Lynne Washington — A Life in Healing, Heritage, and Transformation

Born: May 18, 1962
Location: East Point, Georgia
Titles: Minister | Scholar | Mother of Three Community Builder | Visionary

For more than 28 years, Rev. Lynne Washington has lived her ministry at the intersection of faith, culture, and community healing. A and Black feminist scholar, Washington’s life bridges connections in the Episcopal Church to Africa, from the Midwest to West Africa. 

Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Washington came of age in one of the first Black families to migrate from the South to the Midwest. Her earliest memories are of Sunday afternoons spent in her grandmother’s home, where stories of migration, faith, and perseverance became the foundation of her worldview. Those family gatherings taught her that storytelling was a sacred act—and that faith, in all its forms, was meant to serve the community.

After high school, Washington entered the workforce to support her mother following her parents’ divorce. But the dream of higher education never left her. She later earned a degree from St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia, and a Master of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary in New York City. While in New York, she met her former husband and began her long journey in ordained ministry. 

Following her ordination, Washington served as Assistant to the Bishop of Virginia for Domestic and Global Mission, and later as Executive Director of the Peter Paul Development Center in Richmond’s historic Church Hill neighborhood. Faced with closure due to a lack of funding, she turned the center into a premier academic learning space for underserved Black children, offering diagnostic testing, tutoring, and hope. Her leadership was recognized citywide.

Her work in public health deepened at Bon Secours Catholic Hospital, where she led Healthy Communities initiatives in Richmond’s East End. After her marriage ended, Washington relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, joining Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity as Chief Development Officer, managing grants and donor relationships that fueled affordable-housing projects across the region.Today, Washington serves as Rector and Priest in Charge at Incarnation, marking nine years of 

dedicated pastoral leadership. She also sits on the Board of Trustees for Roslyn Camp and Conference Center, reviews films for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, and recently completed her Ph.D. in Leadership and Change at Antioch University. Her forthcoming work, “Leading in a Lappa: Portraitures of African American Women Chiefs,” explores the leadership models of Black women spiritual leaders within Yoruba traditions.

Health, Healing, and the Modern Ministry of Self

On the TeleMeds4U Podcast, Washington brings the same spirit of transparency and wisdom to her health journey that she’s brought to her ministry. Living with Type 2 diabetes, she began GLP-1 therapy (Ozempic) more than a year ago to manage her A1C levels. What began as a medical decision became a deeply personal transformation.

“I started the GLP-1 for diabetes,” she said, “but it’s also been to my advantage in terms of weight loss. I’ve lost about 30 pounds and I feel really great—being able to get into clothes I hadn’t worn in years.”

She describes the experience as both physical and spiritual: a process of reclaiming her body as a site of healing, discipline, and grace. The confidence she’s gained, she says, mirrors the empowerment she’s always preached to others—an embodied theology of wellness.

“It’s improved my confidence a lot,” Washington shared. “I feel like I can wear anything I want to wear.”

Her openness about side effects, adaptation, and balance helps demystify the patient experience for others, especially Black women who are disproportionately affected by diabetes yet often underrepresented in clinical narratives.