Clergy
The Reverend Minerva Camarena Skeith
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The Rev. Minerva Camarena Skeith joined St. John's as our Rector on January 1, 2021.
Mother Minerva is a native of Laredo, Texas and is fluent in both English and Spanish. She moved back to Austin in 1998 and married her husband Paul Skeith in 1999. They have two sons. Samuel and Augustin. Her husband Paul was ordained a priest in 2017 and has been leading the “SoCo Episcopal Community” in south Austin for the last six years. She enjoys jigsaw puzzles, detective novels, running, and spending time with her family. Mother Minerva graduated from the Seminary of the Southwest in 2019. While a seminarian, she did her field education here at St. John’s Episcopal Church in 2018-2019. After graduating she served as a curate at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. As the curate of St. Michael’s, she worked with the Outreach Commission. She also helped create Picnic Church as a way to allow in-person services during the pandemic. Mother Minerva was a member of the Austin Interfaith strategy team for over 10 years and over the last year has been a leader with Central Texas Interfaith. |
The Reverend Mary Lenn Dixon, Deacon
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The Rev. Mary Lenn Dixon is St. John’s vocational deacon. She serves by helping the congregation listen to the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world and then go out to unite with their neighbors in addressing them. She came to St. John’s in 2025 after serving at SoCo Episcopal in south Austin for five years.
Deacons have a servant ministry directly under the authority of the bishop. In accordance with her diaconal vows, Deacon Mary Lenn is called to “serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely.” At St. John’s that has involved working with those who are aging or grieving within the parish, liaising with our two partner elementary schools and El Buen Samaritano, and supporting our efforts to feed the hungry and support public policies addressing food insecurity. She also works in various ways to support immigrants and refugees. Deacon Mary Lenn was ordained in 2011 and first served the three Episcopal churches in Bryan-College Station, where she and her late husband lived for three decades. With a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, she taught political science at Texas A&M for four years, then worked as a book editor at Texas A&M University Press until her retirement in 2013. Beyond the parish, Deacon Mary Lenn serves on the leadership team of the Health and Justice Advocacy Network and the diocesan Call to Feed the Hungry team. She formerly served as a dean of the Iona School for Ministry, from which she had graduated in 2011. She relishes spending time with her five grandchildren (and their parents!) and her friends. She and her dog Mitsy enjoy neighborhood walks, and her cat waits indifferently for them to get home. Deacon Mary Lenn loves music and silence, reading and working puzzles, and she believes the contentment that comes with elder years is a gift that was worth waiting for. Her favorite Bible story is the Resurrection account of the walk to Emmaus. With the two disciples, she gives thanks that she can look back on her journey with Christ and in Christian community and say, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?” |
The Reverend Paul Skeith
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Fr. Paul Skeith is an assistant priest at St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he works alongside the parish to cultivate a culture of evangelism that is genuine, welcoming, and rooted in everyday life. His ministry focuses on helping people grow comfortable talking about their faith, living it with integrity, and sharing it naturally in the places where they already live, work, and build relationships.
In addition to his priestly vocation, Fr. Paul is also a business lawyer, with many years of experience advising leaders, boards, and organizations—including nonprofit institutions—on governance, leadership, and decision‑making during seasons of growth and change. This professional background deeply shapes his ministry, giving him a practical, thoughtful approach to leadership, conflict, and the realities of institutional life within the church. Before coming to St. John’s, Fr. Paul served for ten years as the founding vicar of SoCo Episcopal Church in Austin, leading a new worshiping community from its earliest beginnings through a decade of growth and transition. Throughout his ministry, he has emphasized the formation of lay leaders, strong community life, and pastoral accompaniment during times of discernment and change. Beyond the parish, Fr. Paul serves the Episcopal Diocese of Texas as Dean of Bivocational Priests, supporting clergy who balance ministry with other professional callings, and as a Canonical Advisor, offering guidance on clergy disciplinary matters. He is also currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree at Southern Methodist University, with a focus on evangelism and congregational formation. Fr. Paul is married to the Rev. Minerva Camarena Skeith, and together they share a life shaped by faith, ministry, and hospitality. They are the parents of two adult sons and deeply value time with family, friends, and the wider community they call home. At St. John’s, Fr. Paul is passionate about helping the church be a place where people feel truly welcomed, spiritually grounded, and encouraged to grow in faith—both within the life of the parish and beyond its walls. |
