Tribute for Jason Chen by Rolf Bouma
When I first came to Ann Arbor to interview for the position of pastor for academic ministries at the Campus Chapel, the first thing I was told was that I should speak with Jason Chen in order to get an idea of the possibilities for ministry on a university campus. By that time I accepted the position some months later, at least a half-dozen people had told me that Jason Chen was the person to talk to regarding academic ministry done right.
So it was that halfway through my first year in Ann Arbor I arranged to take a trip through Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to visit campus ministries. The first on my list was Iowa City for a visit with Jason Chen and to see the work that he was doing there. I arrived in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, preaching in Peace Church, Cedar Rapids, that evening. I expected to hear good things about Jason from Doug MacLeod. After all, Doug is the chair of the Board for Geneva ministries. What I didn't expect was to hear about Jason from so many members of the Cedar Rapids church. Some had heard Jason preach. Some had served on the Board at one time or another. Others knew of Jason by reputation or had attended one of the lectures sponsored by Geneva. All praised him highly and spoke glowingly of the ministry on the University of Iowa campus.
I don't know exactly what I expected to find when I arrived at Jason's office on Monday morning. At first glance, there wasn’t much that was impressive. The ministry building didn't stand out. The office was nondescript, piled high with books. The only thing that looked distinguished was Jason himself, with his salt and pepper hair immaculately combed and his tidy appearance. Jason also distinguished himself by his gentle manner and kindly hosting. He had a knack for putting a new acquaintance at ease.
We talked about Jason’s ministry. The thing that struck me as we talked was not the impressive list of speakers that Geneva had hosted over the years, impressive as that list was. Nor was it the list of activities, Bible studies, and discussion groups that Jason led during the academic year. What impressed me was the number of people on the University of Iowa campus whom Jason referred to as “my friend.” It was obvious that Jason considered everybody he worked with as his friend and the feeling was reciprocated. I had confirmation of this sometime later when I ran into a former colleague of Jason's who is now in Ann Arbor. This colleague asked about Jason and expressed appreciation for the friendship that they had enjoyed. As I spoke with Jason and heard about the ups and downs of his ministry through some 30 years, it became evident that his personal integrity and open demeanor were the foundation of the Geneva ministry and its success.
So the best tribute that I can give to Jason is that as I left Iowa City, I didn't find myself thinking about impressive buildings or elaborate ministry plans. I found myself thinking that Jason had added another friend to his list and that I had found a good model for ministry in an academic setting: providing scholarly friendship in a setting that is all-too-often competitive and isolating.
--Dr. Rolf Bouma, Director of the Center for Faith and Scholarship, Ann Arbor Campus Chapel, University of Michigan
The Faith and Learning Award, 2004
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Jason Chen to be Recipient of Faith and Learning Award
Iowa City, Iowa—Jason Chen may have been born in Kulangyu, Xiamen, China, but he has spent the last 33 years in Iowa City. Walking the streets of Iowa City with Chen, one quickly realizes that a sizable percentage of the population regards him as a friend. And his Iowa City friends are only a small fraction of the people whose lives he has touched since moving here in 1971—many, many others have moved on, taking with them the education and experience they earned in Iowa City, as well as an enduring long-distance friendship with him. They also take with them a lasting desire, inspired by Chen, to reflect upon the relationship between their life work and their faith.
Many of the people who know Chen’s face in Iowa City know him as the Asian guy with a few gray hairs, who weaves through traffic on his roller blades or bicycle.
“Jason is almost an institution in Iowa City,” observes Kathleen Staley, Assistant Director of the University Counseling Service.
Others remember his name from media reports as a man who comforted victims’ families as well as members of the Department of Physics, and soothed tensions in Iowa City in the aftermath of the Lu Gang shooting on campus in 1991.
Chen has spent much of his energy in Iowa City challenging students, faculty, and staff at the university, and others in the community, to think about how their personal faith relates to the other areas of their lives, especially academic and professional work.
“Jason reminds people every day that religious beliefs aren't just about having somewhere to go to worship once a week," notes Karen Haslett of United Campus Ministry. "Jason's life-work demonstrates the importance of integrating one's faith into every aspect of her or his life. That's an important message to be reminded of--especially today, when our lives often seem compartmentalized and disjointed."
Chen has also spent considerable time working with international students in Iowa City. From ferrying them to airports and appointments with immigration officials, and inviting them into his home, to taking them to visit American farms and—Chen’s favorite—ski slopes, he has worked hard to help and befriend UI students from every corner of the globe and from many religious traditions.
It was not, however, his hospitality or generosity with international students, his discussions with many of them of the basics of faith, his vibrant and welcoming personality, nor of course his well known skills and stamina on a bike or pair of rollerblades that earned Chen this award.
Says Loreen Herwaldt, UI Professor of Medicine and UIHC Epidemiologist, “Jason deserves this award because of what he has done to nurture members of the UI community in their journeys of faith, to facilitate discussions about the relationship between religious belief and the academic enterprise, and to spearhead efforts to bring in speakers from far and wide to demonstrate to the campus community, not only that religious beliefs can be brought to bear on scholarship, but also that the results are often scholarship of the first order—by anyone’s standards.”
Chen is the first minister to receive the award, and only the second recipients associated in any way with the Geneva Lecture Committee. In view of his upcoming retirement, the committee voted unanimously—in Chen’s absence and without his knowledge—to give him the award this year.
“Usually, the award recipient is someone who is a doctor, a professor, a nurse, or an administrator,” notes political science professor, Cary Covington. “In this case we have given the award to someone who has spent decades helping doctors, professors, nurses, and administrators connect their work with their beliefs.”
Everett Hamner, a Graduate Student in English says, "While Jason was concerned that the committee's decision to give him the award might seem unusual, the rest of us thought it very appropriate to honor him as he closes this chapter in his life."
The award will be presented by the Geneva Lecture Series Committee in conjunction with the public lecture of screenwriter and director Paul Schrader, on September 15 in MacBride Auditorium.
Jason Chen has a BA from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and an M.Div. from Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He began his work in Iowa City in 1971. He is currently an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church, and the Director of the Geneva Campus Ministry. He plans to retire at the end of December. He and his wife, Donna, have two sons and two grandchildren. Donna has served the Iowa City community for many years as a hospice nurse, and their many friends within the University and Iowa City community will be pleased to know that they intend to continue to make Iowa City their home in retirement.
Founded in 1976, the Geneva Lectures Series Committee seeks to foster an awareness of the relevance of the Christian Gospel to academic pursuits. The committee's Faith and Learning Award is presented each year to a past or present member of the University of Iowa community who has promoted the integration of Christian faith and learning.
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