The Morgan Hill United Methodist Church has a long tradition of
serving the South Valley community. For more than a century the
white clapboard building at Fourth and Monterey streets has
welcomed residents to worship and gather for other activities.
The Morgan Hill United Methodist Church has a long tradition of serving the South Valley community. For more than a century the white clapboard building at Fourth and Monterey streets has welcomed residents to worship and gather for other activities.
In July, the congregation welcomed its new pastor, the latest in a line of more than 30 ministers who have served the historic church. The Rev. Jeff Kunkel, however, serves in a unique capacity – as interim pastor to the congregation.
An interim pastor has special training to help a congregation with special ministry needs. In this case, helping them adjust to the departure of their former pastor, Ted Pecot, who served them for 14 years. His assignment will last from 12 to 24 months.
Pastor Kunkel grew up in the Milwaukee, Wisc., area. His family belonged to the Evangelical United Brethren Church (a denomination of German heritage that merged with the Methodist Church in 1968), and he enjoyed attending church until confirmation during his high school years. Then, like so many teenagers, he decided that “God was for others” and stopped going.
During his junior year at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he experienced “an unexpected spiritual awakening.”
He describes himself as “bewildered and surprised,” and began to study the Bible. As he read the ancient biblical stories with a new appreciation, “things opened up,” he said. He began to learn about the life of faith. This led to a decision to attend Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill., where he graduated in 1980.
Kunkel then moved to California, was ordained and began parish ministry in the United Methodist Church in the San Francisco Bay Area. For several years, he served congregations in San Mateo, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek and San Leandro. (The UMC traditionally has an “itinerant ministry” that causes clergy to change congregations frequently.)
In 1991, Pastor Jeff took a sabbatical leave from parish ministry to follow other interests – writing and editing books, taking classes in drawing and painting, curating some museum art exhibitions.
By 1999, he felt a call to return to pastoral ministry, but in a different form. He trained in North Carolina to become a transitional-interim ministry specialist, the first in the Northern California-Nevada Conference of the UMC.
Since then he has served in this capacity at four Methodist churches and one Presbyterian church, helping congregations recover from grief after the loss of a pastor, incidents of clergy sexual misconduct and conflicts between factions. He enjoys his ministry because it gives him the “privilege to serve people at important times in their lives” including births, deaths, marriages and crises.
Kunkel is married to the Rev. Mary Elyn Bahlert, who is in her 11th year as pastor of the Lake Merritt UMC in Oakland. Since the Morgan Hill assignment is part time, he continues to work regularly in his Oakland studio, where he paints, writes and studies. His current projects include a novel and two children’s books.
Pastor Kunkel describes the Morgan Hill United Methodist Church as a “progressive church” where people like to discuss faith issues. “Sermons are not monologues but dialogues where everyone is free to express an opinion,” he said.
The people are interested in exploring “where faith interacts with society.” It is characterized by “a casual style of worship.” A “reconciling congregation,” gays and lesbians are always welcome to participate fully in the church’s life.
Worship services are held Sunday mornings at 10, preceded by Sunday School for all ages at 9. Other activities include Wednesday youth group meetings at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.mhumc.com or call (408) 779-4044.
