Janet Lahr Lewis is a commissioned missionary with the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church and has served since 2006 as Methodist Liaison in Palestine and Israel for the global Methodist Church. She has been living in Israel-Palestine since 1994 when she sold her house in the U.S. in order to serve as a volunteer until her commissioning as a missionary in 2001. From 1994-1997 she worked as Personal Assistant for H.E. Archbishop Elias Chacour in the Galilee at Mar Elias Educational Institutions, a UMC Advance Project. In 1997 she moved to Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine where she worked in various capacities at the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in East Jerusalem. In 2006 she began her assignment as Methodist Liaison in Palestine and Israel, working from her office in Bethlehem. In 2011 the office became partnered with the World Methodist Council and the Methodist Church of Britain, expanding the her responsibilities as the main contact and resource person for the global Methodist church. Her work includes coordinating UM Volunteer in Mission teams, working with the local committee for the Community Development Project in Wadi Fouqin, coordinating and hosting Methodist and ecumenical delegations, and continuing to partner with the Advance and Partner projects in both Israel and Palestine. In addition, Janet has been serving as the main resource and contact person in Israel and Palestine for the global Methodist Church.