Rev. José Juan Bernal
My full name is José Juan Bernal Cruz, aka “JJ.”
I was born on October 28, a long time ago, in the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. I was the lastborn of my parents’ 11 children. Both of my parents have passed away, my mother in 1989 and my father more recently, on January 5, 2009.
I left my family’s home to go to a religious congregation within the Roman Catholic Church and then moved to the seminary of Mexico. I spent some 16 years of my life there, completing my studies in 1990. That year, I decided to leave the seminary and come to the States.
I worked in several different jobs until 1993. The year 1993 was very important and busy for me. In that year, I started to work for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, CA as a Lay Pastoral Administrator, in charge of four parishes with Latino congregations. I also began studies at the Franciscan School of Theology, which is part of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Finally, I married my wife Rosario in 1993. We have three children: Ana, “JJ” Junior, and Samantha.
In May 1996, I graduated from the Franciscan School of Theology with a Master’s degree in Multicultural Studies. In 1997, I resigned from my position with the RC Diocese and started work in a Latino Economic Development agency in the city of Oakland. At the same time I got another part time job as a Domestic Violence Counselor, working with perpetrators in a multicultural environment, doing psycho-educational counseling among four counties.
From 1997 to 1999 we were on “sabbatical” from church. We felt that we did not fit into the Roman Catholic Church any more, so we started researching the Anglican Church. The National Episcopal Church encouraged us to “check out” churches in Woodland, Redwood City, and finally Richmond, where we settled at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. We remained there until 2004. At Holy Trinity I worked on developing the music and Christian education programs, as well as evangelism and stewardship. Our Sunday School grew from a handful of children to a group of 70.
I was ordained at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, CA and was appointed to All Saints Episcopal Church in the city of San Leandro for one year. After that I was reassigned to Saint Andrew’s in the city of San Bruno, CA.
I have been a Canonical Resident to the Diocese of Dallas since 2008, first as a supply priest to Christ Church, Dallas, then as Assistant Rector at Saint Luke’s, Dallas, and now, proudly, at Saint Mary’s in Irving, Texas.
