Park Hill
Congregational Church was organized in 1949 in the early part of the
post-World War II building boom. During this time the
residential development of the northeast part of the city was being
completed, and the number of families in the area was growing.
David Colwell
became the church's first permanent minister during the 1950s.
His relatively orthodox, formal style, which included his wearing of
a clerical collar, seemed appropriate for the time. Under his
leadership the new church grew rapidly, as new families established
themselves in Park Hill and adjoining neighborhoods. The
initial church building, now housing Temple Micah, was dedicated in
1950. In 1953 a classroom wing was added, and in 1956 the
present nave, seating 400 at capacity, office space, and more
classrooms were completed.
David Colwell was the older brother of
Robert Colwell, Principal of East High School and also a
community leader during much of the turmoil of the 60’s and
70’s. In addition, Robert played a key role in the development
of La Foret, the church retreat center in Colorado Springs which
has meant so much to generations at PHCC.
The membership grew, and by the
end of the decade it stood at 680, with two worship services and two
sessions of church school held each Sunday. At that time
Richard B. Kozelka came as the church's second senior minister.
PHCC was actively involved with Denver Public Schools busing to
achieve court ordered integration throughout the city. Kozelka
actually ran for a seat on the Denver School Board, but was narrowly
defeated.
Beginning in the early 1960s, very rapid and
substantial demographic change swept across Park Hill. At the
beginning of the 1960s PHCC had a high of 600 members. There
were subsequent major losses. The move of United Airlines to
Chicago caused many vacant homes in Park Hill and a serious drop in
PHCC membership. At the same time 100 members left in a
friendly effort to form Parkview UCC in Aurora, Colorado. That
time period also coincided with an influx of African Americans into
the affordable Park Hill neighborhood. Black families moved
into the area, and a white flight to the suburbs was underway.
During this period, many of the citizens of Park Hill, acting with
and through the neighborhood churches, made it their goal to make
Park Hill both integrated and stable. Many socially committed
citizens of the 1960s settled in the area. Because of their work,
the area became both a desirable place to live and an example that
racial integration can and does work.
Park Hill
Congregational was one of the leaders in this movement. As a
result, the neighborhood action group Greater Park Hill Community
Incorporated was founded. The citizens rallied, and Park Hill
evolved into a successfully integrated and stable community of
whites, blacks and other ethnic minorities.
Roy Smith,
currently a member of PHCC, became the interim, then called, Senior
Minister of PHCC after Kozelka was called to a church in New Jersey.
Smith came to PHCC from a campus ministry at CU in Boulder.
There had been some congregational conflict toward the end of
Kozelka’s term and Smith had the difficult opportunity to assist the
church in finding itself and claiming its future.
In the decade of
the 1970’s, but particularly following Smith’s tenure, church
membership continued to decrease in size. The causes included
a continuing change in community demographics with continuing
movement of members to the suburbs, and the cultural changes in
attitude of the relevance of mainline churches.
In the remainder of the 1970’s and
during the 1980’s the church faced challenges common to many liberal
churches. Pastoral leadership was uneven. During much of
the decade, we were served by interims and short-term pastorates,
with the resulting instability. However, in 1989, we were
fortunate to have Phil Campbell, a gifted clergyperson with ordained
standing in both the Disciples of Christ and the UCC, come as our
Senior Minister. He and his wife Teresa gave inventive
leadership for 16 years before leaving in 2005 so Phil could teach
at Iliff School of Theology.
In 1992, at the initiation of Phil
Campbell, the congregation attempted to broaden its African-American
membership. PHCC decided to enter into a co-pastorate with an
African American minister. The national UCC and the Rocky
Mountain Conference provided funds to assist funding of the
co-pastorate. The congregation welcomed the new minister
warmly and enthusiastically. A year into this co-pastorate,
however, two parishioners charged the new minister with sexual
misconduct; and the congregation terminated his contract. This was a
sad occasion, as our congregation was pleased with the new direction
of the church. The termination of the minister was handled
with the help of the Rocky Mountain Conference, but there were many
strong emotions expressed during that time. The congregation
was very disappointed, because it had been so committed to the
co-pastorate idea and hoped it would bring more people of color into
the congregation.
After a
Sabbatical early in the 21st
Century, Phil gave extraordinary attention to PHCC being a leader
among UCC churches in becoming an Open and Affirming congregation.
In an effort to defeat a statewide constitutional amendment against
gay marriage, Phil became a leader in the Clergy for Marriage
Equality movement. The congregation embraced his controversial
work. Campbell’s entire ministry was characterized by
stability within the congregation. Throughout, the membership
was about 170 to 225. Gradually, the church became a leader in the
Rocky Mountain Conference in mission giving per capita.
Upon Phil’s
departure for Iliff Seminary, we had a somewhat extended interim
period that included two ministers, Andrea Anastos, then Jack
Wieczorek. During this time the congregation discovered the
strength and value of lay leadership. The best example of this
was the formation and work of a Search Committee that led to the
arrival of The Rev. Dr. David Bahr at Thanksgiving time in 2007.
Temple Micah (to be added)
Racial Justice Commitments (to be added)
