Bavi Edna Rivera
Encyclopedia
Right Reverend
Bavi Edna Rivera a.k.a. "Nedi" (born March 24,1946), is a suffragan bishop
and Episcopal priest She is the first Hispanic woman bishop and the 12th woman bishop in the Episcopal Church
. Her father, Bishop Victor Manuel Rivera, was a prominent opponent of the ordination of women.
father, the late Rt. Rev. Victor Manuel Rivera, third Bishop (1968 to 1988) of San Joaquin, California
and to an Anglo mother the late Barbara Ross Lamb. Rivera grew up in Visalia, California
and went to an Episcopal convent boarding school in Tucson, Arizona
. A nun at the convent advised her to attend Wheaton College
, believing that Rivera would like it there. At Wheaton she majored in Physics and also took calculus. In 1968, she earned a BA in physics and married six weeks after her graduation. Instead of perusing a career in physics, she dedicated herself to her two daughters and two sons and volunteer work that included convening a youth group for church in her home and bookkeeping.
, California. In 1972, she learned at a meeting, that the church was planning on ordaining women as priests someday. Being raised within the religious beliefs of the Episcopal Church, served as an influential factor when she decided that she wanted to become a priest. However, one of the obstacles that she would have to face was convincing her very own father who opposed women being ordained priests. Rivera attended the seminary and was ordained a church deacon on June 1975. In 1976, she earned her Master of Divinity degree from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific
(CDSP) in Berkeley, California
and on June of that same year, she was ordained to the priesthood, her father, however did not attend her ordination as a priest. Rivera served at various churches in the dioceses of California and El Camino Real.
. It is a custom of the church that when a new bishop is ordinated, the other bishops gather around the new bishop and each of them lays a hand on his/her head while saying a prayer. At the end of the prayer, the bishops move their hands away from the new bishop head. Her father, who had a change of heart, was among the bishops present and proudly patted her with affection rather than liturgy. Rivera, thus became the first Hispanic woman bishop and the 12th woman bishop in the Episcopal Church. She had to work hard to become conversant in Spanish
(English
was spoken at home) and now celebrates and preaches in Spanish.
At the Diocese of Olympia, which is located in Seattle, Washington
, she oversaw particular ministries, including evangelism, faith formation and ethnic ministries. As a member of the diocesan's "We Will Stand With You team," she provides the leadership and support for ongoing fund-raising to rebuild St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and School in New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. She helped to start an initiative to get the diocese to buy 30,000 malaria nets to be distributed in African countries.
, to serve through Spring 2012. Rivera continued to serve as suffragan bishop in the Seattle-based Diocese of Olympia while working one-third of her time in Eastern Oregon, for which the diocese will reimburse the diocese in Seattle. Rivera serves on the College for Bishops Advisory Committee and Curriculum Board, Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop, and on the House of Bishops’ Planning Committee on the national church level.
Right Reverend
The Right Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures.*In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain it applies to bishops except that The Most Reverend is used for archbishops .*In some churches with a...
Bavi Edna Rivera a.k.a. "Nedi" (born March 24,1946), is a suffragan bishop
Suffragan bishop
A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...
and Episcopal priest She is the first Hispanic woman bishop and the 12th woman bishop in the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
. Her father, Bishop Victor Manuel Rivera, was a prominent opponent of the ordination of women.
Early years
Rivera is one of three daughters born to a Puerto RicanPuerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
father, the late Rt. Rev. Victor Manuel Rivera, third Bishop (1968 to 1988) of San Joaquin, California
San Joaquin, California
San Joaquin is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2010 census, up from 3,270 at the 2000 census. The nearest high school in the area is Tranquillity High School in Tranquillity...
and to an Anglo mother the late Barbara Ross Lamb. Rivera grew up in Visalia, California
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
and went to an Episcopal convent boarding school in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. A nun at the convent advised her to attend Wheaton College
Wheaton College
Wheaton College may refer to:* Wheaton College , private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois* Wheaton College , private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Norton, Massachusetts...
, believing that Rivera would like it there. At Wheaton she majored in Physics and also took calculus. In 1968, she earned a BA in physics and married six weeks after her graduation. Instead of perusing a career in physics, she dedicated herself to her two daughters and two sons and volunteer work that included convening a youth group for church in her home and bookkeeping.
Ordination
Rivera's father was the Rt. Rev. Victor Manuel Rivera, the third Bishop of San JoaquinEpiscopal Diocese of San Joaquin
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America , located in central California with its headquarters in Modesto.-Secession from Episcopal Church:...
, California. In 1972, she learned at a meeting, that the church was planning on ordaining women as priests someday. Being raised within the religious beliefs of the Episcopal Church, served as an influential factor when she decided that she wanted to become a priest. However, one of the obstacles that she would have to face was convincing her very own father who opposed women being ordained priests. Rivera attended the seminary and was ordained a church deacon on June 1975. In 1976, she earned her Master of Divinity degree from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific
Church Divinity School of the Pacific
Church Divinity School of the Pacific is one of the eleven seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is located in Berkeley, California, and is a member of the Graduate Theological Union...
(CDSP) in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and on June of that same year, she was ordained to the priesthood, her father, however did not attend her ordination as a priest. Rivera served at various churches in the dioceses of California and El Camino Real.
First Hispanic female Bishop
From 1994-2004, she served as rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Rivera, who earned a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) degree from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, was elected bishop suffragan in 2004 and assigned to serve in the Diocese of OlympiaEpiscopal Diocese of Olympia
The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, also known as the Episcopal Church in Western Washington, is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in Washington state west of the Cascade Range. It is one of 17 dioceses and an area mission that make up Province 8. The diocese started as a missionary district in 1853...
. It is a custom of the church that when a new bishop is ordinated, the other bishops gather around the new bishop and each of them lays a hand on his/her head while saying a prayer. At the end of the prayer, the bishops move their hands away from the new bishop head. Her father, who had a change of heart, was among the bishops present and proudly patted her with affection rather than liturgy. Rivera, thus became the first Hispanic woman bishop and the 12th woman bishop in the Episcopal Church. She had to work hard to become conversant in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
was spoken at home) and now celebrates and preaches in Spanish.
At the Diocese of Olympia, which is located in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, she oversaw particular ministries, including evangelism, faith formation and ethnic ministries. As a member of the diocesan's "We Will Stand With You team," she provides the leadership and support for ongoing fund-raising to rebuild St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and School in New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005. She helped to start an initiative to get the diocese to buy 30,000 malaria nets to be distributed in African countries.
Assignments
Rivera, who since June 29, 1968 had been married to the Rev. Robert (Bob) Moore, was consecrated on January 22, 2005. She was elected by unanimous vote during a special convention to "Provisional Bishop" by the Diocese of Eastern OregonEpiscopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon
The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains. It also it includes Klickitat County, Washington. It is in Province 8...
, to serve through Spring 2012. Rivera continued to serve as suffragan bishop in the Seattle-based Diocese of Olympia while working one-third of her time in Eastern Oregon, for which the diocese will reimburse the diocese in Seattle. Rivera serves on the College for Bishops Advisory Committee and Curriculum Board, Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop, and on the House of Bishops’ Planning Committee on the national church level.