Ordained in the Episcopal Church in 1979, Mark Beckwith served parishes in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusettes. Elected Bishop of Newark (NJ), he served in that capacity for twelve years until his retirement in 2018. With a local Rabbi and Imam from the Newark Interfaith Coalition for Hope and Peace, he appeared several times on Morning Joe, and did two PBS interview shows hosted by John Meacham. The three religious leaders co-hosted A Matter of Faith, a NJ Public TV show that focused on local issues. He is the co-founder of Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence, a national ecumenical group of diverse religious leaders. He has been part of the leadership team for Braver Angels, a national movement that seeks to depolarize America. He is the author of Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms and Party Lines (Morehouse Publishing, 2022). Mark posts weekly on his website, markbeckwith.net. He offers spiritual direction and coaching for clergy. A graduate of Amherst College and Yale Divinity School, he lives in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

Mark’s passion is to invite people to look beyond and beneath their political and theological positions, which in today’s climate of polarization can be overwhelmingly confining; and find hope and blessing – and a way forward.