The Rev. Fleming Rutledge, one of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, is well known in the United States, Canada, and the UK as a lecturer, preacher, and teacher of other preachers. Her published sermon collections have met with wide acclaim. The most recent such collection is Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ. Her major work, which took twenty years to write, is The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ, named Best Book of 2016 by Christianity Today.

Mrs. Rutledge, a native of Virginia, matriculated at General Theological Seminary and received her Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1975. She spent twenty years in parish ministry in New York City and its environs. She and her husband, Reginald E. (Dick) Rutledge, a retired marketing consultant, celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They have two daughters and two adult grandchildren.