 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Pastor's Page |
| Pastor Geri Cunningham |
St Peter Lutheran Church has a new pastor.
We welcomed The Reverend Geri Cunningham and her husband Earl to Carlsbad on December 1st.
Pastor Geri Cunningham was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in January, 2001.
She is a second-career pastor, having entered professional ministry after retiring from twenty years of
service in the United States Air Force as a Russian linguist. She studied at Pacific Lutheran Theological
Seminary (Master of Divinity) in Berkeley, California and Iliff School of Theology (Master of Arts in
Specialized Ministry) in Denver, Colorado.
Previously she has served in ministry as Youth Minister at Tanque Verde Lutheran Church in Tucson,
Arizona; Intern Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Great Falls, Virginia; Pastor at Christ
Evangelical Lutheran Church in San Lorenzo, California; and Associate Pastor at Lutheran Church of the
Holy Spirit in Centennial, Colorado.
She and Earl have been married for thirty-five years. They have one son, Kevin, who lives and farms in
northern California. Kevin and his fiancée Melanie are engaged to be married next summer. Kevin and
Melanie farm organically and raise goats and chickens. Earl retired from the US Air Force also as a
Russian linguist and from Visa as Director of Information Security. He is currently Executive Consultant
and Managing Partner for Emagined Security. Earl is an accomplished singer.
Geri and Earl enjoy camping, gardening, playing golf, and their two small dogs Jenna Bear and Oscar.
They are loving the opportunities for community involvement as they settle into living in Carlsbad.
Pastor Geri says: “It is truly a blessing to be a part of the St Peter family, a congregation dedicated to
community ministry and welcoming all people.
We welcomed The Reverend Geri Cunningham and her husband Earl to Carlsbad on December 1st.
Pastor Geri Cunningham was ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in January, 2001.
She is a second-career pastor, having entered professional ministry after retiring from twenty years of
service in the United States Air Force as a Russian linguist. She studied at Pacific Lutheran Theological
Seminary (Master of Divinity) in Berkeley, California and Iliff School of Theology (Master of Arts in
Specialized Ministry) in Denver, Colorado.
Previously she has served in ministry as Youth Minister at Tanque Verde Lutheran Church in Tucson,
Arizona; Intern Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Great Falls, Virginia; Pastor at Christ
Evangelical Lutheran Church in San Lorenzo, California; and Associate Pastor at Lutheran Church of the
Holy Spirit in Centennial, Colorado.
She and Earl have been married for thirty-five years. They have one son, Kevin, who lives and farms in
northern California. Kevin and his fiancée Melanie are engaged to be married next summer. Kevin and
Melanie farm organically and raise goats and chickens. Earl retired from the US Air Force also as a
Russian linguist and from Visa as Director of Information Security. He is currently Executive Consultant
and Managing Partner for Emagined Security. Earl is an accomplished singer.
Geri and Earl enjoy camping, gardening, playing golf, and their two small dogs Jenna Bear and Oscar.
They are loving the opportunities for community involvement as they settle into living in Carlsbad.
Pastor Geri says: “It is truly a blessing to be a part of the St Peter family, a congregation dedicated to
community ministry and welcoming all people.
Dear Friends,
Thank you one and all for the wonderful “welcome home to Carlsbad” that you have given Earl and me.
As we continue to get settled in, we feel truly blessed to be a part of the St Peter family. I promise that we
will try not to import any more snow from Colorado.
As we begin this new year together, we are called by our scripture readings to reflect on new
beginnings. Our Gospel text for January 3rd recites the origins of God’s love for us – “In the beginning
was the Word…and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Then Jesus is baptized, performs his
first miracle at the wedding in Cana, starts his ministry in Nazareth. We are called also to reflect on the
church as the Body of Christ. We have readings from Paul on spiritual blessings and gifts, and a reminder
that God’s purpose behind the giving of these gifts is a call to love, the kind of love that God showed us in
Jesus Christ.
As you put away your gifts and pack up your Christmas decorations, remember the greatest gift we have
is God’s love shown to us in through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Don’t let that love grow moldy
on a shelf like Aunt Edna’ fruitcake. God’s love is gift we are called to remember and use every day.
A new year is a good time for resolutions – I invite you to think about what gift of newness you will give
to yourself as you grow in your relationship with God this coming year. Possibly you might want to start a
“Read Through the Bible in a Year” plan (I have some good suggestions on how to do this.) Possibly you
might want to add to your daily routine some quiet time with God – praying, being still and knowing that God
is God. Possibly, there is a special project that is weighing on your heart that you want to begin to bear God’
s love into our community.
Resolve to begin something new this year – something that will bring growth in your relationship with
God. Even God’s love can grow moldy and stale if you just leave it on a shelf or packed away with all the
rest of the Christmas decorations. It is a gift too good not to remember each and every day; it is a gift too
good not to share with others.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Geri