umportal org Where was God?


Finding our faith in the wake of disaster | 6B


Jesters Ministry


Giving the disabled a place to shine | 4B


Windsor Village


‘What happens when love meets needs’ | 8B


Section B April 1, 2011


UMR launches search for new chief executive


STAFF REPORTS DALLAS, Texas—The board of di-


rectors for UMR Communications is seeking a dynamic leader to take the role of the organization’s new chief ex- ecutive officer. Applications will be ac- cepted through June 1. UMR Communications is the par-


ent company of the award-winning United Methodist Reporter. The weekly newspaper has been publishing since 1847, when it began as the Texas Christian Advocate. UMR’s mission is to publish qual-


KIDS Preachers’ PHOTO BY MARK BARDEN


Participants at the recent Preachers’ Kids Weekend in the Western North Carolina Conference lay hands on Bishop Larry Goodpaster, following a question-and-answer session, after the bishop asked them to pray for him.


Pastors’ children look back on life in the ‘fishbowl’


BY MARY JACOBS Staff Writer


When she was 16, Maren Oehl’s


mom, the Rev. Karen Oehl, was ap- pointed to a new church, an hour away. Her parents gave her a choice: Move with her mom to the new town, or stay behind with her father during the week. She opted for the latter. The Oehls became a “commuter family” so that Maren could finish her last two years in the same high school. “The experience made me feel


very negative toward the church at the time,” said Maren Oehl, now a junior at Ohio Wesleyan University. During those two years, she got in an accident, totaling her truck, and her


mother wasn’t there. Another time, she needed a physical for a sports team, and she had to book the ap- pointment and go by herself. “It feels silly now, but it was a big deal then,” she said. It’s still a big deal in the mind of


Karen Oehl, who’s now pastor of Brecksville (Ohio) United Methodist Church. “I missed her last two years of


high school,” she said.


Unknown sacrifices The Oehls’ story isn’t unusual. “Preachers’ kids make lots of sac-


rifices on behalf of the church that are really unknown and unheralded,” said the Rev. Mary John Dye, a


preacher’s kid herself and now a dis- trict superintendent in the Western North Carolina conference. When a pastor is called in an


emergency, family vacations are in- terrupted and school events are missed. Members of the congregation usually remain unaware about how the pastor’s children are affected. When there’s ugliness or disruption in the congregation, children of the clergy feel it acutely. For pastors, that’s just part of the


territory, Ms. Dye says, “but these kids were born into it. They’re not there by choice. I believe passionately that, in our connectional system, there ought to be a way for the church to say, ‘We notice and we care.’”


With that in mind, Ms. Dye spear-


headed a Preachers’ Kids Weekend, a retreat for 37 young people in the Western North Carolina conference, held in February. Everyone who par- ticipated, including the adult leaders, was a preacher’s kid, or “PK.” “Preachers’ kids are in a whole


different category,” said Ms. Dye. “This is one place they can go where they’re not the exception.”


Preachers’ Kids event Participants put on skits about life


in the church and made lists of “items you can find only in a parsonage.” The PKs played “The Appointment Game,” to learn about United


 See ‘Fishbowl’ page 3B


ity religion news and provide print and digital resources for communica- tion and education. The national, independent min-


istry provides weekly print and elec- tronic media—the Reporter is its flagship product—as well as custom design, variable data printing, market- ing and targeted mailing services. Board members say the CEO will


provide visionary leadership, opera- tional guidance and enhanced de- nominational relationships for UMR Communications. Candidates must have a broad understanding of and appreciation for the United Methodist Church and its structure at all levels. Recommendations will be made with- out regard to ethnicity, race, color or gender. “Knowledge of the United


Methodist Church and a calling to serve its people is imperative,” said UMR board member Shari Goodwin. “UMR truly is a ministry—not just a business—and we have a real oppor- tunity to help build the church by telling God’s story. We seek someone who is excited about that mission.” UMR shares a common commit-


ment to Christian ministry with the United Methodist Church, operates in accordance with the denomination’s Social Principles and works in part- nership with representatives from many faith groups. To find out more, visit


www.umportal.org or email a resume and statement of interest to ceosearch@umr.org.


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