Bonnie Anne Perry (born April 15, 1962) is a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 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 ...

. She was elected the Diocese of Michigan's eleventh diocesan bishop on June 1, 2019, which made her the first woman and first openly lesbian priest elected as an Episcopal bishop in Michigan.

Early life and education

Perry was born to parents Ray and Mary Jane Perry in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, as the oldest of four children in a military family. Raised in a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

family, Perry felt that she had a call to the priesthood, and was received into the Episcopal Church which ordains women. Perry was awarded a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1984 from

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In 1988 she earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...

degree from Union Theological Seminary, where she met her future spouse Susan Harlow. In 1998 she earned a Doctorate of Ministry specializing in Congregational Development 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 ...

Evanston, IL Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

Ministry

Perry was ordained a deacon on June 2, 1990, then as a priest on December 15, 1990, in the Diocese of Newark by Bishop

John Shelby Spong John Shelby "Jack" Spong (June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. From 1979 to 2000, he was the Bishop of Newark, New Jersey. A liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator, and author, he call ...

. She served as Associate Rector for Christ Church in Ridgewood NJ from 1989 to 1991, then Interim Rector for St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Clifton NJ from September 1991 to October 1992. She served as Congregational Development Vicar for All Saints Episcopal Church, Chicago, from 1992 to 2000, then as their rector from 2000 to 2019. She was a candidate for Bishop of Minnesota in 2009.

Bishop of Michigan

In 2019, Perry was elected the Diocese of Michigan's eleventh diocesan bishop. She was consecrated on February 8, 2020, by Michael Curry. In February 2022, Bishop Perry joined other faith and community leaders in co-founding the group, End Gun Violence Michigan. On Nov. 30, 2023, Bishop Perry was appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the state's first-ever LGBTQ+ Commission.

References

External links

Web site of the Episcopal Church

Web site of the Diocese of Michigan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Bonnie A. Clergy from Detroit Religious leaders from Chicago Episcopal bishops of Michigan Living people American Episcopalians Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism 1962 births LGBT Anglican bishops Women Anglican bishops College of the Holy Cross alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni 21st-century American LGBT people

Early life and education

Ministry

Bishop of Michigan

See also

References

External links