Steven Charleston

Steven Charleston (born February 15, 1949) is a retired American Episcopal bishop and academic. He is a member of the Choctaw Nation and a prolific writer, primarily on American theological, Indigenous, and cultural issues. He was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska from 1991 to 1996, and dean of Episcopal Divinity School, from 1999 to 2008.^[1]

The Right Reverend Steven Charleston
Bishop of Alaska
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Alaska
Elected	October 6, 1990
In office	1991–1996
Predecessor	George Clinton Harris
Successor	Mark MacDonald
Other post(s)	Dean of Episcopal Divinity School (1999–2008) Assistant Bishop of California (2008-2009)
Orders
Ordination	March 1983
Consecration	March 23, 1991 by Edmond L. Browning
Personal details
Born	(1949-02-15) February 15, 1949 (age 76) Duncan, Oklahoma, United States
Nationality	American/Choctaw
Denomination	Anglicanism
Spouse	Susan Flora Shettles
Children	1
Alma mater	Trinity College, Connecticut Episcopal Divinity School

Early life and education

Charleston was born and grew up in Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. In 1971 he received a bachelor's degree in religion from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, followed by a master's degree in divinity from Episcopal Divinity School in 1976.^[1]

Ordained ministry

He later worked in Native American ministries and held various teaching positions.^[1]

In 1999, following the divisions exposed by the previous year's Lambeth Conference, he was the author of the Cambridge Accord: an attempt to reach agreement on at least the human rights of homosexual people, notwithstanding controversy within the Anglican Communion about the churches' views of homosexuality.^[2]

As of 2017 Charleston was adjunct professor of Native American ministries at Saint Paul School of Theology, based at Oklahoma City University.^[3] Via the web at the same time he described himself as a "Native American elder, author, and retired Episcopal bishop", and maintained a public presence through his Facebook page of daily spiritual reflections.^[4] He has self-published several volumes of these reflections, plus two novels of a planned trilogy, through his company Red Moon Publications.^[5]

Bibliography

• Charleston, Steven (1994). Good News From Native America: The Words and Witness of Bishop Steven Charleston. ASIN B00A5WP3IC.
• Charleston, Steven (2014). Good News: A Scriptural Path to Reconciliation. Forward Movement. ISBN 978-0880283816.
• Charleston, Steven; Robinson, Elaine (2015). Coming Full Circle: Constructing Native Christian Theology. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1451487985.
• Charleston, Steven (2015). The Four Vision Quests of Jesus. Morehouse Publishing. ISBN 978-0819231734.
• Charleston, Steven (2021). Ladder to the Light. Broadleaf Books. ISBN 978-1506465739.
• Self-published annual collections of Charleston's daily reflections:
  • Charleston, Steven (2011). Cloud Walking. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-2-9.
  • Charleston, Steven (2012). Hope As Old As Fire. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-0-5.
  • Charleston, Steven (2013). Climbing Stairs of Sunlight. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-6-7.
  • Charleston, Steven (2014). Arrows of Light. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-7-4.
  • Charleston, Steven (2015). Turn to the Wild Wind. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-9-8.
  • Charleston, Steven (2023). Spirit Wheel: Meditations from an Indigenous Elder. Broadleaf books. ISBN 978-1-5064-8665-9.
• Self-published novels:
  • Charleston, Steven (2016). Bishop of Mars. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-3-6.
  • Charleston, Steven (2016). The Tao of Mars. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9851419-8-1.
  • Charleston, Steven (2017). The Madonna of Mars. Red Moon Publications. ISBN 978-0-9987540-1-7.