wfn.org | New team to head UMR electronic publishing

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 14, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville,
Tenn. 10-71B{142}

By United Methodist News Service

Three well-known specialists in electronic worship are joining the United
Methodist Reporter (UMR) to lead a new unit dedicated to making the paper a
diverse center of electronic communications.

The Rev. Thomas E. Boomershine, professor of New Testament at United
Methodist-related United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, will join UMR
Communications this spring as director of multimedia resources and dean of
the UMR Institute for Church Communications. The institute trains church
leaders in media awareness, education, advocacy and relations.

Joining Boomershine is the Rev. Len Wilson, current minister of multimedia
at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio. The church,
widely known as one of the most innovative in United Methodism for its use
of media, is a national model for congregations seeking to spread the gospel
through electronic culture. The other member of the team is Jason Moore,
graphic artist and animator at Ginghamsburg.  

"The addition of these three colleagues, all experts in their field, will
embrace and enhance my vision for UMR as a multifaceted center for religious
communications," said the Rev. Ronald Patterson, publisher of Dallas-based
UMR Communications. "Their contributions will allow us to produce a wide
array of print and electronic communication resources."

Adding the three men to the new unit is one step in a plan to prepare UMR
Communications to serve as a cross-media publishing institution for churches
and other faith-based organizations, he said. UMR will continue publishing
the 153-year-old United Methodist Reporter newspaper as well as newspapers
for other Protestant denominations, plus church magazines, religious books
and journals. Publications for nonprofit organizations and individuals also
will continue. 

"Our mission is to provide a network of communications resources for the
religious community," Patterson said. "As we expand the UMR Institute, it
will become a multifaceted research and educational institution that will
respond to continuing needs for training, as well as fill new needs for
knowledge and education in electronic cultural ministry."
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United Methodist News Service
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