We are commanded to love our neighbor: this must mean that we can.
- Abraham Joshua Heschel
Mission
We cultivate love of neighbors and neighborhoods to see our faith rooted in place.
Vision
Our vision is to see followers of the way of Jesus love every neighbor and every neighborhood in our city.
Values
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We believe the story of God is the story of God, People, and Place. “The first gift that God gave humankind was the gift of place,” wrote Daniel Grothe in The Power of Place. Places provide an invitation to see the world with wonder, to wake to the reality that God is in this place.
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We believe beauty is a pathway to formation. Beauty serves as both an invitation and inspiration to learn and grow. A “Curate” in the Church is one who is learning how to be “one who cares for souls”. To “curate” is to select and present a specific content in an intentional way. Curated beauty is the art of seeing the sacred in every person and every place.
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We believe the experience of being physically present with people and places is essential to formation. The incarnation says our bodies are instrumental, not incidental to following the way of Jesus. Embodied connection is based in presence and proximity.
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We believe Jesus is the way God comes to us and the way we come to God. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Eugene Peterson wrote, “The way of Jesus is the way that we practice and come to understand the truth of Jesus, living Jesus in our homes and workplaces, with our friends and family.” Formation and renewal come from being faithful to the way of Jesus.
Problem & Possibility
The critical problems of loneliness, isolation, and divisiveness we experience in our culture comes from our faith being disintegrated from our place.
The possibility is people following the way of Jesus loving their neighbors and neighborhoods with a faith that is rooted and integrated in place.
Structure
Sacred Place is a “nest nonprofit” with multiple aligned initiatives. Each initiative is grounded in our mission of cultivating love for our neighbors and neighborhoods.
Staff
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Executive Director
Jared is a concierge for the Kingdom. His deep joy is connecting individuals, organizations, and ideas. He has served as clergy in Denver for over 30 years. He has served on various faith, civic, and nonprofit advisory boards in the city of Denver.
Jared, and his daughter Kenna, live with Amos, their beloved Caviler King Charles Spaniel in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood, walking distance from The Bull & Bush, the best pub in Denver.
Why do you you work for Sacred Place?
It is an incredible gift to lead an organization with mission is to help people cultivate love of their neighbors and neighborhoods.
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Operations Director
Becky is a beloved child, a wife, a mom, and a grammy. She uses her talents in organization, attention to detail, problem-solving, and creativity to care for her family, operate many aspects of Sacred Place, and to love her Lakewood neighbors well.
Becky was born and raised in Colorado, a graduate from Colorado School of Mines, and an avid crafter.
Why do you work for Sacred Place?
I love being a part of work that helps people recognize the value of being rooted and encourages growth in relationship with God and neighbors.
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Creative Director
Driven by a passion for creative problem-solving, Katie is captivated by the challenge to simplify complex issues. Katie believes that Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbor is the clearest and simplest path to expanding heaven on earth. She experiences deep joy when she can align others gifts, resources, and frameworks to cultivate understanding, catalyze transformation, and create beauty.
Katie and her husband Christoph live in Grand Junction with their dogs Quasi and Habibti who they adopted while living in Baghdad, Iraq.
Why do you work with Sacred Place?
I love that the work we do inspires imagination for a world deeply in love with their neighbors.
Board of Trustees
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Associate Director, JLP+D
Candace grew up in Indiana and has lived in cities like London, Chicago, and Charlotte before moving to Denver’s Central Park neighborhood in 2022 with her husband, Ross, and their three sons. She works at JLP+D, a New York-based consulting firm specializing in the economics of placemaking. With a background as a CPA and a Master’s in Community and Economic Development, she is passionate about transforming neglected spaces into thriving, connected communities.
Why do you serve on the Board of Trustees for Sacred Place?
My faith is deeply rooted in the belief that where we live matters: both the physical spaces and the connections we cultivate within them. I believe I’m called to love my neighbors by contributing to spaces where everyone can belong, live authentically, and feel known. Investing in our neighborhoods is an act of stewardship and love that reflects God’s design for relationship.
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Chief Executive Officer, Matchstick
Alli is the CEO of Matchstick, a boutique executive recruiting firm. She lives in Centennial with her husband, Chris, and their four adventurous children. When she isn't leading her team, you can find her tending to her chickens or cooking up a Trader Joe's dinner for neighbors and friends.
Why do you serve on the Board of Trustees for Sacred Place?
I believe we are called to be exactly where our feet are, yet I often struggle to translate that into daily habits. Sacred Place helps me connect my faith to the simple, everyday rhythms of life, like the school carpool line or a trip to the grocery store. I serve on the board to help others discover how rooting ourselves in our own neighborhoods allows us to truly love our neighbors.
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Lead Pastor, The Hills Church
Matthew and his wife Elora started the Hills Church in Northeast Denver. It's a church that serves and reflects its neighborhood.
Outside of ministry they have a side gig as chauffeurs transporting their three school-age children to their numerous activities...and they wouldn't change a thing!
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Jess is thrilled to join the board of Sacred Place. Before moving to Colorado with her husband Max and kids in 2016, she spent more than a decade in New York City, where she built a meaningful career at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Her favorite roles at Redeemer included providing pastoral care and mentoring to community group leaders and leading a church-wide neighborhoods initiative. Jess holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) from Yale Divinity School. Deeply committed to fostering connection, building community and supporting the arts, she's honored to support Sacred Place and other non-profit organizations as they try to create beautiful, excellent experiences for people to enjoy together - with the ultimate hope of loving and caring for others better as a result.
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Alignment Executive Director, Mission Hills Church
After a 35 year career in the gold mining industry, and two years leading a local non-profit, Howard now serves as the Alignment Executive Director at Mission Hills Church. He has served on various corporate and non-profit Boards including 9 years as the Board Chair of Youth For Christ International. Howard is married to Tracey and they have two adult daughters and one granddaughter.
Why do you serve on the Board of Trustees for Sacred Place?
After many years of extensive travel I have become more rooted in Denver and am excited about what God is doing in the city.
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Executive Director, Sacred Place
Jared is the founder and Executive Director of Sacred Place. He is a concierge for the Kingdom. His deep joy is connecting individuals, organizations, and ideas. He served as clergy in Denver for over 30 years and on various faith, civic, and nonprofit advisory boards. Jared, and his family live in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood, walking distance from The Bull & Bush, the best pub in Denver.
Why do you lead and serve as the Executive Director for Sacred Place?
I believe Jesus’ invitation to “love your neighbor” is the pathway to being formed into the Way of Jesus for the sake of others. Eugene Peterson’s words reformed my faith to be rooted in place when I heard him say, “All theology is rooted in geography.”
Foundation & Frame
We cultivate love of neighbors and neighborhoods to see our faith rooted in place.
We encourage and equip those who want to follow the Way of Jesus and his command: “Love God. Love neighbor.” We believe the way to love our neighbors and neighborhoods is by accepting spiritual and social responsibility for a specific geography. How that looks varies by personality and place. But our foundation is simple and clear. We love Jesus. We love our neighbor.
Jesus + Neighbor | Spirituality + Geography | Faith + Place
If you love Jesus, but do not prioritize how you do that in a particular place, we appreciate the work you lead, but do not share your perspective. We believe being proximate is a priority to following the way of Jesus.
If you are passionate about place, but do not align your life with the way of Jesus, we admire the work you lead and have a lot to learn from you. But we have a clear focus. We live and lead by following the way of Jesus. We’re committed to both the social and spiritual responsibility for our neighbors and neighborhoods.
If you’re not interested in spirituality or geography, faith or place, Jesus or your neighbors, we’re curious what orients your life. Maybe our work will be a spark for you. We hope we can be a signpost of what an integrated life of faith looks like.
If you want to know your neighbors and care more for your neighborhood, if you hope the future of the Church is committed to a place, if you believe being like Jesus is loving your literal neighbor, then our organization was created for you. We want to learn alongside you. We need people rooted in and for their place. We’re here to share principles and practices. We want to encourage and equip you. We want to see your life established for the good of your neighbors and neighborhood.
We believe the story of God is about God, People, and Place.
God’s first question in Scripture is about place. “Where are you?” God inquiry was not for His benefit. It was for ours. And it still is. The question is not because God has lost the humans. It’s humans who are lost. We’ve lost our identity. We lost our history.
Geography is at the origin of our spirituality. At the beginning of human history God is working in a specific place, a garden in the east, in Eden. At the fulcrum of human history God is present in the person of Jesus, living and working in specific places: in Galilee, in Jerusalem. And it is in the place called Golgotha, the place outside the city, that his blood enters into the dirt that He created.
“All theology is rooted in geography.” The words of pastor and author Eugene Peterson reminds us what we believe about God is ultimately lived out in place. You can’t read the Scriptures without getting your hands dirty. From Creation to Cross to New Creation, the story of God is a story of place.
Walter Brueggemann, writes “There is a preoccupation in the Bible for place.” We have a preoccupation with the conversation about the intersection of faith and place. Our perspective is the neighborhood where we live and the place we call home are sacred. Our practice is to love our neighbors and follow the way of Jesus. This is our foundation and frame.
