Bishop Shay Craig

Bishop Diocesan

The Right Rev. Shay Craig is the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of North Dakota. She was elected on the first ballot as the first woman Bishop Diocesan. Bishop Shay was born in Omaha, NE and is the granddaughter of western-Kansas ranchers and Missouri farmers. She grew up in northern California, raised her children in Chicago, served in Western Kansas and now she has come home to North Dakota.

Bishop Shay has spent her entire ordained life in rural ministry. She has been a church revitalizer, a bi-vocational minister, served a mulit-point charge and as Dean of the Cathedral in the Diocese of Western Kansas. She is proud of the diversity, resilience, humility and humor that pervades the congregations across EDND and watches with great joy how the Holy Spirit is moving across these plains.

Bishop Shay is married to John Houston who remains in Kansas for the time being, in charge of the livestock: two dogs, five cats and a lot of kids and grandkids. 

Ashley Dobbs Hubbard

Jessica Krzewina

Diocesan Administrator

Jess manages the diocesan communications program to support connection and ministry with and among leaders, congregations and other local ministry contexts; organizes events that support diocesan community life and develop and sustain the ministry of all the Baptized; oversees financial administration in support of the treasurer and Finance Committee; handles human resources and benefits; manages diocesan property; supports fund-raising efforts; provides administrative consulting and support for congregations and other local ministries; and maintains the diocesan office at Gethsemane Cathedral.

Before joining the diocesan Ministry Support Team in 2022, Jess served at the Lutheran Church of Christ the King in Moorhead for eleven years, first as Office Administrator and Children’s Ministry Director, and then as Director of Children’s Ministry and Christian Education. In these roles she managed communications in various media, organized events, recruited and led numerous volunteers, assisted with financial management, and oversaw the office and information technology. She is excited to be focusing now on these and other administrative areas of work, where she feels God is particularly calling her at this time, and to share her gifts with the church in the broader diocesan context.

Jess is a deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, with a Church Professions Certification, from Concordia College, and a Master of Arts in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry, from Luther Seminary. She lives in St. Cloud, MN with her husband and dog.

Squirrel Nutkin

The Kitty to the Ordinary

Squirrel Nutkin, formerly “Pea,” serves as Kitty to the Ordinary for Bishop Shay. She strictly keeps the bishop on schedule, holds down/obscures items which were thoughtlessly placed on the “reserved for SN” section of the desk, and makes occasional appearances on Zoom meetings. Rescued from TreeHouse for Cats in 2016, Nutkin is probably 11 years old, was likely stray and is definitely a calico cat.