[You Do What?!] Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows: Leading with Heart, Running with Love
Life got in the way of my writing
It’s been a few busy weeks, from several big work projects to a recent trip to Santa Cruz so my son could decide which dorm to live in for his college freshman year. He has recently accepted an offer to study electric engineering at UC Santa Cruz. While that was not his first choice of school, I’m still one proud mama!
Though my running has been consistently good, writing has fallen behind a bit. But I’m delighted to bring back my series on runners with fascinating jobs. This week, I have the honor of sharing the story of Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows!
I met Jennifer at the Oiselle’s bird camp in 2022 and was instantly inspired by her incredibly moving prayer service at the start of the camp. She became a leader I aspire to. In August 2023, she appeared on
’s Morning Shakeout podcast (Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows on Community and Belonging), which became one of my favorite episodes. Knowing that people like Jennifer are out there bringing our communities together brings such a light to my life. I hope it does to yours too.Tell us about your day job!
I’m Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows. I’m the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana. My day job is overseeing 47 congregations in Central Indiana, made of churches of all sizes, a couple of hundred active and retired clergy, and about 8000 church members. As a chief pastor, a preacher and a teacher, I am the giver of care to all these folks.
I preach and lead the worship at episcopal churches. I meet with the churches’ leadership to make sure they have what they need with their teaching and building relationships with their communities.
How does a typical day look like for you?
Every day is a little different. Sunday is the most predictable: I visit each of the congregations in rotation. A couple of Sundays ago, I was near Cincinnati. This past Sunday, I was at the Indianapolis church downtown.
On other days of the week, I’m usually getting ready for the next Sunday and preparing my sermons. My office in downtown Indianapolis. I usually have a lot of meetings when I’m at the office because my role is both a pastoral one – caregiving – and also an administrative one. I have ten full-time staff and a budget just under $4 million.
Tell us about your running.
The older I get, the more I appreciate running. It’s such a foundational physical and spiritual practice for me. I usually try a few times a week, from Tuesday to Saturday, and I do strength training. Running builds my mind-body and spirit connection.
I’ve been running with this pattern since my last year at Smith College. I started running in 1987. I’ve had breaks but overall been very consistent. I also tried tennis, but it didn’t stick like running. When I travel and visit churches, and take meetings around the country, I always get a run in. Surprisingly, I find it easier to run when I’m on the road because I can control my schedule better. At home, other obligations might get in the way, e.g. family, my dog…
How did you get into running?
I was rowing when I was studying architecture in college. At the time, a friend I admired would run for fun all the time, and I couldn’t understand it. I had to run to the boat house and didn’t enjoy that part of running. But one day, I borrowed a pair of running shoes, put on the Joshua Tree album by U2, and just ran! I loved the feeling afterwards!
Now I’m part of the Maple Road United Run club. We meet twice a month. This helps me connect with my local running community and socialize with others. On the other days of the week, I get my runs in on my own. And if I haven’t run by night, I usually do it on my treadmill to squeeze it in.
Tell us about your career path to becoming a bishop.
I was an architecture major in college but didn’t have any design skills. I loved the environment but couldn’t really design much. After college, I moved back to New York City to work in the field, but found myself going to a church frequently. A priest tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to be a priest, because I was at church every night. I was in my 20s and started a young adult ministry. This was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the U.S. was bombing Iraq. I was putting together services and activities for young adults puzzled about our roles in the world. I was teaching confirmation classes.
The priest said, have you considered being a priest? My first response was no. Architecture and museums were my thing.
But then I went through an arduous discernment process: is this really my calling? It started my journey toward the church. Over the years, my responsibilities in care have grown. As a bishop now, I do have different responsibilities in the body of the church. We are in a hierarchical church, but we simply have different roles and we need everybody.
Caring for people means helping them see how they are loved by god. It’s about keeping their spiritual lives healthy. I still get to utilize my preservation degree and consult on preserving churches.
What’s the biggest challenge in your work?
People often complicate the word christian in our country and in politics. Episcopalians believe that all are loved and should be welcome, and it doesn’t matter what gender, race, ethnicity, or whatever part of your identity. White Christian nationalism has been such a core part of our common lives in the United States without us realizing it. That’s troubling and challenging.
The other challenge is that people from some other Christian communities might have experienced religious trauma. We are on a learning curve on helping people with their religious trauma. It’s not easy, but it’s very rewarding.
This is why running is so important to me. I am able to move my body, breathe differently. When I’m running, problems get solved in my head. I’m figuring out how to work with different people and within my congregations. It also gives me a space for me while my day job is about caring for others. My half marathon and marathon training runs are the best to clear out my head.
Tell us about your sabbatical in 2023.
I had a four-month sabbatical and I spent much of that time traveling to see what I could learn from running crews, as they are popping up all over the country and growing. I wondered if I could learn things on how they welcome and connect with each other. Church attendance has been declining in the past few decades. We also come to churches for people, and not just for god. So I had this idea of traveling to many places to meet and run with these running crews.
Some of the most notable run crews are the following:
Run Dem Crew in London. I modeled their welcome. It was very ritualistic how they gathered their runners, and how they prepared to say goodbye and disperse. After 1.5 years, I am still chatting with members of the group. I’d love to go back and run with them again soon.
Skokie Swifters Run/Walk Club north of Chicago. I love how they gather people with intention and purpose. The runs give such clarity and grace. Not sure if the crew leaders read Priya Parker’s book, but each run was like a practice of The Art of Gathering.
The Fly Girl Collective in London. It’s a Black women-led all female run crew.
Koreatown Run Club in Los Angeles is one I hope to visit and run with.
I’ve really learned the power of a question from these run crews. Instead of asking only for names and self-introductions, all these run crews have compelling questions for their members. So I’ve also learned to refine my questions. On Sundays, I usually ask questions about how my congregation celebrates Christmas, or what people love about their church, or what they’re struggling with recently. This is doing the good heart work, leading with curiosity and love.
What are your running plans and maybe your next race?
I’m training for the New York City Marathon in November. It’s a big goal since I haven’t done a marathon since 2021, though I’ve run lots of half marathons. My hometown race is a big deal to me.
I train with Anna Weber, who was once part of Oiselle’s Haute Volee. She’s in Indianapolis. We met at my first bird camp in 2019.
Work-wise, we’re launching some big initiatives, including a new initiative for children and young people, and possibly a reunification with the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana. It’s almost silly to try to train for a marathon when my calendar gets set two years in advance, but I want to give it a try! I also want to participate in some of the Tracksmith’s Twilight series. My intention for 2025 is positive perseverance! So bring it on!
Last but not least, what are your book recommendations?
Same as it Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
Better, Faster, Farther by Maggie Mertens