Geri Swanson ’08 Awarded The Bishop’s Cross

Geri Swanson ‘08 accepting the Bishop’s Cross at the NY Diocesan Convention, Nov. 13, 2021

The Rev. Deacon Geraldine A. Swanson, Class of 2008, was awarded The Bishop’s Cross by the Rt. Rev. Andrew ML Dietsche at the New York Diocesan Convention, November 13, 2021 at the Cathedral of St. John of the Divine. In presenting the award the Bishop praised Swanson as “an indefatigable supporter and promoter of the diaconate” and “among the very first group to become Deacons after the order was revived in the Diocese.”

The award focused attention on Swanson’s ministry to under-represented and marginalized populations. She has organized and served in feeding ministries, after-school programs, and the Coalition for Housing Equality. She stepped up to disaster response after 9/11 and then notably again after Hurricane Sandy, when she provided food and winter clothing, arranged work crews from churches, and helped coordinate the “Heart of the Home” initiative, rebuilding kitchens in damaged houses.

Swanson has served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Association of Episcopal Deacons and continues to serve on the Board of the Fund for the Diaconate, and on the Association for Episcopal Deacons’ Committee developing uniform Core Capabilities for Deacons. She has created a Mentoring Course for coaching deacons and is actively involved in the recruitment of aspirants into the diaconal vocation.

Bishop Dietsche also pointed out that Swanson has “made an invaluable contribution to the history of the Episcopal Church by, in her General Theological Seminary Master’s Thesis, documenting the history of the New York School for Deaconesses,” noting that he has “long lamented that the deaconess movement, a crucial forerunner to the full ordination of women, is a piece of our history not widely remembered.”

Swanson received General’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018.  Her daughter Kirsten, a current M.Div. Middler, was on hand to surprise her mother with family and friends.