Shay Craig consecrated as 12th bishop of North Dakota

The Rt. Rev. Shay Craig holds the bishop’s crozier during the March 12 service in which she was ordained and consecrated bishop of North Dakota. Seated behind her in Gethsemane Cathedral in Fargo are Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe (left) and the diocese’s Bishop Provisional Brian Thom. Photo: Courtesy of Brian Thom

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota ordained and consecrated the Rt. Rev. Shay Craig as its 12th bishop on March 14 at Gethsemane Cathedral in Fargo.

Craig, who formerly was dean of Christ Cathedral in Salina, Kansas, succeeds Bishop Provisional Brian Thom, who has served in the role since 2024.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was the chief consecrator. He was joined by Thom, West Missouri Bishop Amy Dafler Meaux, South Dakota Bishop Jonathan Folts and Massachusetts Bishop Julia Whitworth. Among the 10 other bishops attending, two were from dioceses in the Anglican Church of Canada.

Craig was elected bishop on Oct. 2, 2025, on the first ballot during the diocese’s annual convention in Fort Yates, North Dakota.

She also had served as canon for congregational development and vitality and as standing committee chair for the Diocese of Western Kansas, and as a member of the churchwide Executive Council.

As bishop she leads 18 congregations across North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota. Until Craig’s consecration, North Dakota had been without a bishop diocesan since former North Dakota Bishop Michael Smith resigned in 2019.