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Meet Alice Horner Nelson of Calvary Baptist Church of Denver in Southeast Denver

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice Horner Nelson.

Alice, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a Baptist minister who works in communications and contemporary worship, which is not a combination you hear about very often. I knew I wanted to work in ministry right after I graduated college, and so I moved from my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland to Atlanta, Georgia to obtain my Masters of Divinity. I’ve always been good at writing, designing documents, and taking photos, but I also love working with people in a ministry setting. I often say that communications is a passion of mine, but I find much more meaning in being someone’s pastor than sitting in front a computer designing graphics.

A large arc in my story is learning how to use my voice. I am an introvert and grew up with five siblings. I’ve had epilepsy since I was 11, which often put a damper on my confidence. (Thankfully, it’s now controlled by medication.) My preaching classes in seminary were transformative for me because I had to be confident. And at first, I thought I would fail miserably. I wrote my manuscript, got up to the pulpit, and suddenly I transformed into this confident, energetic preacher. I thought, where did that come from?! And I am so grateful for those scary experiences because it reminded me that I deserved to take up space, and my voice was valuable. Despite my crippling shyness, God had given me a gift of the spoken word, and I could use it for good.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I am very lucky to have grown up in a church environment that never told me I couldn’t be a minister. I have many friends who have scars from their church communities who told them females could not lead in a church. And I am lucky to have wonderful parents, supportive siblings, and an amazing husband who is ordained clergy and my ministry partner.

I would say the biggest obstacle on my journey was myself. Sometimes I shake my head thinking back on how much time I spent believing I wasn’t good enough for this or that, and I feel really lucky that God opened doors for me and pushed me through them. I still struggle with that inner critic voice, who is always there to remind me of my past mistakes. I am a big advocate of taking care of your mental health. I take Zoloft proudly because it makes a huge difference in how I take care of myself and how I view myself. It took me a long time, but I finally decided that I shouldn’t be frugal about my mental health and found a therapist. My favorite characters from the Bible are those Old Testament prophets whom God called to preach to a people sitting in exile and darkness because I am so familiar with battling that darkness.

I am not sure where I would be without a God that reminded me of my worth and value again and again. Because life will beat you up with its curve-balls and tragedy. The world may try to convince you that the darkness in your head cannot be beaten. But my belief system tells me that death and darkness never has the final word, but life and light do. And that is a truth I rely on, and witness, over and over.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Calvary Baptist Church of Denver – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Calvary Baptist is an open and affirming Baptist church. What that means is we welcome and affirm all people as children of God from every cultural and religious background, sexual orientation, family composition, physical and mental ability, economic means, race, age and gender. Baptist means a lot of different things, but one of my favorite parts of being Baptist is believing that each person can commune, have a relationship with God, and have thoughts about God, and you don’t need a clergy member to do so.

I think what we offer is truly unique: we are a welcoming community that’s not too big, not too small with an all-female pastoral staff. We have a congregation that is diverse theologically, politically, and socially. We don’t always agree, but we strive to build community together. And we are big fans of hugs (pre-pandemic of course).

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Currently, I oversee the contemporary worship service at Calvary. It’s called The Gathering, and we’re only two years old. My husband is our amazing worship leader who sings, plays guitar, and runs sound, and we’ve been recording music and putting together videos during this pandemic. (If any church in Denver is looking for a fantastic worship director, I know a guy!)

Growing a service is slow, hard work, but I am hopeful that whenever we can invite people back into our building for worship, we can welcome new folks who enjoy good worship music, want an affirming community, and like night church. So many people say that the church is dying, which is a statement that always bugs me because it’s overlooking the small growth that happens at services like mine. Pre-pandemic, we may have had just two new guests each week, but I could start to see a beautiful little community grow over time. Who knows where we will be in five years? The future excites me!

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Image Credit:
LAH Photography

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