For the Rt. Rev. Victor Scantlebury, assistant bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, the Episcopal Church has been at the center of his faith development since childhood.
A native of the Republic of Panama, Bishop Scantlebury served as an acolyte, choir member, lay reader and Sunday School teacher at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Panama City. After four years as a news cameraman for a Panama TV station, Scantlebury entered the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Caribbean, graduating in 1973 with a Master of Divinity.
He was ordained deacon in October 1973 and priest in August 1974. His first call as priest was to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Villa Caceres, Panama where he served as priest—in-charge for 11 years. In 1985 he was called as rector of his childhood parish, St. Paul’s, in Panama City, serving there until his election as bishop suffragan of Panama in 1991. In 1994 he accepted Bishop Alfred Marble’s invitation to oversee a cross-cultural congregation and assist with Episcopal ministry in the Diocese of Mississippi. Along with presiding at confirmations and ordinations, Scantlebury was also involved in prison ministry in Mississippi and with renewal programs such as Cursillo and Kairos Ministry.
Scantlebury’s experience as suffragan of Panama and his extensive work on national and provincial levels were leading factors in Bishop William Persell’s choice of him as assistant bishop. His national church service includes the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council from 1985 to 1991, and the board of the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief from 1988 to 1992. He also has a longstanding interest in youth ministry, having served as youth coordinator for Province IX from 1977 to 1986. He is currently a member of the planning committee for the House of Bishops, Bishops Working for a Just Society, the House of Bishops Structure of the Church Committee, the College for Bishops Advisory Committee and serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Augustine College in Chicago.
Scantlebury and his wife Marcia reside in Oak Park near Grace Episcopal Church. They have been married for over 30 years and have three grown children in Mississippi and Texas: daughters Victoria and Varsha, and son Victor. Marcia worked as a GED (General Equivalency Degree) instructor for the Jackson Public Schools, and in Panama was a preschool teacher.
Scantlebury has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Panama, and a Master’s of Divinity from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Caribbean. He was ordained deacon in 1973 and priest in 1974.
An avid baseball fan, Scantlebury has been rooting for the Chicago Cubs since his days as a TV news camera man in the late 1960s. He also follows the New York Yankees because of its relief pitcher from Panama, Mariano Rivera. |
