Former Minneapolis rector the Rev. Mariann Budde was installed as the new Episcopal bishop in Washington over the weekend, becoming the first woman to serve in the prominent position.
Budde, who had been rector at St. John's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis since 1993, helped grow the church from 100 to 400 parishioners during her tenure.
She was picked for the bishop's job by clergy and lay leaders, who say they were "wowed by her frankness, her optimism and the approach she used" to grow St. John's, according to The Washington Post.
Budde takes over as bishop at a time when the Episcopal denomination, like a number of Mainline Protestant faith groups, continues to see its numbers decline. The number of Episcopalians has shrunk by more than 40 percent from about 3.5 million in the mid-1960s, a period in which all religious groups lost members, the Post notes.
