[ Mission Statement ]   *   [ Preamble to By-laws ]   *   [ Council Executive Jim Ryan ]

Our Mission Statement
The Colorado Council of Churches is a community of communions formed by God, defined by Jesus Christ and shaped by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of enabling the member communions to be a fuller expression of the one Body of Christ than any one communion can be by itself. Through our relationships and our actions together, we shall manifest and give witness to the unity and mission of Christ's Church in Colorado.

Preamble of the By-laws of the Colorado Council of Churches
This preamble expresses some of the core perspectives which shape the work of the Council.

1. The Colorado Council of Churches, as an expression of the body of Christ, is a community formed by God, defined by Jesus Christ, and shaped by the Spirit.
2. It is in being in Christ, not in being a council that we discover who we are. We are more an organism than an organization, more a body than a bureaucracy, more becoming than being.
3. We are first and foremost a community of prayer, a communiton of one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one hope.
4. We gather at table as sisters and brothers in Christ listening the the Spirit of God and to each other so that we may speak to our culture with the voice of Christ.
5. We invite all to sit at the table, while keeping an empty chair to acknowlege who is not present.
6. In the splendor of diverse gifts which belong to the Body of Christ, we work together for justice and peace in the world.
7. We stand together to exchange the greed of the world for the grace of God, the fears of the world for faith in Christ, the many forms of death in the world for new life in the Spirit. In addition, we confess the alienation from other religions in our church history and seek healing of old wounds with mutual respect and cooperation.
8. We believe our unity is given by Christ. It is for us to accept the gift as our calling and to express the gift as our mission.
9. Our unity is a manefestation of Christ's work of reconciliation, a sign of hope to a world divided by the sins of alienation, oppression, racism, and pride.
10. May we learn to be one, staing at the table and relying on the power of Christ's love to perfect our communion.

Council Executive Rev. Dr. Jim Ryan
The Rev. Dr. James R. Ryan has served as the part-time Council Executive of the Colorado Council of Churches since February 1, 2000. He also serves as the Associate Minister of Program and Administration of Central Christian Church, Denver.

Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, Jim served as Senior Minister of First Christian Church, Des Moines, Iowa and then as Executive Director of the Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa before moving to Colorado.

He received his Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, Kentucky and his Doctor of Ministry from Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri.

In the Denver community, Jim serves on the Board of Directors of Housing Justice! He serves as the President of the Board of Eco-Justice Ministries. He has served on the Board of Samaritan Counseling Center.

Jim is married to Kristin Ryan, MSW who is an elementary school principal in Littleton, Colorado. He has two adult children and their families living in Des Moines, IA, and two step-children in Colorado. His interests are golf and travel.

Dr. Ryan indicates that he is truly blessed having the opportunity to serve in ministry in both the congregational and ecumenical setting at the same time.