Two Episcopal dioceses on Saturday elected new bishops. The Rev. Canon Lucinda Ashby will become the fourth Bishop of El Camino Real in California, while the Rev. Dr. Bonnie A. Perry was elected as the 11th Bishop of Michigan, based in Detroit. Both are scheduled to be consecrated early next year.
Assuming the elections are ratified by a majority of the bishops and standing committees of other dioceses, the elections will add two new members to the growing roster of female bishops. Perry will become the second open lesbian in the House of Bishops, joining the Rt. Rev. Mary Glasspool, Assistant Bishop of New York.
Ashby, currently Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Idaho, was elected on the third ballot from a slate of five. She will succeed the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, who will retire after 12 years as Bishop of El Camino Real.
Perry, currently Rector of All Saints in Chicago, was elected on the fifth ballot from a slate of four. She will succeed the Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr., who will retire after 19 years as Bishop of Michigan.
“I am honored. I am humbled. I am very grateful,” Ashby said. “I’m humbled that the Holy Spirit has moved us toward this outcome … and because I really can’t believe it!”
“I am in awe of the trust you have placed in me, and I will, with God’s help, do all I can to live up to this trust and this honor, ” Perry said following her election. “I am so excited about the ministry we are going to do together. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
The announcement from the Diocese of El Camino Real can be found here, while the announcement from the Diocese of Michigan is here.
Kirk Petersen began reporting news for TLC as a freelancer in 2016, and was Associate Editor from 2019 to 2024, focusing especially on matters of governance in the Episcopal Church.
