Lesley Wheeler-Dame Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:The Right Reverend
Leslie Wheeler-Dame
Bishop of Yukon
Church:Anglican Church of Canada
Diocese:Yukon
Term:2019–present
Predecessor:Larry Robertson
Ordination:2003 (diaconate)
2005 (priesthood)
Consecration:August 24, 2019
Consecrated By:Melissa M. Skelton
Birth Place:Windsor, Ontario

Lesley Wheeler-Dame (born 1955) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. She was elected and consecrated in 2019 as bishop of the Diocese of Yukon in the Anglican Church of Canada.

Life

Wheeler-Dame was born in Windsor, Ontario.[1] Her mother was an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Huron. She raised three children as a single mother and is married to Eric; together they have six grandchildren and one living great-grandchild.[2] In 1996, she moved to the Yukon Territory to work for the territorial government as a social worker specializing in family violence, suicide prevention and alcohol abuse.

In 1997, Wheeler-Dame became lay minister-in-charge of a Yukon parish. She eventually pursued ordained ministry and became a deacon in 2003 and a priest in 2005. She was an incumbent priest and regional dean in the Diocese of Athabasca before becoming incumbent at Fort Nelson, British Columbia, in the Diocese of Yukon, where she also served as an archdeacon.

In May 2019, she was elected bishop coadjutor to succeed Larry Robertson. She was consecrated in August 2020 and installed as bishop.

Notes and References

  1. News: Puddister . Matthew . Yukon elects archdeacon as coadjutor bishop . 12 February 2024 . Anglican Journal . May 15, 2019.
  2. News: Careless . Sue . New Yukon bishop: Blessed beyond Measure . Anglican Planet . May 15, 2019.