Our Minister, Rev. Johnnie Bloom-Ramirez

Rev. Johnnie Bloom Ramirez (he/they) joined Mission Peak UU as contract minister in August 2026. He was born and raised between the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys, growing up in Mission Hills and Van Nuys, but spending a lot of time in Canyon Country, Saugus and Castaic. The eldest of three boys, he was often the primary caregiver to his younger brothers. He thrived in dance and theatre as a means of expression in an atmosphere of oppression.

While working at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, he discovered the UU church there completely by accident, intrigued by the fact that they flew both the rainbow and world flags. Johnnie served this church as a member of the Membership and Worship Arts Committees, as well as working as the church’s Office Administrator for 7 years. It was there that he was mentored by the Rev. Karen Stoyanoff and encouraged to pursue professional ministry when his career at Disneyland was not advancing as he had hoped after receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Management from Ashford University in 2013. Rev. Karen provided the means and method to get to Chicago for a Meadville Lombard Theological School for a recruitment weekend, where he took his first class and was hooked. Johnnie graduated from Meadville Lombard in 2018.

Before Disneyland and professional ministry, Johnnie wore a lot of different hats – he worked attractions at Six Flags Magic Mountain, as a waiter, a restaurant manager, a telephone psychic, a human resources admin, a customer service agent for a major German airline, and a retail manager selling swords. During his tenure at Disney he worked in Fantasyland attractions, eventually moving backstage to Entertainment Costuming. In both he took on supervisory and training roles. After leaving to finish seminary, he came back and worked two years at the Disneyland Hotel in Guest Services and Concierge. While serving as a minister and chaplain, he was also employed by a major US airline for five years as a Flight Attendant, where he got to see a good portion of the world we live in, including 45 out of 50 states!

He has been working in professional ministry since he started seminary in 2015, completing a community ministry at The Center OC, a nonprofit organization serving the LGBTQ+ community, helping schedule health and mental health appointments for clients as well as offering pastoral care to those that needed it. He then completed his student and intern ministry years at First Church in Los Angeles, and Tapestry: A Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Lake Forrest. In 2020, at the height of the global pandemic, he worked as a chaplain resident at the University of California Medical Center in San Franciso. He continues his ministerial education with the United Seminary of the Twin Cities, working toward a Doctor of Ministry in Arts and Theology.

Johnnie chose to work with Mission Peak because he believes them to be a motivated and dynamic group willing to take on the challenges of ministry in our fractured world. He also is incredibly grateful for the organizational tools put in place by his predecessor, as it feels organic and not corporate.

In addition to his ministry and professional expertise, he also helps run a 501c3 nonprofit historical reenactment company – the Guilde of Sainte Marie – which has performed all over the states of California and Nevada, as well as receiving accolades from the Cities of Hanford and California City. The focus of Sainte Marie is to teach about Renaissance history, life, and culture from the perspective of the French and English royal courts of the time.

Adopting the descriptor of “rational mystic” from his mentor, Johnnie spiritual practices are largely earth-based, as he was trained in shamanic practices, Celtic and Hellenic traditions, before embracing Unitarian Universalism, aligning with Transcendentalism and Process Theology. He uses tarot, astrology, guided meditation, storytelling and dance as his primary methods of connecting to Spirit. He finds the connections between science and spiritualism to be fascinating.

Rev. Johnnie is married to René Bloom-Ramirez, a site supervisor for a large scientific nonprofit in Silicon Valley. They have an adult son, Geordyn, who works as a café manager for a large bakery chain, that still cohabits with them with his dog, Polyphemus the Pomeranian. They all answer to Rukia, a tortoiseshell cat.

Our Community Minister, Rev. Barbara Meyers

Rev. Barbara F. Meyers is a Community Minister with Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation. A member of our church since its founding in 1994, she earned a Masters in Divinity in 2004 from Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley and returned to Fremont to launch a community ministry specializing in mental health.

Her entry into ministry marked a career change after working as a computer software engineer at IBM for 25 years. She holds a BA in Mathematics, an MS in Computer Science and a PhD in Computer Science, all from UCLA, and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Chapaincy Institute in Berkeley.

The Mental Health ministry has close ties to the UUA’s accessibility group EqUUal Access.

Read Barbara’s Message.

Our Minister Emeritus, Rev. Chris Schriner

Rev. Chris Schriner is Minister Emeritus of Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation. He graduated from the University of Redlands, majoring in religion, philosophy, and psychology. He received a Doctorate in Religion from Claremont School of Theology and an MS in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from the University of LaVerne. His honors thesis at Redlands examined the ethical thought of theologian Paul Tillich. His dissertation at Claremont dealt with nuclear weapons policy.

In addition to ministry, Dr. Schriner worked for 20 years as a psychotherapist and he has led personal growth workshops throughout his career. He has also written six books, including Feel Better Now: 30 Ways to Handle Frustration in 3 Minutes or Less; Your Living Mind: The Mystery of Consciousness and Why It Matters to You; Do Think Twice: Provocative Reflections on Age-Old Questions; and Bridging the God Gap: Finding Common Ground Among Believers, Atheists and Agnostics.

Dr. Schriner has also studied comparative religion, neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and various spiritual disciplines. He lives in Fremont, California with his wife Jo Ann.