Installation Service and McClain Lecture

The Right Reverend Ruth Woodliff-Stanley was ordained bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina on October 2, 2021, at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston.

A native of Mississippi, the bishop earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Psychology from Swarthmore College before continuing her education at Yale Divinity School and Berkeley (Master of Divinity) and Columbia University School of Social Work (Master of Science in Social Work).

She was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Mississippi in June 1991. Her ministry has led her to serve as assistant rector and rector of churches in the Diocese of Mississippi and the Diocese of Colorado, a psychotherapist, and as the director of a state hospital’s department of pastoral care, as well as various consultant roles throughout the church focused primarily on conflict mediation, transitional ministry assistance, stewardship of finances and property, mentoring, strategic planning, and leadership development. Bishop Ruth has served the Episcopal Church Building Fund in multiple roles, most recently as senior vice president for strategic change. Over the course of her ministry, she has also served on the staffs of two bishops in the Episcopal Church—serving as canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Colorado and canon for strategic change in the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York.

She was elected on the second ballot to lead the Diocese of South Carolina in May 2021. She is the fifteenth bishop of the historic diocese, and the first woman to serve in the role. She is also the first full-time diocesan bishop of the diocese since 2012.

The bishop is married to the Rev. Nathan Woodliff-Stanley and they have two adult sons, George and John. In her free time, Bishop Ruth enjoys spending time with family and friends, creative writing, traveling, hiking, swimming, gardening, bicycling, dancing, cooking, enjoying freshly ground coffee, and riding great roller coasters.