Denise smith
When people ask me what I do for work, I tell them I am a midwife. But, I am also a midwife to midwives. I am faculty at the University of Colorado doing research and teaching (both related to midwifery), along with clinical practice at University of Colorado Hospital. Several years ago I stopped counting how many births I have attended, but I think it's well over a thousand. I love what I do and am thankful for a vocation.
At Christ Church, I participate in Altar Guild and recently as a Chalice Bearer. My husband Chris and I are parents to young adults; Abby and Ángel are parents to our first grandchild, Olivia (2). They live in Querétaro, Mexico. Emma (25), our Episcopalian who brought us to Christ Church, lives in Nashville, TN. Elizabeth (22) graduates this spring from the University of Mississippi. I enjoy reading, especially biographies (Ron Chernow's biography of US Grant is top of my list). Chris and I like to walk/hike together and with friends, where we can chat and share life.
brett rush
Brett lives in Centennial with his wife, Katie, and two children, Elden and Grace. He grew up going to Christ Church, and after more than a decade away from Colorado, returned in 2018. Brett is a member of the Finance Committee at Christ Church and also serves as a Chalice Bearer.
Brett works in the investment management and finance industry. Outside of work, you can catch him on the golf course, fishing in a nearby lake or river, or hanging out with the family.
chuck (charles) woodward
Far from being a “cradle Episcopalian”, my spiritual journey through life has been rather wide ranging and varied.
Spiritually speaking, I share with some of you a background in the Roman Catholic Church; having attended parochial schools and served as an altar boy (Catholic for acolyte) as a youngster in Texas and Wyoming. After drifting away from that church while a young man, my subsequent faith experience includes stints in the Congregational, American Baptist, Evangelical Free, Disciples of Christ, Church of England, Methodist and (finally) Episcopalian churches. Each of these has deepened and molded my faith in God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer; with the Episcopalian emphasis on liturgy, the Gospel message, questioning and service serving as both a challenge and a comfort over the past decade and a half.
I have been a member of Christ Church for the last three years, having attended St. Andrew’s in downtown Denver while my wife, Janice, and I lived in the Five Points neighborhood. Prior to that I worshiped at St. Boniface Episcopal Church in Mequon, Wisconsin, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Idaho Falls, Idaho and (briefly) St. Simon’s Church in Portsmouth, England.
In a similar manner, my physical journey has also been wide ranging. I have been blessed to share it with my wife of 47 years, Janice, and our two adult children, Jess and Peter. During those years we have owned more than a dozen homes scattered across the United States and England, including multiple stops in metro Denver. Our current home is less than a mile from Christ Church in the Southern Hills neighborhood, where we have been for just over three years.
A 45 year long background in business includes stints in sales, marketing, general management, and senior leadership with companies both large and small. Having retired from that arena, I now serve as a mediator in the Colorado judicial system; assisting people to reach mutually agreeable settlements in commercial disputes as a preferable option to the uncertainty and risk of Court.
As a member of the Vestry at Christ Church, I’ll do my best to be guided by two of my favorite Bible passages. From Micah: “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” And from the Book of James “Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak.”