Sunstone is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Editor and a new Director of Outreach and Symposia. You can read the full release at SunstoneMagazine. Congratulations to Stephen Carter, selected as our new Editor, and to Mary Ellen Robertson, our new Director of Outreach and Symposia.

SunstoneBlog readers will easily recognize Stephen. He has a great style and a strong commitment to exploring Mormonism through open conversations. We’re excited to see him implement his ideas for the magazine, and to see how it will evolve under his editorship. In fact - if I could put in a personal plug - one of my favorite essays is his Winter Light, the 2005 Eugene England Memorial Personal Essay Contest Third Place Winner. Check out the search feature at www.SunstoneMagazine.com to find his other articles and symposium papers.

Mary Ellen has been a strong supporter of Sunstone since attending her first symposium in 1992, and has served on our board for the past 7 years. She has strong experience organizing several past regional symposia, and is fully committed to the open forum that Sunstone represents. She will work to organize the main symposium, as well as expand into regional and local Sunstone-sponsored events/symposia. She will also work to expand our reach through campus outreach, cultivating new readers from the younger generations, enhancing our online and blog offerings, and work to build both a physical and an online community.

You’ll notice that we have split the responsibilities for the symposia and the magazine instead of concentrating them in one person’s hands. By doing so, we hope to see not only a more aggressive publication schedule for the magazine but also a much more concerted effort to leverage the value of the gatherings to build this community.

As always, we rely on the generosity and support of you, our readers and our friends. We are in the middle of a significant transition right now, so every donation helps. If you can give, know that even small donations are welcome. You can also register now for this year’s Symposium (see the details on our site).

Again, congratulations to Stephen and to Mary Ellen. We look forward to the direction you two will lead us!