2007_12_04 Bonnie Anderson

Back to News        Back to AVM Homepage

Bonnie Anderson to Speak in Albany

            Albany Via Media is pleased  to announce that Bonnie Anderson, President of The Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies, will visit St. Andrew’s Church in Albany on Saturday, January 19, 2008. Anderson will preach at a 1 PM Eucharist, for which we have invited Bishop William Love to be the celebrant. After a break for coffee and conversation, she will take part in a discussion of issues that face the Church as they bear on Episcopalians in the Diocese of Albany.

                                                                        ***

A veteran of 35 years of lay ministry at the congregational, diocesan, provincial, national and international levels, Anderson has a resume that can only be described as formidable. She served as a lay deputy to six General Conventions and was elected Vice President of the House of Deputies in 2003 and President thereof in 2006.  As President, her responsibilities include presiding over the House of Deputies, appointing Deputies to legislative committees (and appointing new committees as needed), and naming clerical and lay members to TEC’s committees, commissions, etc. In addition, she is Vice Chairperson of the Executive Council and Vice President of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS), the corporate entity of TEC.

Bonnie’s interests and expertise touch almost every aspect of the Church. As three-term Chairperson of  the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance,  she championed the concept of a “mission-driven budget” and developed a consensus-building process for General Convention. Long committed to youth and their full inclusion in TEC, she wrote the resolution at the 71st General Convention that granted seat and voice to an official youth presence at General Convention.

            In addition to Bonnie’s church work, which has brought her an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School and an honorary Doctor of Canon Law degree from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, she has been a strong voice for enlightened public policy. The governor of Michigan appointed her as a public member of the Michigan Environmental Review Board. She has also been an adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan in the School of Natural Resources and in the Women’s Studies Department. Bonnie’s publications include “Spirituality and the Earth: Exploring Connections”, “A Citizen’s Guidebook to the Great Lakes Ecosystem” and “White Racism: Look Me in the Eye.”

            Married for 41 years, Bonnie and her husband Glen live in southeastern Michigan. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.

                                                                        ***

            Although Albany Via Media will sponsor Bonnie Anderson’s visit, her sermon and the following discussion will interest all Episcopalians. Please encourage your friends to join us for what promises to be an exciting afternoon.

                                                                                                                   The AVM Board