Jennifer Lynn Baskerville-Burrows is an American

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop in the Episcopal Church. In October 2016, she was elected bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis The Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, formerly known as the Episcopal Diocese of Indiana, is a diocese in Province V (for the Midwest region) of the Episcopal Church. It encompasses the southern two-thirds of the state of Indiana. Its see is i ...

, and she was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on April 29, 2017. She is the first African-American woman to be elected a diocesan bishop. Prior to her consecration, she served as Director of Networking in the Diocese of Chicago. Previously, she was a priest in the

Episcopal Diocese of Central New York The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the area in the center of New York state. It is one of ten dioceses, plus the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, ...

, the

Episcopal Diocese of Newark The Episcopal Diocese of Newark is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America comprising the North Jersey, northern third of New Jersey in the United States. The Diocese represents the Anglican Communion, of which the ...

, and the

Episcopal Diocese of California The Episcopal Diocese of California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) in Northern California. The founding Episcopal diocese in the state, once encompassing all of Californi ...

. In addition to her parish ministry, she has been Director of Alumni and Church Relations at Church Divinity School of the Pacific and a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Early life and education

Baskerville-Burrows was born and brought up in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She was educated at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, majoring in architecture with a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

urban studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to the impact of urban design on community development efforts. The core theoretica ...

, and graduated in May 1988. In 1989, she was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

in the

Episcopal Church (United States) 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 ...

having spent her childhood and early adult years "seeking and longing for church community". She then studied Historic Preservation Planning at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(MA) degree in May 1994. She trained for

ordained ministry Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vario ...

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It one of nine seminaries U.S. Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, ...

, a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of the Episcopal Church, graduating with 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 ...

(M.Div.) degree in May 1997.

Ordained ministry

Baskerville-Burrows was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the Episcopal Church as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on June 11, 1997, and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on February 7, 1998, by the bishop of the

. From June 1997 to April 1999, she served as Assistant Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church,

Endicott, New York Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,392 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B. Endicott, a founding member of the En ...

. Then, from April 1999 to August 2002, she was the Associate for Christian Formation at St. Peter's Episcopal Church,

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

; her duties included leading adult Bible study classes, Baptismal preparation classes, and assisting in the parish ministries. On

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, she was at

Trinity Church, New York Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and e ...

for a "videotaping event" with Archbishop

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

(then the head of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

, and later the head of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

). She described how "we spent hours in a stairwell of the parish house building expecting to die" but found peace in Jesus, God's grace, and the

communion of saints The communion of saints (), when referred to persons, is the spiritual union of the members of the Christian Church, living and the dead, but excluding the damned. They are all part of a single " mystical body", with Christ as the head, in which ...

. From August 2002 to July 2004, Baskerville-Burrows served as a pastoral associate of All Saints' Episcopal Church, a progressive

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

church in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, and was Director of Alumni and Church Relations at

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. From July 2004 to January 2012, she was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Grace Episcopal Church in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, and Episcopal

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

. From January 2012, she was the Director of Networking in the

Episcopal Diocese of Chicago The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is the official organization of the Episcopal Church in Chicago and Northern Illinois, US. The diocese is headed by Bishop Paula Clark, who is the first woman and first African-American to lead the diocese. ...

Episcopal ministry

On October 28, 2016, Baskerville-Burrows was elected the 11th bishop diocesan of the

. This made her the first African-American woman to be elected a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church. Baskerville-Burrows was

a bishop on April 29, 2017 during a service at

Clowes Memorial Hall Clowes Memorial Hall, officially known as Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, is a performance hall located on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Opened October 18, 1963, it hosts numerous significant ...

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was then seated on April 30.

Personal life

On March 22, 2003, the then Jennifer Baskerville married Harrison Burrows at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. Together they have a son, Timothy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baskerville-Burrows, Jennifer Living people American Episcopal priests Religious leaders from New York City Smith College alumni Cornell University alumni Church Divinity School of the Pacific alumni African-American Episcopalians American Episcopalians Women Anglican bishops Year of birth missing (living people) Episcopal bishops of Indianapolis

Early life and education

Ordained ministry

Episcopal ministry

Personal life

See also

References