Ann Hafften is US Coordinator for the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). This project sends volunteers to live and work for three months in Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
For most her career Ann has served as a communication specialist in agencies of the Lutheran church, and she continues to enjoy free-lance writing projects. For four years she coordinated Middle East grassroots networking for ELCA Global Mission. Her book is "Water from the Rock – Lutheran Voices from Palestine" [Augsburg Fortress].
Since first visiting the Middle East as a pilgrim in 1977, Ann has returned to Israel and Palestine many times (lost track after 16 or 17 times). She assisted with travel seminars to the region while working for the Center for Global Education, Augsburg College, Minneapolis. In 2005 she led a group that included three ELCA bishops.
She serves on the steering committee of Friends of Sabeel-North America.
Ann has a degree in journalism from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. She is a member of Messiah Lutheran Church in Weatherford, Texas, where her husband Franz Schemmel serves as pastor. She loves to swim and read, ride her bike and work on home improvement projects with Franz.