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News

Upper Room Ministries Repositions Management Team to Strengthen Growth Opportunities

Carnahan
Sarah E. Wilke
(NASHVILLE, Tenn., October 15, 2009/GBOD/ ) — Key leaders of Upper Room Ministries, a division of The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD), will assume new roles, effective immediately, to strengthen the organization's capacity for growth.

Sarah Wilke, currently Publisher and World Editor, will lead the Upper Room as Publisher to emphasize her focus on the 74-year-old ministry's business operations and development.

Deming
Dr. Lynne Deming
Dr. Lynne Deming, Executive Director of Publishing Ministries, will become World Editor to reflect her direct supervision of content generation.

Haas
The Rev. Jerry Haas
The Rev. Jerry Haas, currently Director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation and Emerging Ministries, will become Spiritual Director for the Upper Room Center for Spiritual Formation. This transition will allow Haas to concentrate on the development of a new Upper Room initiative that will consist of both a Nashville-based center and a global interactive presence.

Albin
The Rev. Tom Albin
The Rev. Tom Albin, currently Team Leader for Upper Room Program Ministries and Dean of the Upper Room Chapel, will become Dean of Upper Room Ministries and Ecumenical Relations to reflect the organization's increased focus on external relationships.

"These redefined roles allow us to better focus on our priorities," Wilke said. "Our ministry is to lead people into a daily spiritual walk with Jesus Christ. We believe that with this new configuration we can provide the leadership necessary to strengthen each step of that journey through the printed word, teaching, training, spiritual formation, and evangelism."

Greenwaldt
The Rev. Karen Greenwaldt
The Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, General Secretary of the General Board of Discipleship (GBOD), endorses the decisions as an important step forward for Upper Room Ministries. "I'm confident these changes will maximize the talents of what is already a team of dynamic leaders," she said.

Wilke, who holds an executive MBA from Southern Methodist University, joined Upper Room Ministries in July 2009, after serving as president and chief executive officer at UMR Communications, publisher of the United Methodist Reporter. She also serves as an Associate General Secretary of The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD).

Deming, who holds a doctorate in Old Testament from Emory University, has served in her current capacity since 2004. Haas, who holds a master of divinity from Pacific School of Religion and a master of arts degree in clinical pastoral counseling from the Graduate Theological Union, came to the Upper Room in 1999 as Director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation and Emerging Ministries. Albin, who holds a master of divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge. He joined The Upper Room in 1999.

All four members of the management team are longstanding members of the United Methodist Church.

The General Board of Discipleship's mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD (www.gbod.org) is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at 877-899-2780, ext. 7017.

 

News Media Contact: Steve Horswill-Johnston, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 340-1726 or shorswill-johnston@gbod.org.

 

 

 

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