Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton was elected to the episcopacy on November 2, 2022. Her assignment as Resident Bishop, Raleigh Episcopal Area, North Carolina Conference, commenced January 1, 2023.

Bishop Shelton encourages congregations to stay on mission! Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is the mission that tethers us to the way of Jesus. Discipleship begins and ends in relationship with the Triune God and one another. Connecting, inspiring, collaborating, and discerning are values Bishop Shelton upholds for the people called United Methodists in eastern North Carolina. Claiming Wesleyan theology and practice, Bishop Shelton envisions disciples joining God's transformational work of peace-building in every community.

Bishop Shelton's experience includes pastoral appointments in rural, urban, small, medium, and large membership churches in Mississippi, executive director of The United Methodist Hour radio and television ministry of the Mississippi Conference, director of Field Education at Duke Divinity School, director of Connectional Ministries of the Mississippi Conference, and as a District Superintendent.

Her immediate family includes her husband of 37 years, Rev. Dr. Joey Shelton, and their two adult daughters, Bailey and Jessica. The Shelton’s delight in an expansive family, both genetic and through baptism