Connie Shelton

Bishop Connie Shelton

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Raleigh Episcopal Area

shelton.jpeg Active
Elected November 2, 2022
Consecrated November 4, 2022

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Early life
Bishop Shelton is a native of Picayune, MS. Youngest sibling of three, Shelton experienced loss at nine years of age when her mother died of cancer. As a single parent, her father reared her sister, Patty, brother, Alan, and Connie. During college, her brother was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. The pain and hope birthed from loss are central to Shelton’s ministry and calling.

Shelton was reared in the Southern Baptist tradition. Her great-grandmother, Tameena Attaya, an immigrant from Lebanon, discovered Methodism upon her arrival in the U.S. in the early twentieth century. Attaya was a charter member of the Methodist Church in  Picayune, MS, in 1913. In 1986, Shelton found Methodist theology and ministry resonated with her life and subsequently joined Oak Grove United Methodist Church, Hattiesburg, MS, at twenty-one years old.
 
Education and Ordination
Connie Mitchell Shelton is a graduate of Picayune Memorial High School, 1982. Shelton holds a bachelor’s degree in Radio, Television, and Film, the University of Southern MS, Hattiesburg, MS, 1986; a master’s degree in Public Relations, the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, 1990; a Master of Divinity from Duke University Divinity School, 1997; and a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA, 2005.
 
Ordained Ministry/Appointments
  • In 1997, Shelton served three small membership churches in MS, two rural and one urban.
  • In December of 1998, Shelton was appointed as Executive Director and preacher for The United Methodist Hour of MS television and radio broadcast that reached across the Southeastern United States.
  • In January of 2005, Shelton was appointed as Field Education Director at Duke University Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina.
  • In January of 2008, Shelton returned to Mississippi to serve historic Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church, a flagship congregation birthed in 1836.
  • In July of 2013, Shelton was appointed Director of Connectional Ministries and Communications for the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
  • In July of 2015, Shelton was appointed as District Superintendent of the East Jackson District of the United Methodist Church.
  • In July of 2022, the MS Conference Cabinet embarked on an experiment. Shelton was one of seven superintendents to add oversight of a partial district, along with her presently appointed East Jackson District.
 
Episcopacy
Rev. Dr. Shelton was elected as a bishop of The United Methodist Church on November 2, 2022, by the Southeastern Jurisdiction on the twelfth ballot.  She was assigned to serve the Raleigh Episcopal Area (North Carolina Conference) beginning January 1, 2023.
 
Family
Bishop Shelton is married to Rev. Dr. John Joseph “Joey” Shelton, IV, and they have two daughters, Bailey and Jessica. Bishop Shelton enjoys music, deep friendships, restoring/reclaiming historic homes, and beach sunrises and sunsets.
 
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Mailing Address
RALEIGH EPISCOPAL AREA - UMC
700 Waterfield Ridge Place,
Garner, North Carolina 27529, United States of America
Email Address
Click to email
Phone Number (s)
(919) 779-6115 (Office)
Links

Website: https://nccumc.org/