City: Boulder, CO

Category: Media

Telephone: Dish Network (800) 843-4742

Description: In 1859 a Methodist circuit preacher delivered Boulder’s first sermon to 50 people. Churches of other denominations followed, their spires leading pioneers across the prairie. The First Congregational Church, now site of the Carnegie Library on Pine Street, had Boulder’s first full-time pastor, building, and church bell. A few churches of historical significance still stand. Known as the Little White Church, Longmont’s St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 470 Main Street was built in 1881. Worship services are now held at a newer and larger sanctuary, at 1303 South Bross Lane, that is also called St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Also in 1881, Colorado’s original Swedish community built the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ryssby, on 63rd Street south of Nelson Road (303-774-7761). They styled it after traditional Swedish churches but built it with local sandstone. Members still hold special midsummer and Christmas ceremonies that include Scandinavian traditions. For the winter service, they decorate the simple chapel with evergreen boughs and candles that make halos on winter-frosted panes. The church is very popular for weddings, and the bride and groom often leave in a horse-drawn buggy.If you enjoy religious history, check with Historic Boulder, at 1123 Spruce Street (303-444-5192). This nonprofit group can provide you with information on sacred places. They also keep lists of historic buildings in which people may hold weddings. The vista from the Flagstaff Mountain Amphitheater, for example, makes it a favored wedding site. Boulder’s proximity to the foothills, with easy access to nature trails, has created many special places for people to explore their spirituality without man-made structures or traditional ceremonies.But worship is about more than creating, or finding, special places. The First Congregational Church was Boulder’s first church. At the dedication ceremony in 1870, the minister encouraged his parishioners to attend every Sunday, but admonished them to “leave the tobacco at home!” Church members helped raise funds to bring CU to town, and for many years, its ministers taught philosophy at the new university. Grandma Dartt was a Seventh-Day Adventist who trudged through young Boulder’s saloons, distributing temperance tracts and religious information. In 1895, the Seventh-Day Adventists began building a tuberculosis sanatorium where Mapleton Avenue heads up Sunshine Canyon. A popular hiking trail, Mount Sanitas Trail, is named after the health center, and the Mapleton Rehabilitation Clinic stands there today. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is nearby at 345 Mapleton Avenue (303-442-1522).If many of Boulder’s worship halls were built with sandstone, then their souls are built of wood, tin, lead, and iron. The pipe organs at many of the downtown churches were crafted with loving care and pinched pennies. The three-manual Casavant organ at First Presbyterian is often played for Bach concerts. The Roosevelt organ at First United Methodist sat unused at a Denver church before it was moved to Boulder. By far the largest church organ in the city is enjoyed by parishioners at the First Congregational Church, but even this instrument pales in comparison to the giant at Macky Auditorium on the CU campus. Built in 1923 from contributions by Boulder citizens, the 100-rank organ is housed under the stage and would cost at least $1.5 million to replace. Other notable downtown church organs include the Austin at St. John’s Episcopal Church, the hand-built pipe organ at Trinity Lutheran, and the three-manual McManis organ at the First Baptist Church.The issue of the separation of church and state crops up periodically in this city. During the 1960s the State Board of Education backed religious and civic groups that asked that schools refrain from Christmas pageants. These days, schoolkids may sing songs from many religions at “winter festivals,” and the focus is on informing people about various faiths. Still, seemingly small events create a large furor where issues of church and state are concerned. Before Christmas 1995, a big fuss developed after people started hanging little angel ornaments from a tree on public land, and the following spring, law enforcement officials were taken to task for marking sites of fatal vehicular accidents with white crosses as part of a safety awareness campaign.