“No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are
welcome here, and it is in that spirit that we welcome you here today,” the
gentle, feng shui voice affirmed.
All had awaited an awesome presence as the mood-setting music flowed into
anticipatory space. Then a black-robed man resembling Robert Redford in hiking
boots walked to center, smiled knowingly at his congregation, and spoke with
his soft, summer breeze nature, “I invite you to breathe deeply.”
Relax. Breathe. Be yourself. Move to the beat of God’s heart.
Why Go to Church?
Many of us wait till we’re desperate, depressed, drowning in grief, or
attending a wedding before we listen to what’s said inside a church—or even
listen to what’s being said inside ourselves.
Still, there I was, sitting at Broadmoor Community Church, United Church
of Church after a seven-week church search in as many denominations with a
friend going through a divorce. We were welcomed with authentic, openly
accepting smiles, and, once seated near the front, no one stared at these
strangers in their midst.
Most waited expectantly for what would come next—music, excellent
music!—which, since my first visit to Broadmoor Community Church five years
ago, ranges from black spirituals sung by Colorado College interns to the Acme
Bluegrass Band to the Swallowtail Celtic Trio to Joe Uveges. Nothing recorded.
Nothing presented on a big screen. Even Music Minister Lynn Hurst, a Methodist
minister openly immersing herself in the UCC experience, is an extraordinary,
multitalented musician in every sense of her fiber.
And then there’s Jim Chapman.
Breathe deeply and know, in July 2002, Jim Chapman began his tenure as
senior pastor in a church that needed a facelift—and I’m not talking
physically, since the building and surrounding landscape was, and still is,
perfectly serene. BCC needed a fresh spirit, a change in personality and
direction, a voice and energy to bring forth its community and global
relevance. Spirit chose the right guy.
Jim was raised Baptist, “Southern Baptist,” he emphasizes, in the Blue
Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, but he “didn’t want to fight the battles the
SBC was engaged in regarding ordination of women, women in leadership,
ordination of gays, and fundamentalism. I had come to terms with these issues.
So had the UCC,” Jim told me.
And in fact, the UCC truly means united.
The church freely embraces all religions. BCC’s congregation comprises a blend
of denominations—Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, evangelical, Presbyterian,
Catholic, Lutheran, and Jewish—and a few were or still are ministers. Plus, the
UCC ordained the first African American, first woman, and first openly gay to
Congregational ministry. As Jim puts it, “BCC offers a safe place to dialogue
in a diversity of theologies and political views.”
Sit down and sip a cup of joe with Jim. Not a judgmental bone affects his
stand on equality within humanity. His soft-spoken words peppered with subtle,
intelligent humor transcend into some potentially volatile environments—racial
and gender equality, immigration policies, climate change, and feeding,
clothing, and housing recovering drug and alcohol abusers, some of whom have
sexual crimes in their past. He goes through a lot of hiking boots walking in
others’ footsteps.
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Working with Together Colorado, a multiracial, multifaith
community organization, Jim has learned to “appreciate that evangelical
Christians form some of the most effective social justice movements in
America today regarding immigration reform and abolishing the death penalty, to
name just two,” just as he appreciates “that a church like ours offers an
equally powerful voice for human dignity.”
Look into his eyes and you might see all the people he’s met on his
travels, their religions, and their beliefs. Jim has spent sabbaticals in
Singapore, Thailand, and India and received a Lilly Endowment grant for his
most recent sabbatical in 2010, allowing him to spend the summer visiting New
Mexico and exploring Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands. And in
2011 and 2015, being passionate about the culture, history, and language of Hispanic
countries, he led church groups on immersion trips to Chiapas, México.
Good Moments Last Forever, Just in Different Form
Jim announced in April 2015 that he would be retiring. “BCC has gained
many more young families, a larger membership, a more critical presence in helping
those in need. We have added many new staff positions, created the best music
programs in the city, both on Sundays and for the community, and we have a
vibrant, growing ministry for children and youth,” he is proud to say.
And what will this young-spirited, 68-year-old world traveler do with his
days ahead? “I don’t really know, but I have some dreams.”
Be still and feel his spirit.
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| Jim with his wife, Andrea. Photo courtesy of Charlie Coon. |
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Jim Chapman, husband Tom, and Leigh, June 13, 2015.
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