June 18, 2011
By Lucy Chumbley

The Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., elected the Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde as its first female diocesan bishop on the second ballot on June 18, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.

Budde, 52, rector of St. John's Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was elected out of a field of five nominees. She received 102 votes of 163 cast in the lay order and 137 of 175 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 82 in the lay order and 88 in the clergy order.

The election was held during a special convention at Washington National Cathedral.

Pending a successful consent process, Budde will succeed Bishop John Bryson Chane, who will retire this fall. The service of consecration and installation for the new bishop is set for Nov. 12.

Under the canons (III.11.4) of the Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to the bishop-elect's ordination as bishop within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.

Budde has served as rector of St. John's since 1993 and has guided that congregation through significant membership and financial growth, two capital campaigns and comprehensive ministry development. Since 2001, she has served as a conference leader for CREDO, an organization committed to clergy wellness and vocational renewal. She was a leader of the Diocese of Minnesota's Commission for Mission Strategy and has served that diocese as dean of the Minneapolis Region, General Convention deputy, on the Standing Committee, and in support of diocesan multi-cultural ministries. She speaks fluent Spanish and has a long history of work among Spanish-speaking people.

A well-regarded preacher, teacher and conference leader, Budde is the author of Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice, published in 2009. She holds a master's degree and a doctorate in theology from Virginia Theological Seminary and a bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester, New York, where she majored in history. She has been married to Paul Budde for 25 years, and has two sons, Amos, 23, and Patrick, 20.

"I am honored and overjoyed to accept the call to serve as the next bishop of Washington. I pledge to serve God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the people and ministries of the diocese with my whole heart, doing everything I can to support and strengthen the mission God has entrusted to you. My thanks to Bishop Chane and all those gathered today. May God bless us all in the days ahead," Budde said immediately following her election.

The other nominees were:

• The Rev. Ron Abrams of St. James,' Wilmington, North Carolina;

• The Very Rev. Samuel Glenn Candler of the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta;

• The Rev. Jane Gould of St. Stephen's, Lynn, Massachusetts;

• The Rev. Canon John T.W. Harmon of Trinity, Washington D.C.;

Information about all the nominees is available at http://search.edow.org/

The Diocese of Washington is composed of congregations in the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and St. Mary's.

Episcopal News Service
Lucy Chumbley is editor of Washington Window, a publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C.