Courtesy of Stillwater Chapel
Roughly halfway between the shores of Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Lake Granby you will find a little church with a big heart called Stillwater Chapel.
Stillwater Chapel has been in existence for many years but roughly four years ago the church welcomed its current minister when Pastor Dan Savage began leading the congregation. Originally from Maine, Savage spent over a decade at Grace Mountain Church in Colorado Springs before making the move up to the High Country. According to Savage the congregation at Stillwater has undergone some significant changes over the last few years including the addition of more contemporary music choices to accompany its traditional hymn selections.
“The church as grown in more ways than one,” he said with a smile.
Savage noted that as Stillwater Chapel has grown in recent years it has acquired more permanent local residents within its congregation, helping create a unique blend of local workers worshipping alongside second homeowners, proverbial snowbirds and visiting tourists.
“That has been fun to see happen,” Savage said. “But that is how church is supposed to be. I think we sometimes get caught up in trying to worship with people just like us because we are comfortable. But I feel we have gotten out of that comfort zone in a healthy way. It is refreshing and I think it glorifies God. We are more of a hospital for sinners than a museum for the saints.”
Savage noted that Stillwater Chapel, like so many church’s and entities in the US, went through a somewhat difficult period following the economic downturn that started in 2008. But any challenges notwithstanding the church has continued to maintain what Savage called its “long held slogan and ethos of ‘come as you are”, which he said embodies the church’s welcoming and hospitable spirit. Savage referenced Romans 12:16 as the scriptural basis for that ethos.
“Be of the same mind toward one another,” Savage stated, quoting from the New Testament. “Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Do not pretend to be wiser than you are.”