The Rev. Ed Bacon

Denomination: The Episcopal Church (TEC)
Organization: St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Atlanta, GA

The Rev. James Edwin Bacon, Jr., better known as Ed Bacon, is the son of a Baptist minister, but began his Episcopal journey of faith at St. Luke’s nearly four decades ago when, while serving as the parish’s youth minister, he was granted admission as a postulant for the priesthood. Ed was ordained in 1983 and his ministry led him to become a national voice on issues of faith and justice for all regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

Until his retirement in May 2016, Ed was the rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California – a 4,000 member multi-ethnic urban Episcopal parish, with a reputation for energetic worship, a radically inclusive spirit, and a progressive peace and justice agenda. He shepherded All Saints for more than two decades. Before that he served as dean of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Jackson, Mississippi; rector of St Mark’s in Dalton; and, earlier, when he was a Baptist minister, he was campus minister and dean of students at Mercer University in Macon.

Ed, who holds a master of theology from Emory University and honorary doctorates from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific and Mercer University, is the author of 8 Habits of Love, a guide to living life through love and connection, not fear and isolation. His energies these days focus on leadership in anxious times; living a love-based life as opposed to a fear-based life; peacemaking; interfaith relations; contemplative practices and their impact on relationships, creativity, and brain functioning; and articulating the Christian faith in non-bigoted, science-friendly, and inclusive ways. He blogs regularly on Medium.com about wholemaking in a tribalized/polarized cultural environment and can be followed there as well as on Facebook and Twitter @RevEdBacon. His website is Edbacon.co.

Ed has been both a guest and a regular guest host on Oprah Winfrey’s Soul Series on Oprah & Friends Radio, and a guest panelist in the Spirituality 101 segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show’s “Living Your Best Life” series. He is a contributor to Oprah.com and a frequent guest on Super Soul Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network and his interviews with her have been chosen as part of Super Soul Conversations by Oprah podcasts. He is the recipient of many awards including the Peace Award and the Compassion Award from the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Los Angeles. In October he was the recipient of the Ruby McKnight Williams Award from the Pasadena NAACP.

Ed and his wife, Hope Hendricks-Bacon, have two adult children and two grandchildren. Since retiring they have lived near their family in Birmingham, Alabama.