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Welcome from Bonnie Anderson

President, House of Deputies

Welcome to my Web pages. I am Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church, and I am glad you are here. On these pages, you will find news about me, events I attend and work that I do on behalf of the Church, but that is just for starters.

One of my responsibilities is to appoint clergy and lay members of the Standing Committees and Commissions and many other groups that help to shape the legislation that comes before our General Convention every three years. In the “Between Conventions” section, you can read first-hand reports from the leaders of these groups that we refer to as Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Boards (or CCABs, for short.) This is an excellent way to keep up with the Church’s thinking in key areas of ministry.

As President of the House of Deputies, I also have the privilege of shining a spotlight on clergy and lay people throughout our Church who are doing excellent work or articulating great ideas about God’s work of reconciliation in the world. In “Featured Voice,” you will hear from people whose work and experience I consider especially compelling.

One of the distinctive features of the Episcopal Church is the democratic nature of its governance. Our General Convention is the Church’s ultimate authority, and at General Convention, the House of Deputies, composed of elected members of the clergy and laity, stands on equal footing with our House of Bishops whose members were themselves elected by the dioceses that they serve. We do not believe that God speaks to the Church primarily through a privileged class of elites. Rather, we believe that every baptized Christian brings special gifts and experiences to the life of the Church, and that we are strongest when every gift is honored and the fruits of every experience are shared.

The House of Deputies, includes up to eight voting members from each of the 109 dioceses, one area mission and one convocation in our Church. The General Convention is one of the largest legislative bodies in the world, and when we meet at General Convention, we are a site to behold. But our efforts to discern and distill the wisdom of the Holy Spirit do not end when I adjourn our final session. The lay people and clergy of God’s Church are always in a process of discernment, always attempting to understand where God wants to lead the Church. My hope is that these pages can be a resource, and perhaps even an inspiration in that discernment.

Out & About with PHoD
On May 5, at the 2011 Kellogg Lectures, Bonnie told audiences at Episcopal Divinity School that "the church is stuck in an organizational model" with "a bureaucracy with rules, roles, and relationships that we accept as our social reality."

In her series, titled "Courageous Change: What it takes, and how it happens," she said "The church needs to be a movement. Right now we are an organization. We have a critical mass of 2 million ministers."

Download her lectures:
Courageous Change: Part One  (Note: Demographic data on page 6 has been modified to reflect the current demographics of the church.)
Courageous Change: Part Two

Read the Episcopal News Service article about the lecture series.

 

Read more about Bonnie's work throughout the church...
Featured Voice

Sare Gordy
God and Story

Stretching from my first memory until this present moment there has been God and there has been Story...

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Between Conventions

Time, Talent, and Treasure
A report from the Standing Commission on Stewardship and Development

The words are so well known to anyone involved with stewardship in the church, but do they really address the challenges that...

read more »



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