Salem United Church of Christ Denver
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Salem United Church of Christ Denver
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  • Calendar
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  • Contact Us
  • Salem Reopening Info

Our History

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"Old" Salem at 26th and Lawrence, 1884-1921

With a worship service on July 13, 1884 in Reno Hall, Evangelische Salem's Gemeinde began. We were the first German Evangelical church in Colorado. The building to the left was built in Northern Denver on the southwest corner of 26th and Lawrence Streets in 1885. Our worship services were regularly delivered in German until at least 1942, and German could be heard around our church for some time after that. The area where "Old" Salem's building was located began to industrialize after World War I, so the congregation built a new building and moved there in 1921. 

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Pioneer Chapel at 9th and Sherman, 1921-1957

With the move to the new building not far from the State Capitol came a new name. Salem became "Pioneer" in honor of Colorado's German Pioneers. Known by church members as the "Bungalow" Chapel," this little building served our tiny congregation through its 50th anniversary and the Second World War. The post-war baby boom caused the congregation to quickly outgrow its Bungalow Chapel, and downtown Denver closed in around it as well. So our church chose to move again, this time to Southeast Denver.

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"New" Salem at E. Florida Ave. and Grape, 1957-Present

1957 was a year of major transformation for our church. On May 12th, this congregation reclaimed the name "Salem" and worshiped for the first time in it's current building at 5300 E. Florida Avenue. On June 25th of that same year, Salem's denomination--the Evangelical and Reformed Church--joined with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ. Salem UCC has proudly been serving Virginia Village and people all around the Denver Metro area ever since. Our history continues to be written, and we hope you will be a vital part of it!

More about our Denominational Connections

We belong to the Metropolitan Denver Association of UCC churches.


Click below for our Association's website:

Metro Denver Association UCC

Our Association is part of the Rocky Mountain Conference.


Click below to visit  our Conference website:

Rocky Mountain Conference UCC

Our Conference belongs to the United Church of Christ (UCC).


Click here for our denominational website:

United Church of Christ

Pastors of "Old" Salem:

Andress J. H. Bierbaum: 1884


John G. Mueller: 1884-1886


Andress J. H. Bierbaum (again!): 1886-1887


Henry S. Feix: 1887-1894


Godfrey A. Schmidt: 1894-1936

Pastors of Pioneer Chapel:

 Godfrey A. Schmidt: 1894-1936 

(transitioned "Old" Salem to Pioneer)


Herman R. Gebhardt: 1936-1942


Frederick C. Rueggeberg: 1942-1954


Walter W. Kieker: 1954-1959

(Transitioned Pioneer to "New" Salem)

Pastors of "New" Salem E&R/UCC:

 Walter W. Kieker: 1954-1959 


Daniel T. Winger (Interim): 1959-1960


A. Vernon Kurz: 1960-1977


James A. Kirk: 1977-1978


Charles J. Wright: 1978-2006


John Gaudreau: 2006-2007


Thomas Hall: 2007-2012


Sue Gardner (Interim) 2012-2013


Bruce Ill: 2013-2017


Kirk Thomas: 2017-2019


Russ Kirby, 2019-Present

Copyright © 2020 Salem United Church of Christ, Denver - All Rights Reserved.


A congregation of the United Church of Christ.

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