"St. Andrews Episcopal Church, originally named Trinity Memorial Church, was designed in the Gothic style in 1909 by architect Ralph Adams Cram. It is a small L-shaped structure built of brick with limestone lintels and a slate roof. The exterior is ornamented with wooden Gothic tracery on the windows and porches. Saint Andrews became famous as a teaching center for churches throughout the country and many ceremonial practices which were introduced there." (from (
visit link) )
"Our parish was the second Episcopal parish organized in the city of Denver, Colorado. In 1873, the House of Bishops of the national church elected John Franklin Spalding as the second Missionary Bishop of Colorado. One of Bishop Spalding’s first acts was to propose the erection of a chapel in memory of his predecessor, Bishop James Maxwell Randall. It was decided to build at 26th and Curtis Streets, where St. Johns in the Wilderness (Colorado’s first Episcopal parish) was already operating a Sunday school. Ground was broken on March 18, 1874, and the building was ready for occupancy on Trinity Sunday of that year. The new church building was formally opened by the bishop under the name Trinity Memorial Chapel.
The first rector of Trinity Memorial was Rev. Mr. W.H. Moore. One of the most notable early rectors was Charles H. Marshall, who served for fifteen years, 1880-1895. During the time of Rev. Marshall, the church was enlarged to a total seating capacity of 350 people. Soon after this expansion, however, the parish membership began to decline. The demographics of Denver were changing and Curtis Park was no longer a fashionable neighborhood.
In 1880, the cornerstone was laid for the new Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist at 19th and Welton St. On the night of May 15, 1903, an arson fire destroyed the Cathedral. The Cathedral vestry decided that they would not rebuild at the Welton St. location. In 1904, the Trinity Memorial building was so badly deteriorated that the congregation decided to rebuild on a site owned by the Diocese, adjacent to that previously occupied by St. John’s Cathedral.
In 1904, St. John’s Cathedral conducted a competition to choose a design for the new cathedral building. One of the contestants was the distinguished Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram, whose later works would include the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in New York City, and the cadet Chapel at West Point. Cram’s proposal for the new cathedral was not chosen but Cram subsequently prepared drawings for Trinity Memorial. His design called for a gothic structure executed in locally made brick. The cornerstone of the new Trinity Memorial building was laid on Sunday, August 9, 1908. Some time around 1919, the membership opted for the name St. Andrew’s, presumably to avoid confusion with the larger Trinity Methodist Episcopal, just a few blocks away.
In the 1920's, Father Neil Stanley, a renowned preacher and spiritual director, became rector of St. Andrew’s. Father Stanley brought both Anglo-Catholic liturgy and a heartfelt concern for the poor of the neighborhood…a tradition that continues to this day. He invited the children of the neighborhood to serve as acolytes at Sunday Mass and then stay for breakfast. Longtime parishioner, Tom Titus, reports that often there were more young acolytes gathered around the altar than parishioners in the pews!! Father Stanley provided not only for his own needs, but also for the upkeep of the church and outreach to the neighborhood by writing short stories for pulp magazines. Also, during his tenure, a rectory, which now serves as St. Andrew’s parish house, was built on the lot south of the church.
By the mid 20th century, St. Andrew’s was continuing to struggle financially and was designated a mission of the diocese. Then, in the late 1960s, a new priest came to St. Andrew’s who was to leave a significant impression on the church structure itself, the format for worship and the direction of the ministry. Father Jon Marr Stark was appointed rector, January 1, 1969. Rev. Stark believed in traditional “high church” liturgy coupled with a strong involvement in the social issues of the day. In the mid-1970's, Jon Stark founded the Order of the Holy Family (OHF), a monastic order of the Episcopal Church. The Order had a strong commitment to Denver’s rising homeless population and began using the St. Andrew’s undercroft as an overnight shelter for these individuals. Bishop William C. Frey acknowledged the Order by mitering Fr. Stark as its first Abbot. In 1984, the Abbot and the remaining brothers left Denver for a new abbey in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The remaining parish membership entered into a relationship with the Diocese in 1985, agreeing to offer the use of parish facilities to the Episcopal Pastoral Center, the outreach ministry of the Diocese, in return for payment of parish utility bills. Also at this time, Bishop Frey made our vestry aware that a group called the Inner City Congregation needed a place to worship. This group was led by Mother Kay Ryan, who was the first woman priest in the Diocese of Colorado. Both groups shared St. Andrew’s facility.
In the summer of 1986, Father Kenneth Near, a Canon of St. John’s Cathedral, visited St. Andrew’s and fell in love with the beauty and spiritual serenity of the church. Father Near was aware of St Andrew’s history as an Anglo-Catholic parish and was also excited about the unique location between the downtown business district and the poorest ethnic neighborhoods. Father Near approached the Vestry of St. Andrew’s with the idea of converting from parish status to a parochial mission and come under the wing of St. John’s Cathedral. St. John’s would be willing to provide funding for a major renovation of the church if St. Andrew’s would become the “headquarters” for St. John’s mission work in the inner city. Subsequently, Father Kenneth Near became a part-time vicar for St. Andrew’s with the Cathedral paying his full salary.
Major repairs on St. Andrew’s structure included a new composite roof, new plaster and paint, and an oak floor that was laid over the asbestos tiles. Tim Hinz, a local woodworking artist, made a freestanding altar. The men of St. John’s removed asphalt and planted trees. Betty Luce and Martha Bollenbacher organized a group to create needlepoint kneelers for the altar rails, which are still in use today! The church was rededicated on the Feast of St. Andrew’s, 1988, with great pomp and circumstance! ...
On All Soul’s Day 1999 a fire broke out in the undercroft of the church, causing significant smoke damage to the entire nave and sanctuary. The congregation worshiped for nine months at the nearby Temple Events Center while the church was undergoing restoration. The congregation actually grew in numbers during this time, and the experience caused the congregation to feel a renewed sense of strength and commitment to St. Andrew’s and to each other. The church organ was ruined in the fire, and an organ committee was formed to select an appropriate instrument for the church. A Buzard pipe organ was placed in the church following a successful Capital Campaign. In 2000, St. Andrew’s attained Parish Status, and Mother Connie became Rector. Each year brought increases in membership and at the time of her retirement in June, 2007, the church was averaging 175 in attendance at two services each Sunday, with a record attendance of 300+ at Easter. In her final months as Rector, the congregation undertook a program, Sacred Vision/Sacred Space, to expand the church. That work will begin after Easter, 2008 with completion in 2009. Just in time to welcome our new Rector." (excerpted from (
visit link) )