BONNIE ANDERSON, D.D., PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSE OF DEPUTIES Bonnie Anderson, President of the Episcopal Church’s House of Deputies, is an advocate for the ministry of the laity. In the tradition of the great lay educator Verna Dozier, who called the laity “the sleeping giant,” Anderson often reminds the Church “there are 2 million ministers in the Episcopal Church and many are still waiting to use their gifts actively to help bring about the Kingdom of God. Let’s get going.” Anderson is known in the Church as a champion for the ministry of the laity, an advocate for marginalized people, a preacher who speaks to the people in the pew, and a skilled community organizer. She is presides over the 800+ members of the House of Deputies as a fair-minded, skilled parliamentarian, grounded in love for Christ Jesus. Her advocacy for the environment and the people most directly affected by environmental degradation earned her a gubernatorial appointment in her home state to the Michigan Environmental Review Board. To improve the quality of a badly polluted river, she mobilized 400 volunteers from more than 40 counties for a yearly clean up and continued water quality monitoring. Prior to her election as President of the House of Deputies (HOD) in 2006 and re-election in 2009, Anderson served as Vice President of the HOD; Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance; an Executive Council member; and an Executive Council elected representative to The Episcopal Church Investment Committee. In her home Diocese of Michigan, she has held many positions including Canon to the Ordinary, President of the Standing Committee, and Chair of Constitution and Canons. Anderson is an author of articles, writer and preacher of sermons and homilies, an adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan, and a person who takes her baptism seriously. She has been awarded honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from the Episcopal Divinity School and the University of the South, Sewanee, and honorary Doctor of Canon Law degrees from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary. Duties and Responsibilities as President of the House of Deputies As President of the House of Deputies, Anderson’s canonical responsibilities include: presiding over the House of Deputies; appointing Deputies to legislative committees; appointing additional legislative committees when necessary; appointing clerical and lay members to TEC’s committees, commissions, agencies and boards (CCABs); serving as Vice Chair of Executive Council; serving as Vice President of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS), which is the corporate entity under which TEC operates; serving on the Agenda Committee for Executive Council meetings; serving as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements for General
Convention; appointing and presiding over the President’s Council of Advice; and working with the Presiding Bishop to appoint the Executive Officer of General Convention and the Financial Officer of Executive Council. In addition to her canonical duties, Anderson also communicates regularly with the more than 800 deputies, meets and communicates with the Presiding Bishop, consults with the Presiding Bishop on major staff appointments and issues as requested, maintains a presence at TEC Center in New York City, and serves as ex-officio member of all TEC Standing Commissions. Background information on the House of Deputies The House of Deputies is the older of the two Houses of General Convention, the governing body of The Episcopal Church. It has equal numbers of clergy and lay deputies selected by the 110 dioceses and one convocation of congregations. The first session of the first General Convention, held in 1785, consisted only of the House of Deputies. It adopted a constitutional provision establishing a separate House of Bishops, which joined the Convention at its second session in 1789. The bi-cameral nature of the General Convention continues today. General Convention meets every three years to set the Episcopal Church’s mission priorities, budget and policies. The President of the House of Deputies (PHoD) is elected every three years to serve throughout the triennium. The President of the House of Deputies occupies a nonstipendiary position and serves as Vice President of the Executive Council and Vice President of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS). He/she presides over the House of Deputies at General Convention, appoints clergy and lay members of all the Standing Commissions and Legislative Committees, and performs many functions of liaison, development and opportunity between conventions. Full details may be found at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/newsline