Bonnie Anderson was the former president of the

House of Deputies The House of Deputies is one of the legislative houses of the bicameral General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The other is the House of Bishops. Membership Each diocese of the Episcopal Church, as well as the ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

. During her tenure, she was one of the two senior figures in the church, together with the Presiding Bishop. She was first elected Vice-President of the House of Deputies in 2004, and was subsequently elected as President in 2006 and re-elected in 2009. She opted not to run for re-election in 2012. She was noted for her efforts to support the role of

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

in the governance of the church. She is from the

Episcopal Diocese of Michigan The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan is the Episcopal diocese comprising more than 70 congregations in the southeast part of Michigan. The diocese traces its roots to the founding of St. Paul's, Detroit in 1824. It became a diocese of the Episcop ...

, where she served as Canon to the Ordinary and President of the Standing Committee. Anderson is a 1968 graduate of the University of the Pacific in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

and received

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

and

M.S.W. The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

degrees from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Anderson holds honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degrees from the

Episcopal Divinity School The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...

and the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

(Sewanee),"Award-winning journalist Jim Lehrer to give Founders’ Day Address"
''Sewanee Today'', September 29, 2009. as well as honorary

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

degrees from

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased operations as a residential seminary granting the Master of Divinity degree in May 201 ...

and the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

References

External links

"Past Presidents: Bonnie Anderson (2006-2012)"

official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Bonnie Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American Episcopalians University of Michigan School of Social Work alumni University of the Pacific (United States) alumni