St. George’s College Jerusalem is pleased to announce the appointment of The Reverend Canon Mary June Nestler as our next Course Director and Lecturer in Contextual Biblical Studies.

Since 2010, Canon Nestler has served as Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, having previously been the Canon for Ministry Formation. Ordained to the priesthood in 1979, she has served in a variety of parish ministries and diocesan roles, including as priest of charge of several congregations, a member of the Standing Committee and Commission on Ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles, and as six-time deputy to General Convention from the dioceses of Utah and Los Angeles. She has been a keynote speaker, preacher, instructor and parish educator across The Episcopal Church throughout her ministry career.

Before assuming the role of Canon in the Diocese of Utah, Canon Nestler was Dean and President of the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont from 1992-2006 and a member of the faculty from 1981. This leadership in the theological education and formation of lay and clergy leaders will enhance Nestler’s collaboration with the St. George’s College staff and visiting faculty.

Canon Nestler was a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Anglican/Oriental Orthodox International Dialogues in 1993.

Canon Nestler  brings her extensive church historical and archaeological credentials to integrate in her work as our new Course Director. She has been a consulting archaeologist and area supervisor for the Mount Carmel Project, Haifa, Israel, since 1998, and was also an area supervisor at Sepphoris for seven seasons (where her team discovered the “Mona Lisa” mosaic) and Capernaum.

Canon Nestler holds a C.Phil. from the University of California in early church history, an M.A. from St. Mary’s Seminary and University Ecumenical Institute, an MDiv. from The General Theological Seminary, and a B. Music, from The Curtis Institute of Music. As a Fellow of The Episcopal Church Foundation, she studied also at Jesus College, Cambridge, where she focused on Christian origins and Syriac language.

Well known in our college community, Canon Nestler served from 1985-1991 and since 2014 as a visiting scholar leading courses for St. George’s College.

We look forward to the extensive gifts of historical, archaeological, and biblical scholarship and institutional leadership that Canon Nestler will bring to St. George’s College. Her anticipated start date is July, 2018.