Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is the spiritual leader of 40,500 Episcopalians in 89 congregations and 20 Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties -- Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles and St. Mary’s. She also serves as the Chair and President of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which oversees the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and three Cathedral schools.

A passionate believer in the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Budde is committed to the revitalization and growth of congregations and core ministries of the diocese, building their capacity to serve Christ’s reconciling mission in the world. She has begun a number of initiatives to help achieve that goal, including securing funding for two new diocesan staff positions, Canon for Congregational Development and Young Adult Missioner. Her priority is to develop and strengthen collaborative models of ministry that can meet the needs of a changing world with flexibility, endurance, and grounded faith.

Bishop Budde was consecrated as the ninth bishop of Washington in November 2011. Prior to her election, she served for 18 years as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, where she guided the congregation through significant membership and financial growth, two capital campaigns, and comprehensive ministry development.

Bishop Budde served for 10 years as a Conference Leader for CREDO, an organization committed to clergy wellness and vocational renewal. She helped lead the Diocese of Minnesota’s Commission for Mission Strategy, focusing her efforts on the renewal of congregations. Diocesan mission strategy also was the focus of her Doctor of Ministry thesis: Engaging Leadership for Change. A practitioner of systems theory, Bishop Budde loves working in complex organizations.

She earned a B.A. in history at the University of Rochester, N.Y, graduating magna cum laude. She earned both her Masters in Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary. In May of 2012, Bishop Budde will receive an honorary doctorate from Virginia Theological Seminary. Her sermons have been published in several books and journals and she is the author of " Gathering the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice," published in 2007.

She and her husband, Paul, have two adult grown sons, Amos and Patrick.