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The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, D.D., 64, was consecrated as the Eighth Bishop of Washington on June 1, 2002.
As Bishop of Washington, Bishop Chane serves 93 congregations and 45,000 members in the District of Columbia, and in the Counties of Prince George's, Montgomery, Charles and Saint Mary's in Maryland. He serves as the President and CEO of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which governs Saint Alban's School for Boys, The National Cathedral School for Girls, Beauvoir Primary School, the Cathedral College and the National Cathedral all of which are located on the 53-acre Cathedral Close. He served as Interim Dean of the Washington National Cathedral for eighteen months.
Bishop Chane was named by the Washingtonian Magazine as one of the 150 most influential leaders in the District of Columbia. He recently received an honorary doctorate of divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. The May 2008 citation accompanying the degree praised "his commitment to justice and peace, and his leadership in the Church and the world."
He has traveled to Iran on two occasions at the invitation of former Iranian President Khatami and has spoken with numerous religious leaders and at numerous cultural events as well as at seminaries and universities in the cities of Tehran and Qom.
In February 2008, Bishop Chane attended the U.S.-Islamic World Forum sponsored by the Brookings Institution held in Doha, Qatar.
In 2007, he traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to discuss collaborative interfaith programs between President Khatami's Foundation pour le Dialogue des Civilisations and the National Cathedral's Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. In addition he participated in a conference in Oslo, Norway sponsored by the Club de Madrid, Foundation pour le Dialogue des Civilisations, and the Norwegian Government entitled "Faith, Politics and Terrorism."
Bishop Chane traveled in 2007 to Cuba to meet with bishops and Episcopal Church officials to discuss the rapid growth of the Cuban Episcopal Church and the church's humanitarian concerns that are the result of the continuing sanctions against the country by the United States government.
He was invited by the Council on Foreign Relations to participate in a two-day conference, "Religion and Terrorism," in 2007 and continues to be involved in the Council's ongoing work in the area of religion and foreign affairs.
In 2006 he was invited to be the weekly preacher in residence at the Chautauqua Institution in New York and has been invited to return again in 2008.
He has been a speaker at the National Defense University on the subject of Religion and Global Terrorism and has also spoken at the U.S. State Department's Secretary's Open Forum and at the Pentagon.
In 2004, Bishop Chane initiated a unique partnership with the Anglican Province of Southern Africa spearheading federal funding support from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). The continuing focus of this work centers around HIV/AIDS and Malaria work in South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland.
Since arriving in Washington he has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America, National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Weekend All Things Considered, the independent radio program Interfaith Voices , the Public Broadcasting System's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and has been profiled in The Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine. He has also appeared on the BBC, CNN, Fox News, local ABC, CBS, NBC, ENS and Fox affiliates, All Africa News and Television, International Public Radio, FaithWorks, CSPAN, and was featured in the PBS television three hour special "Three Faiths, One God." He has participated in two international affairs panels hosted by the Washington Press Club, and is the author of numerous published articles on the Church and Secular Society, Global Terrorism and The Episcopal Church and Human Sexuality. Bishop Chane was recently honored for his ongoing work in Abrahamic Dialogue by the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and was a recipient of the InterFaith Bridge Builders' Award.
He is an active member of many boards and advisory committees including the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, The University Council Committee on Religious and Spiritual Life at Yale University, The Virginia Theological Seminary, and Collington Retirement Center, Saint Anna's Home and Saint Mary's Home. In addition Bishop Chane serves as Co-Chair of the "Bishops Working For A Just World" Coalition and on the Episcopal Church's Committee On National Affairs. He was appointed to serve on a Global Anglican Task Force investigating human rights violations in the Kingdom of Swaziland , Africa and his diocese has established a partnership with The Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa. He has received honorary doctorates from both Virginia Theological Seminary and the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. In 2006, Bishop Chane was honored by George Washington University as the recipient of the President's Medal for outstanding contributions to interfaith and community work.
Formerly the dean of Saint Paul's Cathedral, San Diego, California, from 1996-2002, he has also served as Rector of Saint Mark's Church, Southborough, Massachusetts, Canon Pastor of Saint Paul's Cathedral, Erie, Pennsylvania and Curate/ Priest in Charge of Saint Paul's Church, Montvale, New Jersey. He holds degrees from Boston University (BA) and Yale Divinity School (M.Div).
In previous work and ministry he has co-chaired the Commission on Ministry for the Diocese of Massachusetts, served as a key leader for the Mission Program and Planning Committee of the Diocese of Massachusetts, and also served the diocese as a member of the Parish Vacancy Consultant Committee, the Canon 21 Conflict Resolution Team, the Diocese PERCEPT Team and was involved in helping the diocese re-structure following the election of a new bishop.
In The Diocese of San Diego, Bishop Chane served as an original member of the Diocesan PERCEPT Team that began the development of a new mission strategy for the diocese; served on the Diocesan Hispanic Task Force; coordinated the "Church Without Borders" program linking the Diocese of San Diego with the Diocese of Western Mexico and the Anglican Church of Mexico. In San Diego Bishop Chane served as the President of the Board of The Ecumenical Council of San Diego and President of the Board of Saint Paul's Senior Homes and Services. He was also active in projects addressing low-income housing, public education reform, poverty and health care reform issues.
Prior to attending Seminary, Bishop Chane worked as an Urban Community Organizer in Boston 's South End and Roxbury. He was also employed through the Boston Redevelopment Authority's "Just-A-Start" program, an innovative inner-city housing program that was funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. While in the seminary, Bishop Chane worked as a "community organizer" for Christian Community Action, located in the "Hill" District of New Haven, under a two-year grant from the National Episcopal Church and was active as a trainer and leader in racial conflict resolution with the Branford and Hamden, Connecticut Public School systems.
Bishop Chane has been married for 41 years to Karen Albright. They have two grown sons and three grandchildren. He enjoys writing, working out regularly, reading and fly-fishing. Until a racing accident ended his avocation, Bishop Chane regularly competed as a driver in open cockpit Modified Midget and Sprint Car racing. As a former touring professional drummer, he enjoys annual reunions with his old blues band, "The Chane Gang."
Last updated: June 18, 2008
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