But the inconvenience is one this congregation welcomes. After eight years of bouncing from one interim minister to another, Union Church is finally welcoming a permanent pastor at the beginning of September. The unique qualities of the church and the area housing costs have made recruitment difficult, but through some creative financial problem solving, a new and permanent pastor is on board.

The Rev. Mark J. Brady, who is currently the senior pastor at the Moultonborough United Methodist Church on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, will likely give his first sermon at Union Church on Sept. 12. His family, including wife Diana and three sons, will soon arrive in Cupertino to enroll the boys in area schools.

Brady takes over for the Rev. Art Domingue, who has been serving as an interim pastor since January. Domingue, who retired from San Jose's First Congregational Church in 2000, was originally going to leave his post on July 19. He was able to extend his stay until Aug. 1, but no further. He and his wife had already planned a trip to Lake Tahoe to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

He's proud to leave behind a church that has found itself re-energized by the prospect of a long-term pastor. "They're really tickled with themselves," Domingue says. His predecessor, the Rev. Roy Dunn, retired in Dec. 2003 after serving as an interim minister for five years. Dunn followed a spate of interim ministers stretching back to 1996.

Though Domingue says the hiring committee looked at 30 résumés for the position, it's generally harder for Union Church to attract applicants because of its independent status. The church was established in 1884 as a congregation free from any affiliation with well-known Protestant denominations, which cuts the church off from an easy supply of interested pastors and requires intense recruitment.

"We don't receive a lot of candidates," Domingue says. "We were having to contact people, and most available pastors around here are retired." Domingue was a Congregational minister, and Brady is ordained in the Methodist church. The hiring committee also saw representatives of the Lutheran and Episcopal churches, among others.

Through a lucky coincidence, Brady found the job listing online. "He found us on his own," Domingue says. "He was looking up a different church and came across our website by mistake." But even after submitting his materials to the committee, there was another problem—housing.

"Most of the United States is not prepared to come in and buy a house in Cupertino," Domingue says.

This problem spurred a number of meetings among the church body. Union Church fully owns its land and has a sizable endowment despite a membership that's declined to about 200 worshippers, so a decision was made to invest in real estate. Domingue says that $400,000 was set aside to help the Brady family afford a Cupertino home, which is currently in escrow. "This is a community issue," Domingue says.

Brady received his master's degree in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey in 1986 and has completed coursework for a doctorate at the Claremont School of Theology. He has worked as an ordained Methodist minister for 15 years.