Bonnie Perry

Bonnie Anne Perry (born April 15, 1962) is a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. She was elected the Diocese of Michigan's eleventh diocesan bishop on June 1, 2019, which made her the first woman and first openly lesbian priest elected as an Episcopal bishop in Michigan.

Early life and education
Perry was born to parents Ray and Mary Jane Perry in San Diego, California, as the oldest of four children in a military family. Raised in a devout Roman Catholic family, Perry felt that she had a call to the priesthood, and was received into the Episcopal Church which ordains women.

Perry was awarded a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1984 from College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1988 she earned a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, where she met her future spouse Susan Harlow. In 1998 she earned a Doctorate of Ministry specializing in Congregational Development from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL.

Ministry
Perry was ordained a deacon on June 2, 1990, then as a priest on December 15, 1990, in the Diocese of Newark by Bishop John Shelby Spong. She served as Associate Rector for Christ Church in Ridgewood NJ from 1989 to 1991, then Interim Rector for St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Clifton NJ from September 1991 to October 1992. She served as Congregational Development Vicar for All Saints Episcopal Church, Chicago, from 1992 to 2000, then as their rector from 2000 to 2019.

She was a candidate for Bishop of Minnesota in 2009.

Bishop of Michigan
In 2019, Perry was elected the Diocese of Michigan's eleventh diocesan bishop. She was consecrated on February 8, 2020, by Michael Curry.

In February 2022, Bishop Perry joined other faith and community leaders in co-founding the group, End Gun Violence Michigan.

On Nov. 30, 2023, Bishop Perry was appointed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the state's first-ever LGBTQ+ Commission.