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Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows

Learning to Live Fearlessly

The Episcopal Church is where I found my relationship with Jesus some 30 years ago, and I have been learning ever since to live fearlessly, secure in the knowledge of God’s love. It is a lesson I am taught every day through the sacraments and stories of our faith, the beauty of our liturgical tradition, the depth of our commitment to justice and the caring embrace of the Christian community. I come to God as a bishop, but also as a wife, a mother, a recreational runner and someone who finds joy in baking and feasting with friends. In our diocese, we aspire to bring our whole selves to God for sustenance, for inspiration and for healing. If a faith like this calls out to you, please spend some time on our site, visit our churches and consider joining us.

In Christ’s peace,
+Jennifer


Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, a native of New York City, holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture with a minor in urban studies from Smith College, an M.A. in historic preservation planning from Cornell University, and an M.Div. degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) in 1997. Before being elected bishop in 2016, she served in the Dioceses of Newark, Central New York and Chicago. She is the first black woman to be elected a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Jennifer’s expertise includes historic preservation of religious buildings, stewardship and development, race and class reconciliation, and spiritual direction. She is an accomplished distance runner and triathlete and a passionate chef and baker. She and her husband, Harrison Burrows, are parents to Timothy.

A defining experience of her ministry came when she found herself near the World Trade Center the morning of September 11, 2001. In the midst of a fearful situation, her own faith and that of others who sought shelter alongside her gave her a renewed perspective of faith vanquishing fear. “The Episcopal Church teaches me that the world is filled with incredible beauty and unspeakable pain and that God is deeply in the midst of it all loving us fiercely,” she says.

Contact

Bishop@indydio.org

@JenniferBB

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