From the Public Affairs Office of the Episcopal Church: The Revd Stephanie Spellers of the Diocese of Long Island has been appointed to the Presiding Bishop’s staff as Canon for Evangelism and Reconciliation.
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 churchwide levels.
“Her work will involve helping to spread the good news of Jesus to the church and through the church to the world,” commented the Presiding Bishop. …
“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.
The Brooklyn Eagle reported on the appointment this morning:
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 will take up her position on January 1st. Read more of the press release here.
Photo: Stephanie Spellers, via the Public Affairs Office of the Episcopal Church