The work address is 759a Argyle Street, Glasgow G 3 8DS, Scotland.
Dr Paul K. Chapman says the final verse of the Cuban song Guantanamera summarizes his life. The verse says: “With the poor people of the earth I want to share my life” (Con los pobres de la tierra yo mi suerte echar”). “I share life primarily with poor people,” he says, “but also with others who have been socially and economically excluded from the dominant society.”
From 1994 to 2004, Chapman worked at The Employment Project, which brought together people who were being marginalized by the economy, holding onto unsatisfying, low-wage jobs, or barely surviving without employment. As more and more of these people joined the ranks of the poor, Chapman and his colleagues moved The Employment Project to Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where the goal was to make Union into a center of anti-poverty study and action. The mission was to raise up generations of religious and community leaders committed to building a movement led by the poor to end poverty (www.povertyinitiative.org).
The Poverty Initiative has become an influential student-led program with a major impact on the life of Union Seminary as it serves the church and the world. In October 2006, the Rev. Martin Johnstone of the Church of Scotland visited Union to learn from the Poverty Initiative and to share about “Priority Areas,” a program of the Church of Scotland that focuses on churches and people in the poorest areas of the country. The Church of Scotland has allocated major funds to the most impoverished communities in Scotland, resulting in creative renewal and growth.
In December 2006, Chapman and his wife, Gayle Irvin, were invited to work with the Priority Areas as representatives of the Poverty Initiative so that New York and Glasgow could learn from each other. Chapman is now serving his second year, working as a missionary in this inspiring faith-based anti-poverty program
In Scotland, as in the United States, a tragic separation exists between the haves and the have-nots. People struggling against poverty are denied many of the opportunities taken for granted by middle-class people: , the best possible education, fair employment, and safe neighborhoods. When these opportunities are withheld, the result is often violence, addiction, depression, malnutrition—collectively referred to as “unlived life.” Furthermore, by excluding certain segments of the population, the nation overlooks the very resources that are essential to building a just society. By sharing life with the poorest, Chapman says he and his wife are blessed by the resilient people who in the valiant struggle against poverty contribute insight, passion and hope to all.
Chapman’s specific responsibility is to develop an on-going Poverty Truth Commission, which enables people from the poorest communities in Scotland to participate in local and national decisions that affect their lives. This participation helps people who have been often ignored to realize their full God-given talents and strengths. Furthermore, the policies that result from this collaboration are more appropriate to the needs of the poorest communities, since no one knows better the needs of the excluded neighborhoods than the people who live there.
“This,” Chapman says, “is how I have answered the call to promote the Kingdom of God on Earth.”
EDUCATION:
- D.Min., New York Theological Seminary, New York City, NY;
- Diploma in ecumenical studies, Ecumenical Institute, Geneva, Switzerland;
- M.Div., Andover-Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Mass;
- A.B., Brown University, Providence, RI
EXPERIENCE:
- Executive Secretary, North American Maritime Ministry Association, New York City, NY;
- Director, Center for Seafarer's Rights, Seaman's Church Institute, New York City, NY;
- Director, Packard Manse Retreat Center, Boston, MA
IMPORTANT DATES:
- Launched The Employment Project in September 1994
- Ordained: 1984
- Commissioned an American Baptist home missionary: June 1983
- Birthday: September 11
HOME MISSION HIGHLIGHTS:
- Despite media reports of widespread prosperity, up to one-fourth of the children in the U.S. are growing up in poverty.
- As much as one-third of the world's population lives in housing without clean running water or electricity.
- One-third of American workers are classified as "contingency workers" (often lacking job security or basic health and other benefits.)
- The Employment Project provides a variety of resources regarding work and the role of the church to individuals and local congregations. For more information, e-mail Paul Chapman at p.chapman@mindspring.com or call him at 917-400-4303.
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