With 30 years experience as an active layperson in the Episcopal Church, Bonnie Anderson brings to the office of President of the House of Deputies organizational development skills and first-hand knowledge about the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Church at congregational, diocesan, provincial, national and international levels.
Bonnie Anderson is from the Diocese of Michigan, where she is past President of the Standing Committee and currently serves on the Commission on Ministry. As a five-time lay deputy, she served on the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) for four terms and served as President for two terms. In that capacity, she worked collegially to create the concept of a “mission driven” budget and developed a consensus building process for identification and adoption of mission budget priorities. For the first time in it’s history, the General Convention in 2003 agreed upon and adopted mission budget priorities.
Elected by Province V as their lay representative to Executive Council, Anderson serves on Council’s Administration and Finance Committee and is the elected Executive Council representative to the Investment Committee for the Episcopal Church. She is a member of the Joint Standing Commission on Planning and Arrangements and the Chair of the Joint Committee on General Convention charged by the 74th General Convention to prepare a comprehensive model for General Convention with respect to the structure of General Convention and the General Convention agenda to be considered by the 75th General Convention.
Bonnie Anderson has a long history as an advocate for youth. As a youth minister in her own congregation, she brought her organizational development skills to youth ministry first in her own diocese and then to the larger Church where she served as a member of the National Youth Ministry Development Team. Her organizational development skills have been used by the Church in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
As a deputy to the 71st General Convention she authored and proposed resolution D115 which granted seat and voice to the official youth presence at General Convention.
In the southeast Michigan community where she lives she designed, coordinated and implemented a citizen-sponsored river clean up involving 22 local governments and over 2,000 volunteers. She was appointed by the Governor of Michigan as the public member of the Michigan Environmental Review Board. She has been an adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan in the School of Natural Resources and the Women’s Studies Department. Her published resources include “Spirituality and the Earth; Exploring Connections” and “A Citizen’s Guidebook to the Great Lakes Ecosystem”.
Her commitment to Jesus Christ is reflected in her genuine love for people. Her commitment to the Church is reflected in her creative, tireless and down-to-earth approach to mission and ministry.
She has been married to Glen Anderson for 38 years. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.
