The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Chapman
Pastor | Creative | Bad Ass
Writings
I began writing as a hobby in 2012 to chronicle my move from Georgia to Connecticut, my work with Westfield Church, and my ideas, sermons, and notions. In the time since, a little of everything has been posted here, and I think that’s the way it’ll stay.
The Latest
Rejoicing, Weeping, & Moving Beyond Mascots
Killingly has been embroiled in a devastating fight around our high school mascot for the last six months that reached a fever pitch this week when the school board met for 5 hours to address the issue. The scripture for the week, prescribed by the Narrative...
Sermons
The Funeral Sermon I Hope I Never Have to Preach Again
On Saturday, September 3rd, I officiated the memorial service of Taylor Williams. He was an Army Medic who had been murdered in Georgia, stabbed in the back eleven times. He was 26. The morning of the service, I posted in Westfield's Facebook group: I mentioned on...
Voting Faithfully: Immigration
For the last three weeks at Westfield, we've been in a sermon series entitled Voting Faithfully. The idea was this: so often we relegate our political conversations to traditional media, social media, and the kitchen table. But it's clear to us that the church has...
If Only You’d Been There: A Sermon for the 149th Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference
Nearly three years ago, I was asked to serve as Conference Preacher for the 149th Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference. No doubt, it's an honor. There are nearly 400 UCC clergy in Connecticut, so there are lots of people who'd do this job justice. Now, I'm...
Letters to Killingly
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Visual Worship
Turning Water into Wine. Again.
Back in January of 2013, I snagged was tearing through my fabric collection looking for just the right colored fabric to represent wine. I had red fabric and purple fabric and shiny fabric and matte fabric. But nothing that was just red and purple enough to do justice...
Back in the Habit
It's been a while since I've posted anything visual worshippy--Ten months, actually. I'm not sure how I ended up on hiatus from visual worship. Admittedly a lot has happened in the last year and a half--I got married; We went to Rome; I went to the UCC's national...
Altarscapes 101: 4 Tips for Visual Worship
Are you interested in incorporating more creative and visually engaging elements into worship? Here are some tips to think about before you do. 1. Tell the story. Our faith is filled with stories--stories of wars and friendships, of healing and miracles and deaths and...
Stoles
New Stole Sunday: Season after Epiphany
Confession: This stole isn't exactly new. My very tall and very dear G. gave this to me on the occasion of our first anniversary. G. commissioned it from a member of the church he was interning at last fall, the beautiful (and incredibly money-where-your-mouth-is...
New Stole Sunday, Baptism Edition
I love stoles. Fact. I like all kinds: patterned ones, painted ones, even be-tasseled ones are growing on me. But the one's I like the most are ones with quilted or pieced designs--ones that have texture and in their own way, tell a story. I won't lie--I also like...
Mama’s Boy
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