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Matthew Heyd is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. He served for ten years as the tenth rector of Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. As rector, he engaged with congregation and staff to create a “bigger table” of deep belonging and wide invitation.
Prior to coming to Heavenly Rest, Matt served as director of Faith in Action at Trinity Church Wall Street. He expanded volunteer engagement with opportunities for children in New York City, New Orleans, Haiti, Panama, and Burundi. He supported the development of the Episcopal Service Corps.
Matt also helped launch Episcopal Charities in the Diocese of New York and served as chief operating officer of a national non-profit connecting students and teachers in schools to service opportunities. He worked with the family of Martin Luther King Jr. on a program to help students celebrate the King National Holiday with service.
He was a Morehead Scholar and student body president at the University of North Carolina. He holds a Master of Arts in religion summa cum laude from Yale University and a Master of Sacred Theology from The General Theological Seminary.
He served as the founding board chair of the Community Learning School initiative in New York City– a collaboration of business, labor, and the faith community to strengthen public schools. He was board president of the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes (CEEP). He led a successful funding campaign on behalf of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry for reconciliation with the Episcopal Church in Cuba. He is chair of the Board of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta and vice-chair of the Board of Trustees for Episcopal Divinity School.
His spouse Ann Thornton is Vice Provost and University Librarian at Columbia University. They have a sixteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son.
Matt grew up in Charlotte, NC. He graduated from Providence Day School. He likes to read and run and has completed five marathons.