Denver has been telling our story for decades.
Profiles, television segments, and the record of a church that kept showing up for its neighborhood. Articles open on the publisher’s site.
A church the state took notice of.
Words from John Hickenlooper, then Governor of Colorado, honoring Pastor Michael Walker and the congregation.
“Pastor Michael Walker and his congregation have brought diverse people of all backgrounds together to focus on helping the poor and homeless in our community. His church has been the connecting point for 20+ ministries that serve teen parents, the elderly, alcohol and substance addicts, and the homeless. We are extraordinarily grateful to Pastor Walker for all he has done and continues to do in the Mile High City.”
John W. Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado
March 17, 2020
From Colfax to LoHi, Church Plants Are Taking Root in Denver
The most complete telling of the church’s story: Pastor Walker’s Bronx childhood, the boarded-up Safeway, gang outreach in the early nineties, the move to the synagogue, and a congregation that became a greenhouse for other church plants, serving more than 28,000 meals a year.
“It’s time to unpack your bags in the city.”
January 24, 2008
Pastor’s vision building on faith
Electa Draper walks the derelict synagogue with Pastor Walker, respirator and all, and reports the plan to swap the Safeway for a 1921 landmark. The congregation is called possibly one of the most diverse, ethnically and financially, in Colorado.
“Isn’t it beautiful.”
November 20, 2008
Then, BMH; now… church in the city
The Jewish community’s own newspaper on the restoration of the old Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol building: the 1921 chandelier, the BMH 1897 floor mosaic, the stained glass, and a pastor who calls himself a Jewish pastor.
“We’re making this place into everything it was supposed to be.”
March 27, 2009
Denver church restores synagogue
The dedication of Church in the City – Beth Abraham: the $5.5 million Project Nehemiah, seventy volunteers on Saturdays, 900 cubic yards of debris, and the Anschutz Foundation as lead donor.
“In the natural world, none of this could happen.”
June 21, 2008
Sale of old stuff for new church
The Project Nehemiah garage sale in the Colfax parking lot, and plans for classrooms, a preschool and after-school programs in the building behind the synagogue.
May 8, 2010
Abandoned stores leave grocery graveyards in Denver area
The 1963 Safeway on Colfax, what it looked like when Pastor Walker got the keys in 1991, and what became of the site after the church moved on.
“There was broken glass everywhere, old tires, trash.”
November 14, 2008
Anthony Carter feeds people in need
A two-minute news segment on Nuggets guard Anthony Carter serving dinner to our neighbors in the converted Safeway on Josephine Street, the fall before the move to 16th and Gaylord. The Denver Post covered the same evenings in the two pieces below.
November 19, 2008
Weight thrown behind charity at Seven Pounds debut
Bill Husted’s column catches Nuggets Anthony Carter and Nene serving meals to the homeless in the converted Safeway, and previews the December fundraiser for the move to the synagogue.
“Miracle after miracle has happened in the restoration.”
October 7, 2008
Nuggets notebook: Anthony Carter serves dinner at Church in the City
A note in the Nuggets beat: guard Anthony Carter spends the evening serving dinner to the homeless at 1530 Josephine Street.
April 19, 2023
Angel Cafe opens for East High School students inside Church in the City
After violence at East High, the church opened a safe off-campus lunch cafe for students, with mentoring and jobs to follow. The idea was Pastor Walker’s.
“If kids show up, we’re going to be here to support them.”
December 10, 2020
State reaching out to minority, faith communities to spread word about vaccination importance
The church hosts a free COVID testing clinic for the neighborhood in the restored synagogue.
“The church should be a place that the community can find answers and hope.”
June 17, 2020
Hundreds gather to honor Isabella Thallas at Denver church service
The city gathers at Church in the City for the celebration of life of a 21-year-old shooting victim, with Pastor Walker officiating.
August 11, 2012
Aurora shooting inspires various perspectives on God and belief
Pastor Walker on faith after the Aurora theater shooting, and the grandmother and granddaughter who serve food to the homeless at the church.
“God’s people shine brightest in the darkness of evil.”
April 3, 2019
Two swastikas spray-painted on Denver synagogue, one man in custody
After vandals target the building, the congregation answers hate with the same message it has preached for three decades.
“We’re loving people here. We’re caring for the poor and the needy.”
April 3, 2019
Denver police investigating swastika, other graffiti painted on downtown church building
Coverage of the vandalism, with Pastor Walker and homeless-ministry leader Harold Sanchez.
April 2019
Anti-Defamation League condemns swastika graffiti on church
The ADL and the city stand with the congregation.
April 2019
Denver Messianic Jewish Church Vandalized With Swastika
National coverage from the Jewish press.
February 25, 2012
Local pastors speak out
Pastor Walker joins Denver’s Messianic leaders in a statement defending the dignity of the Torah.
September 21, 1994
Letters: Georgia on My Mind
The earliest mention of the church we can find online: a reader writes in about Denver General nurse Georgia Caven, who ran the church’s free clinic.
“Georgia is a member of the Church in the City, and I have seen her in action.”
April 21, 2005
Off Limits: Box City
Denver students build scale models of city landmarks for the Box City event, Church in the City among them.
August 14, 2007
Sunday Best
A profile of Scum of the Earth Church, one of several congregations that met under Church in the City’s roof on Colfax.
December 21, 2010
O Scum All Ye Faithful
The church as greenhouse: the history of a congregation that grew up inside Church in the City before planting on its own.
October 21, 2015
How Mike Devine Became Denver’s Hip-Hop Pastor
The Hip Hop Church of Denver holds its First Friday services at Church in the City – Beth Abraham, at 16th and Gaylord.
June 1, 2023
The synagogue reclaimed
Colorado Prays gathers at the church for its Colorado Stands With Israel event, and Pastor Walker tells the story of the building.
2014
Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol, State Historical Fund project
A $121,610 grant through Historic Denver for masonry and terra cotta rehabilitation, after the church’s 10,000 volunteer hours of interior restoration.
Winter 2017
Historic Denver News: the restoration at 16th and Gaylord
The 1,500-seat sanctuary, the inscribed cornice, and the exterior restoration completed to Secretary of the Interior standards.
November 18, 2022
Moorish, Classical, and Modern: A Tour of Denver Houses of Worship
An architectural historian’s stop at the church during a tour of Denver sacred sites.
January 2008
Pastor Michael Walker shares the vision of the move
Radio interview on the plan to restore the synagogue. Recording held by the church.
May 18, 2014
Pastor Michael Walker: Faith (parts 1 and 2)
A two-part teaching recorded at Church in the City.
Michael Walker and One New Man in Christ
An interview on the church’s calling as a one new man congregation.