Mary Glasspool
The Right Reverend Mary Glasspool | |
|---|---|
| Assistant Bishop of New York | |
 Glasspool in 2011 | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | New York |
| Appointed | April 2016 |
| In office | 2016–present |
| Previous post(s) | Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles (2010–2016) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | March 1982 (priest) by Lyman Ogilby |
| Consecration | May 15, 2010 by Katharine Jefferts Schori |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 23, 1954 New York City, New York, US |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Douglas Murray Glasspool & Anne Dickinson |
| Spouse | Becki Sander |
| Alma mater | |
Mary Douglas Glasspool (born February 23, 1954) is an American Episcopal clergywoman who has served as assistant bishop of the Diocese of New York since 2016, having previously been suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles from 2010 to 2016. She was the first openly lesbian woman to become a bishop in the Anglican Communion.
Early life and education
Glasspool was born in Staten Island, New York, to the Rev. Douglas Murray Glasspool, rector of All Saints Church and St. Simon’s Church, and Anne Dickinson.[1] She later moved to Goshen, New York, where her father served as rector of St. James' Church for 35 years until his death in 1989.[2]
She graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1976 and received a Master of Divinity degree from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1981.[3]
Ordained ministry
Glasspool was ordained a deacon in June 1981 by the Rt. Rev. Paul Moore Jr., Bishop of New York and a priest in March 1982 by the Rt. Rev. Lyman Ogilby, Bishop of Pennsylvania. From 1981 to 1984 she was the assistant to the rector at St. Paul’s Church in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, before serving as rector of St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Church in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1984 to 1992, then rector of St. Margaret's Church in Annapolis, Maryland, from 1992 to 2001. She was canon to the bishops for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland from 2001 to 2009.[3]
On December 4, 2009, Glasspool was elected as suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles on the seventh ballot at the diocese's 115th convention in Riverside, California.[4] On March 17, 2010, the office of the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, certified that her election had received the necessary consents,[5] and on May 15, 2010, she was consecrated by Schori in Long Beach, California.[6] She was the first openly lesbian woman to become a bishop in the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion, and only the 17th woman elected to as a bishop in the Episcopal Church.[7] Her election gained worldwide attention in the context of the ongoing debate about gay bishops in the Anglican church.[citation needed]
In 2016 Glasspool left the Diocese of Los Angeles following her election as assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.[3][8][9] It was announced in February 2025 that she will retire in June 2025, with a celebration of her ministry to be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on May 31.[1]
Personal life
Glasspool is married to Becki Sander, with whom she has been in a relationship since the late 1980s.[1][10]
References
- ^ a b c Episcopal News Service, "New York Assistant Bishop Mary Glasspool to retire in June", February 13, 2025. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
- ^ Times Herald-Record, "From Goshen to global stage: Episcopalians in LA elect lesbian bishop", December 9, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Bishop Glasspool".
- ^ Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles: "Election of two Bishops Suffragan" Archived 2010-05-29 at the Wayback Machine, December 4–5, 2009, accessed March 20, 2010
- ^ EpiscopalLife Online: "Los Angeles Bishop-elect Glasspool receives church's consent to ordination" Archived 2010-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, March 17, 2010, accessed March 20, 2010.
- ^ "Lesbian bishop is consecrated in US". www.churchtimes.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC - Will & Testament: Mary Glasspool: Anglicanism's first lesbian bishop". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Whoegh, Payton. "Past Bishops".
- ^ Episcopal Diocese of New York: "Bp Mary Glasspool to Come to NY as Assistant Bishop" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, November 14, 2015, accessed February 23, 2016.
- ^ "The Way of Love and Lambeth: Bishop Mary D. Glasspool speaks to the House of Bishops". Episcopal Church. March 14, 2019.