Adapted from Episcopal News Service
The Diocese of East Carolina has elected the Rev. Robert Skirving, a native of Canada and rector of St. John’s Church in Midland, Michigan, as its eighth bishop. A reconvened session of the diocese’s 131st convention, meeting May 17 at Christ Church in New Bern, North Carolina, elected Skirving on the third ballot.
The other nominees were:
- The Rev. Mary Cecilia Lacy, rector, St. Timothy’s Church, Greenville
- The Rev. Canon David Pfaff, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Milwaukee
- The Rev. Stephen Smith, rector, St. Patrick’s Church, Dublin, Ohio
“Sandy and I are excited that God has called us to East Carolina to journey forward with you,” Skirving said in a phone call broadcast through the nave shortly after his election was announced. “I am grateful for the trust you have placed in me, and I am confident God will give us everything we need to do the work of the church.”
Skirving has been rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church since 2005. He serves on the House of Deputies’ State of the Church Committee and represents the Diocese of Eastern Michigan on the Province V executive board. He was a deputy to General Convention in 2012 and has served his diocese as dean and chairman of its Commission on Ministry.
Skirving served previously as rector of Bishop Cronyn Memorial Church in London, Ontario. He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and of Huron University College in London, where he received his master of divinity degree. He and his wife, Sandy, are the parents of two. He has begun to learn Latin-American Spanish to help in his congregation’s ongoing mission partnership with the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic.
