8 Pastor Moves in Golden Gate for July 1

July 1, 2005

Eight churches in the Golden Gate District have new pastors as the United Methodist appointment year begins July 1 -- four in San Francisco, three in Sonoma County, and one in San Mateo County. (In addition, Saia Fa'asisila becomes a lay associate pastor at Hillsdale UMC in San Mateo.)

Bethany UMC, San Francisco -- The Rev. Nobuaki Hanaoka, who served Calvary UMC and was executive director of San Francisco United Methodist Mission in the past year, transfers to Bethany. The Rev. David Ourisman was interim pastor of Bethany for a year, following the departure of 12-year pastor Karen Oliveto. Rev. Ourisman will return to adjunct professor duties at Pacific School of Religion, and worship again with Epworth UMC in Berkeley. Rev. Hanaoka is a survivor of the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, and will play a large role in Bay Area observances of the 60th anniversary of the dawning of the atomic age next month.. Bruce Pettit, former SPRC chair, wrote the Bethany congregation in May that, despite losing family members to the bomb, Hanaoka "is not cynical about the world. He will be our example that nothing is insurmountable" -- a reference to Bethany's struggles to build a new worship facility and with the general church over reconciling issues. Born Christmas Day in 1944, Hanaoka has had a lifelong concern for peace associated with his natal day -- like ending the military-industrial complex and discriminations that still persist in the world.

Calvary UMC, San Francisco -- Calvary has long said it likes to be a teaching ground for new pastors. This next appointment year it will nurture Pacific School of Religion student Jae Haeng Choi as she nurtures them.

Hamilton UMC, San Francisco -- The Rev. David Ofahengaue, who served Greenville UMC in the Nevada-Sierra District for three years, transfers to Hamilton, following the Rev. Halatoa Saulala. Rev. Saulala had been Hamilton's pastor since Feburary 2004, following the November 2003 death of 7-year pastor 'Ana Tiueti.

Ohnnury Mission UMC, San Francisco -- The Rev. Jong Ho Kim, ordained in 1998 in the Korean Methodist Church, becomes pastor of Ohnnury, replacing the Rev. Yeo-Am Yoon.

Hope UMC, South San Francisco -- The Rev. Mark Cordes, a probationary elder who has served last year as associate pastor at Fairfield Community UMC and will commute from San Rafael where he recently purchased a home, becomes pastor of Hope UMC in South San Francisco. He succeeds the Rev. John Song, who six years ago became pastor of both St. Paul's UMC and Aldersgate UMC in South San Francisco before they merged in 2001 to become Hope. Rev. Song will become pastor of the new Living Grace in Mountain View. He wrote to the Hope congregation in April: "I will be appointed to a Pan-Asian American fellowship currently comprised of 12 young families with 15 children of various Asian ethnic backgrounds, including interracial couples, who dream of becoming a chartered Asian-American UMC in our conference...I feel strongly that God is calling me to take up this challenge in starting a new church with the unique opportunity to reach out to other Asian-Americans in the Bay Area. I feel excited and scared at the same time."

First UMC of Santa Rosa -- The Rev. James Current, retired, will be interim senior pastor of First UMC of Santa Rosa for a year and will commute from his home in Novato. The Rev. Thomas Kimball, who served as Santa Rosa First's senior pastor for four years and before that was Golden Gate District Superintendent for five years, becomes the pastor of Fairfield Community UMC.

Sebastopol UMC -- The Rev. Judith Stone, who has just completed three years as associate pastor at Los Gatos/Saratoga Grace UMC in the San Jose District, becomes pastor of Sebastopol UMC. The Rev. Karen Paulsen, Sebastopol's pastor for four years, is becoming pastor of Wesley UMC in Palo Alto in the San Jose District. Writing in the July/August Sebastopol newsletter Appleseed, Rev. Stone alluded to the extra difficulties a congregation faces with a late-announced appointment change. It makes "the grief process and the good-bye more difficult...I trust that God will not leave us comfortless but is close by in times of loss, transition, change, and provides direction and a way into the future."

Sonoma UMC -- The Rev. Pamela Cummings, who just finished nine years of service to First UMC of Loomis in the Delta District, becomes pastor of Sonoma UMC. The Rev. Angelo Fazio, who had been Sonoma's pastor for three years, is retiring and has moved to a suburb of Boston in his homeland of New England. Sonoma UMC honored Angelo and Mary with a musical farewell on June 4. Rev. Fazio was originally ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1966. He was part of a monastic order, the Congregation of the Passionate, for 33 years at various locations in the northeastern United States. His desire to become married led, in part, to his decision to convert. He became United Methodist while pursuing a master's degree in theology at Boston University in 1991. Rev. Fazio wrote of his ministry at Sonoma, but perhaps also of his 39 years of ministry: "I did the best I could with the hand that the Lord dealt me. What I lacked others supplied and will continue to supply. That is the meaning of the Body of Christ. All will be well."