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Denver, CO 80202
303-534-5288
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Epworth United Methodist Church
Address: 3401 High Street
Denver, CO 80205
Phone: 303-296-6287

The congregation of Simpson Methodist Church built the English Gothic revival church in 1908 on the corner of 34th Avenue and High Street. Additional space was added to the church in 1950. In the 1950s, the social phenomenon known as "white flight" left the church with as few as 28 people at services with no minister. Since that time, the church has housed several different congregations as well as a full community center. Epworth United Methodist congregation, established in 1903 and instrumental in beginning Goodwill Industries in Denver, bought the church in 1979. This African American congregation shares the church with three other congregations. The long-term commitment of the congregation is to reestablish a strong outreach ministry and presence to the residents of the immediate neighborhood. The church hosts an after school tutoring program, computer and business classes and the Cole Neighborhood Association. A poor history of maintenance and current vandalism threaten this particular property. Very little work has been done on the building in its recent history and what has been done has been done poorly. There is no financial ability to acquire technical assistance for creating a maintenance plan. Sacred Landmarks Preservation assisted the church in getting a Historic Structural Assessment grant from the State Historic Fund to help the prioritize their preservation needs and develop a restoration and fundraising plan.