reconciliation.

Canon Spellers has served as canon for Mission Vitality in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, which includes the Archdeaconry of Brooklyn. She also made Brooklyn her home before moving to the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

Spellers will be responsible for supporting the ministry of the presiding bishop and primate as it pertains to evangelism and reconciliation efforts at the local, congregational, diocesan and church-wide levels.

“Her work will involve helping to spread the good news of Jesus to the church and through the church to the world,” said Curry, whose investiture liturgy took place in November. “Canon Spellers will join Canons Hunn and Robertson in connecting me to the excellent work underway by the staff of the Episcopal Church.”

Canon Michael Hunn is the canon to the presiding bishop for Ministry Within the Episcopal Church, and Canon Charles Robertson is canon to the presiding bishop for Ministry Beyond the Episcopal Church.

“There’s no better time than this to be in the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement,” Spellers said. “So many of us are ready to partner, risk, heal and celebrate the good news in our neighborhoods. So many of us are hungry to fall more deeply in love with Jesus and to create spaces where different people can grow in that love, too. So many of us are yearning to follow Jesus beyond fear, beyond comfort and beyond the walls keeping us from each other and from our neighbors. I can’t wait to commit my whole heart and energy to this Spirit-work with our whole church.”

Spellers is currently a faculty member and director of Mission and Reconciliation at the General Theological Seminary in New York, where she resides. She is also the senior consultant and director of New Ministry Development at the Center for Progressive Renewal. She serves as a consultant for various church organizations and as an editor at Church Publishing Inc.

In addition to her work with the Diocese of Long Island, she was on the chaplain team for the House of Bishops. She served as the co-chair of the Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism (2009-2012). Spellers was the founding priest of The Crossing @ The Cathedral Church of St. Paul-Boston. Before ordination, she worked at Harvard Divinity School and as a religion reporter. She is a former Episcopal Church Foundation fellow.

She was graduated from Episcopal Divinity School with a master’s degree in divinity; Harvard Divinity School with a master’s of theological studies; and Wake Forest University with a bachelor’s degree in religion, where she began organizing for justice and peace.

Canon Spellers is the author of “The Episcopal Way: Church’s Teachings for a Changing World Series: Volume 1 Paperback” (Morehouse Publishing, August 1, 2014) and “Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other, and the Spirit of Transformation” (Church Publishing, August 1, 2006). She is also a co-editor of “Ancient Faith, Future Mission: Fresh Expressions in the Sacramental Tradition” (Seabury Books, January 1, 2010).

Spellers begins her new position on Jan. 1 and will be based in New York City.