As a part of its commitment to raise awareness and garner support for the institutions it serves, the Board of Trustees of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) is pleased to welcome Heidi Shott as its first Communications Director. Shott has served as Canon for Communication and Advocacy in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine for the past ten years.

The Rt. Rev. Barry Beisner, board chair and bishop of the Diocese of Northern California, said of the appointment, ”Heidi brings with her a breadth of communications experience that will be vital to furthering the work of AFEDJ. Her strong relationships with leaders across The Episcopal Church will help us to engage more people in the cause of supporting schools, hospitals, and other humanitarian institutions in the Holy Land. I am delighted Heidi has joined us and look forward to the stories she will help us share of transforming lives and building hope among the children and families in the region.”

Shott attributes the three visits she has made to the Diocese of Jerusalem over the past two years as playing a key role in her discernment. “The opportunity to use my experience and gifts to support the work of AFEDJ exemplifies for me a vocation where, as Frederick Buechner describes it, one’s ‘deep gladness and the world’s hunger meet,’” she said. “I am thrilled to be invited to contribute to this essential work.”

“Heidi joins AFEDJ at a time when support for vulnerable and displaced children and families in the Holy Land has never been more needed,” stated AFEDJ Executive Director John Lent. “Her communications and advocacy experience will help us raise awareness of the vital humanitarian ministries of the Diocese of Jerusalem that provide quality education and health care to all. Heidi is a consummate reporter and storyteller – exactly what our organization needs to share the life-changing impact our supporters have on people’s lives and grow our mission partners. It’s a great pleasure for me to welcome Heidi to the AFEDJ community.”

AFEDJ is a nonpolitical, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to transforming lives of the vulnerable and displaced in the Middle East through support of the schools, hospitals, and centers for children with disabilities that are owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in Palestine, Jordan, Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Since 1988, AFEDJ donors have contributed more than $30 million to the Diocese of Jerusalem’s humanitarian institutions. Learn more at www.afedj.org.