Now it’s time…to say goodbye…to all our company…again… If you missed last Sunday’s worship (4/24) you may not have heard but the Bishop and Cabinet are appointing me to a new church.  If this sounds like a flashback, it is.  In an unusual circumstance, my appointment to Wesley UMC did not work out and instead I will be appointed to Evergreen Valley UMC, also in San Jose but on the East Side.  My appointment begins July 1 so until that time, I will still be your pastor and will still be journeying with you in faith.   If you’re unfamiliar with the process in the UMC, a pastor is only guaranteed to serve a particular church from year-to-year.  BMUC was fortunate to have been under the leadership of Rev. Naomi for so long, but typically a pastor is at a church … [Read more...]

Craig’s Corner Now it’s time…to say goodbye…to all our company… If you missed last Sunday’s worship (3/13) you may not have heard but the Bishop and Cabinet are appointing me to a new church.  I will be joining the people of Wesley UMC in San Jose (not too far) beginning July 1.  Until that time, I will still be your pastor and will still be journeying with you in faith.  We have some exciting things coming up (including Easter!) so it’s not over yet!  As we reopen to the public, I hope you will take the opportunity to come by the church and take part in all we are doing.   If you’re unfamiliar with the process in the UMC, a pastor is only guaranteed to serve a particular church from year-to-year.  BMUC was fortunate to have been under the leadership … [Read more...]

As has been the tradition the past few years, our first Craig’s Corner of 2022 is taken from the Pastor’s report to our annual charge conference. Not everyone gets to attend, especially this past couple of years when we’ve had to limit attendance, and even though this report is available to anyone who asks for it, I know not everyone gets a chance to read it so here it is (with some updates from when I wrote it back in October). Please enjoy! Pastor’s Annual Report The journey of faith goes on… Who would have guessed that a year after my last annual report we would still be doing virtual worship? The pandemic is still the backdrop against which everything else is measured in 2021. However, things have gotten better. With the vaccine readily available, everyone who wants it … [Read more...]

Being prepared… But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. – Matthew 24:43-44 Advent is a time of waiting…but not idle waiting.  Just as the early Jews were preparing for the coming of Christ, so we too are preparing for his eventual return.  Whether that happens during our lifetime or not is beside the point.  It’s the journey that’s important.  I’m especially reminded at this time of the story of the Ten Virgins.  Five of them were prepared for a long wait and five were not.  The ones who were prepared … [Read more...]

What I did forsummer vacation Sabbatical Having the opportunity to take time for education is a blessing!  I love learning and sometimes it’s hard to take time out from our regular routine to pursue new interests.  But it is important because when we have time to explore new ideas and new ways of thinking we have the chance to grow in new directions.   During my time away, I attended two different conferences.  The Experience Conference was all about worship and I really enjoyed it.  Not only was it well done, but they had a good slate of topics and smaller workshops to attend.  I went to one about copyright use in the streaming age, one on how to use social media effectively, and “Be Our Guest” – The Value of Positive First Impressions on … [Read more...]

We’re coming back!!! Our COVID Task Force has been working diligently to have in-person worship safely, and together with our Trustees and Worship Team we have a date for our first worship in the church building in nearly a year and a half.   Our target date is October 17 @10:30am It might seem like a way off, but it gives us time to install some new equipment, to work on new patterns of worship, and to smooth out the details about cleaning and social distancing.  When we come back it won’t be every week right away.  We will stagger our opening so we can make sure everything is running as smoothly as we can expect.  Our schedule for in-person worship will be: 1st in-person worship – October 17 (soft opening)Online – October 24 and 312nd worship – … [Read more...]

And so…we wait. As we are preparing to return to in-person worship, the world around us continues to surge in COVID cases.  While certainly not as bad as it was back in January, the trend we had seen curving down has gone back up.  We had hoped to re-open for in-person worship this coming month (August) but instead we are planning on an October opening tentatively.   Over the next few weeks, your COVID Task Force will be considering how we can best open safely.  We will be examining trends in COVID cases, reading up on the best advice from health officials and the CDC, and continuing our work to prepare the church for our return. Right now, the Trustees are coordinating efforts to give the church a deep cleaning. Our Worship Team is hard at work assessing our needs for … [Read more...]