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Email to FriendMargaret Bullitt-Jonas receives EDS's 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award
The annual award is presented to an alumnus or alumna of Episcopal Divinity School, and its predecessor schools, Episcopal Theological School and Philadelphia Divinity School, who through his or her work and ministry carries out the EDS mission to bring "justice, compassion, and reconciliation to all." Bullitt-Jonas was recognized as "a leader in the spiritual renewal of the Episcopal Church," said Jayne Oasin '00, who presented the award along with Dan Weir '72. "Through her teaching, writing, and sharing she has helped to center our community in a life of faith and prayer." Bullitt-Jonas was also recognized for her steadfast work concerning environmental issues. Oasin continued, "She is a leader in the movement for environmental justice. Her witness to this core human concern has been a powerful sign of hope for many who hold the Earth sacred."
Bullitt-Jonas received a Ph.D in 1984, and entered Episcopal Divinity School, where she earned an M.Div degree and was ordained in the Episcopal Church. She served for 15 years as a parish priest in the Boston area and in 2004 began serving at Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst, Massachusetts. Since 1986 she has led retreats and conferences around the country for diocesan, clergy, and parish groups, as well as for religious communities, women's groups, and young adults. From 1992-2005, she served as a lecturer in Pastoral Theology at EDS, where she taught courses on prayer, spiritual formation, addiction, and environmental ministry. Bullitt-Jonas is a graduate of the Spiritual Guidance program of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation (1988), and a member of Spiritual Directors International. For several years she served as a chaplain to the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops.
Over the last twenty-five years, Bullitt-Jonas has been increasingly drawn to an environmental ministry. In 2001 she was one of 22 members of the interfaith network Religious Witness for the Earth who were arrested in Washington, D.C., during a prayer vigil to urge conservation and renewable energy and to protest oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In recent years many of her retreats and speaking engagements have focused on the sacredness of God's creation and care for the Earth. She is principal author of "To Serve Christ in All Creation: A Pastoral Letter from the Episcopal Bishops of New England" (2003). She is a member of the interfaith Leadership Council of Religious Witness for the Earth, and serves on the steering committee of the Genesis Covenant, an interfaith initiative through which the national leadership of faith groups across the country commits to cutting in half the carbon footprint of their facilities within ten years.
Her publications include; Holy Hunger: A Memoir of Desire, Holy Hunger: A Woman's Journey from Food Addiction to Spiritual Fulfillment, and her best-selling book, Christ's Passion, Our Passions: Reflections on the Seven Last Words from the Cross.
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