The Rev. Canon Mary Crist, Ed.D. has been appointed Indigenous Theological Education Coordinator for The Episcopal Church, a member of the Presiding Bishop’s staff.

In this new position, Crist will work with the Rev. Dr. Brad Hauff, the Missioner for Indigenous Ministries, and within the Department of Ethnic Ministries. “I am looking forward to working with Mary as we begin the work of empowering our Indigenous dioceses and congregations through theological education for formation and ministry,” says Hauff, “She is well qualified for this position and besides that, has demonstrated her talents and abilities for decades as an educator in numerous settings.”

This new position was approved by General Convention in 2018 in response to Resolution D010, “Create Position of Indigenous Theological Education Coordinator.” As the Indigenous Theological Education Coordinator, Crist will work with the clergy and lay leaders serving Indigenous dioceses and congregations to equip them for congregational ministry and leadership, discernment and ordination processes, and continuing education programs.  She will also assist with the development and implementation of Indigenous curricula and the Doctrine of Discovery workshops that are a response to the General Convention Resolution D-011, “Doctrine of Discovery Training.”

Crist will begin her duties on August 1. She will be based in the Los Angeles area, where she has served as a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and as a longtime university professor.

Meet Mary Crist
The Rev. Canon Mary Crist, Ed.D., is enrolled Blackfeet (Amskapi Pikuni) from the Douglas family in Babb on the reservation Montana. She is a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, serving at St. Michael’s Riverside. She is married to The Rev. Will Crist, the mother of an adult son and a daughter, grandmother of five, and great grandmother of one. She earned the Doctor of Education at Teachers College Columbia University in New York, the Master of Divinity at The Episcopal Theological School/Claremont School of Theology, and the Bachelor of Arts at The University of California Berkeley. She is the former Dean of the Metcalf School of Education and professor in the Online and Professional Studies Division at California Baptist University in Riverside. She has been active in Indigenous Ministry in The Episcopal Church for many years, as a member of the Executive Council’s Committee on Indigenous Ministry, and is now a member of the Indigenous Missioner’s Advisory Council. She was a preacher at the Holy Eucharist featuring Native Americans at General Convention in 2012.