Dena A. Harrison is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

prelate of the Episcopal Church who served as

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of Texas The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, ...

between 2006 and 2019.

Biography

Harrison was born and raised in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and raised in a

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

congregation. She was educated at Stark High School from which she graduated in 1964. She then attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and graduated in 1967 after which she worked as a commercial mortgage broker. She later joined the Episcopal Church and studied at the

Seminary of the Southwest Seminary of the Southwest (formally the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and informally SSW) is an Episcopal seminary in Austin, Texas. It is one of nine accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Seminar ...

, earning 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 ...

in 1987. She was ordained deacon in 1987 and priest in 1988. She then served as assistant rector of All Saints’ Church in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, rector of St James’ Church in

La Grange, Texas La Grange ( ) is a city in Fayette County, Texas, United States, near the Colorado River. La Grange is in the center of the Texas-German belt. The population was 4,391 at the 2020 census, and in 2018 the estimated population was 4,632. La Grange ...

, rector of the Church of St James the Apostle in

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2021, the population was 98,081, up from 56,207 in 2010. Since 2007, the ...

, and then as Canon to the Ordinary between 2000 and 2006 and Archdeacon of the Diocese of Texas from 2003 to 2006. She was elected Suffragan Bishop of Texas on the third ballot on April 29, 2006 during the convention held in Christ Church Cathedral. Prior to this election she was nominated several times before but failed to get the needed majority. She was then consecrated bishop on October 7, 2006 by Bishop D. Bruce MacPherson of Western Louisiana. As bishop she helped develop safeguarding training for the diocese. She retired in 2019. Harrison is married to her husband Larry and together have two children."The Rt Revd Dena Harrison"
''World Anglican''. Retrieved on July 6, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Dena A. Living people American Episcopalians University of Texas alumni Women Anglican bishops Religious leaders from Texas Episcopal bishops of Texas Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)

Biography

See also

References