This is our story . . .

Rev. Dr. Paul "Chip" Jahn is an unassuming person. I've met him several times, seen him at work quietly supporting the Conference at gatherings both within the Conference and at the National Setting. His demeanor suggests steadfastness, approachability, and collaboration.

If asked to play a game of two truths and a lie, if Chip said "I helped broker peace in a civil war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka" . . . based solely on his demeanor, well, you might be inclined to say that is the lie.

You'd be wrong. Pastor Chip has an incredible, 42-year career in ministry that is full of wonderful surprises—even for him and his wife, Gayle Morley Jahn. For one thing, they never expected Chip to serve only one pastoral call during his career.

Chip and Gayle (she's a fixture on the IKC's Women's Board and a champion of the Days for Girls campaign, no little thanks to the Sew Be It ministry she launched 20 years ago) recently retired from what turned out to be a lifetime of pastoral ministry at St. Peter's United Church of Christ and Trinity United Church of Christ in Spencer County, IN. From the time Chip left Eden Theological Seminary with a master of divinity degree in 1979 until his retirement this month, he's been with the people of St. Peter's and Trinity in the communities of Fulda and Lamar. The couple didn't expect to be there for the long haul.

These sibling congregations are not only where Chip pastored, but the home that fostered his intense commitment to Just Peace (the area on which his doctor of ministry degree from Eden centered, a response to the Christian theory of Just War). It's where he learned to let children and youth into the deepest expressions of ministry and mission, typically reserved only for adults. It's where ministries that branch out beyond these rural churches began and continue to be supported.

One common thread is that from the beginning Chip has served those in crisis. In his earliest days of pastoral ministry his parsonage was a safe place for women and children fleeing violent homes. Today that work has grown into a network called Crisis Connection that serves a seven-county area and hosts a 24-hour hotline. (That hotline, by the way, was present in those early days, too, when it was run by an all volunteer crew, no small number of which came out Chip's network of caring.)

When I've spoken with Chip over the last several years, I get that sense that his skill at being a non-anxious presence in crisis environments is because he has honed the practice of awareness of brokenness, seeing where there is greatest need for God's love and Christ-inspired action. The kind of tuned-in nature Chip has influences his way of seeing and being and leading. From rural pastorate to crisis intervention to Just Peacemaking in Sri Lanka, a willingness to engage Christ-centered action led him in every instance.

Case in point, because he'd met, learned from, and been touched by some Sri Lankan visitors to his congregations, he ultimately found himself in Sri Lanka, in areas others had not had been able to access. He recalls a tense time on the Jaffna Peninsula: "It was 4:00 a.m. Jaffna time, and I was awake; still not adjusted to the time difference. It was my son’s eleventh birthday, and I wasn’t going to make it home. I lay there wondering what I was doing so far from my family and my congregations in Southern Indiana. The night I had crossed the lagoon, which separated the Jaffna Peninsula from the rest of Sri Lanka, government forces had attacked the flotilla of unarmed boats killing three people. Most of the boats turned back, mine had been cut off and had had to go forward. But the boats hadn’t run since, and I didn’t know when I was going to be able to get home." (This excerpt is from Chip's own thesis on Just Peace, quoted from the JustPeaceMoive.com site, here).

Chip found himself responding to crisis, open to Christ's call on his heart and on his flesh and bones, witnessing with his whole self in Sri Lanka. He continues, "The reason I was there was as much for myself, my family and my congregations in Lamar; as for friends in the Jaffna Diocese. ...Jesus tells his disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13: 34-35. ...It is not only the sign by which we will be known, but the force with which we will change the world into God’s coming realm."

Chip continues, summing up what is at the core of his own way of doing ministry, "The Gospel is as believable as its preachers are credible...we have often struggled to turn the words into actions." Therefore, Chip strove to act whenever opportunities to do so arose.

That vital struggle for action finds success in the congregations Chip has pastored. He talks about the work his congregations do, not the work he or Gayle do. His humble attitude isn't a feint, it's a sign of his sincere faith and convictions. Talking to Chip you realize he does what so many of us hope to do: he revels in the work of the people of God, whether it's his work or someone else's. In fact, he delighted in telling me what others have observed about St. Peter's and Trinity, they are the only two congregations who don't need a pastor. They are just that good at doing God's work of their own accord.

The work he seems to revel in most is that of his Young Disciples, the youth and children who engage in ministry at St. Peter's and Trinity. This is the legacy of his and Gayle's leadership. Chip is always ready to share the stories of his people, especially the youth.

For example, the children in his congregations have led to the construction of a splash pad for a children's home in Louisville, partnership to house the homeless, and a fundraiser to support the construction of wells in Nigeria. And that's just the kids of St. Peter and Trinity, the adults aren't too shabby, either.

As Chip notes (recorded in this lovely reflection written by Kathy Tretter, editor and journalist, for Spencer County Online), “There is a lot of leadership [among the congregation]. We’ve seen a couple of generations of very self-propelled people.”

He'd defer taking credit for any of this, I imagine, just as he did when he was presented with the UCC's inaugural Three Great Loves award which he insisted should go to two of his congregants instead. But there's strong evidence that Pastor Chip has left an indelible mark on the hearts of his people. That evidence? You'll find it in this statement on the Eden Seminary website: "At the time of their retirement from ministry with Lamar, Indiana congregations of Trinity UCC and St. Peter UCC, the congregations, communities, family and friends of Rev. Paul 'Chip' and Mrs. Gayle Morley Jahn wish to honor them with a gift to Eden Theological Seminary to establish The Chip and Gayle Morley Jahn Endowment Fund for Just Peace."

This fund will support the establishment of an "academic home for just peace" at Eden. A fitting legacy for a man who brought to his ministry the love of a pastor, the faith of a disciple, the commitment of a missionary, and the perspective of an academic. (You can support this fund by clicking here and filling out the donation form at the bottom of the page.)

What to say other than "Well done, good and faithful servants"?Here's to Chip and to Gayle who inspire self-propelled people. I add my voice to the chorus of gratitude.

Written by Rev. Nikki Shaw

IKC Communications Director