The United Church in Ridgway, Colorado, started up in 2003, the result of three meetings held in the homes of Gary and Marge Wade and Mick and Kathy Graff by people in the area who expressed a need for a new church that was inviting, ecumenical, traditional, tolerant and spiritually alive. Most of the people were Presbyterian followed by Methodist, United Church of Christ and Lutheran with a few Baptist and Christian Church members. We agreed we wanted a church that honored those traditions and were open to people from all churches to worship and participate in this new experiment. I had just retired from active ministry having served 10 different Presbyterian churches in California over 45 years and was looking forward to retirement but the moment seemed special and I said I would serve the new church for two and a half years at a reduced salary to help them get launched. Eight and a half years later I retired again after the church had become established, purchased a piece of property in Ridgway and built a new facility, all debt free, due to the generosity, commitment and sacrifice of the membership.

We met in the Ridgway Community Center for five years, putting up chairs each Sunday, worshipping with praise, prayer, singing, reading scripture, preaching, taking an offering, sharing joys and concerns, fellowship hour, cookies, embraces, put the chairs away and went home encouraged. A classically trained pianist accompanied our music, we elected a council to do the business of the Church along with committees and whatever else a new church needed to function. And we grew. God was blessing us.

Then we began to think of officially joining a denominational church or churches and started The process. Some denominational leaders discouraged us saying it wouldn't work. Most ecumenical churches are the result of mergers of declining congregations who, in order to survive, come together. We weren't declining. We wrote up a memorandum of understanding that called for our church to be essentially locally run, sent it to the four denominations represented for study and a decision.

Mick Graff, a retired patent lawyer, was very helpful in word smithing the accord. Bishops from both the Methodist and Lutheran churches along with their lawyers studied it and finally said okay. Presbyterians formed a committee and the United Church of Christ said, "Whatever." Al Finally approved it having made concessions to the ordinary manner in which denominations are used to operating. Some of them we sensed were not entirely certain of our experiment but when we began sending them checks for each of their missions they cashed them and we knew we were in.

Our mission statement expressed who we were:

We are a loving and compassionate church family that respects the dignity and integrity of each individual. We find our joy and meaning through faith in God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We seek to promote Christian unity and to encourage understanding and cooperation with those from different traditions. We seek to foster deeper relationships with God and each other through worship, fellowship, growth and service.

As we grew we began to think about buying land and building a church. This was not an easy task. The good thing is that we had built up a savings toward such a venture. The bad thing is that
land in and around Ridgway was restricted. Most areas forbid the building of churches or service organizations in their tracts. Properties off 550 required turn lanes at a quarter of a million a pop. A talented search and building committee headed by Dennis Moyer found the present property For $450,000. We bought it. Kelvin Kent ran an incredible building campaign. We raised over
$800,000, built the present building, Larry Coulter out contractor, and moved in in 2009 for our first worship service. A time capsule was placed behind the corner stone containing special items
which are supposed to be opened in 50 years for a celebration of some sort. We had over 200 people at our dedication service at which denominational big wigs spoke, people sang and applauded
our beginning, we ate cake and celebrated our new building with joy. God had been good to us.

Kathy Graff was ordained to ministry in the Methodist Church and joined as an unpaid staff member specializing in member nurture and spiritual formation. Gary Storey and Lloyd Hannah served as choir directors and Bridget Hannah was our
Organist and piano player on Sundays. Jossie Scoville served as church secretary. We elected council members to serve for three year terms and were blessed by experienced, capable, sensitive and skilled leadership. This church has been blessed by talented laity serving in various capacities the needs of the church.

In 2011, the church called Rev. Harry Strong, a Presbyterian minister, to be its part time pastor. I retired. Harry brought experience, pastoral abilities, strong preaching and a warm persona to the pulpit along with exceptional organizational and musical skills. The church grew. After three years he retired. Harry and his wife Anna were much loved. They retired to Prescott, Arizona. The church was now at the point of affording a full time pastor. A search committee was formed headed by Vince Snowbarger and after interviewing a number of candidates chose Leslie Woods as the new pastor. She served the church until 2017, and was followed by the Rev. Pam Stofferahn, who led the congregation from 2018 through 2021. Currently, Rev. Melinda Veatch serves the church.

There are undoubtedly many other things, people and events I could have mentioned that went into the formation of the United Church of the San Juans. Overall it was the working of God in our midst to bring about a people into a community of faith, joy and service. To God be the Glory. But I would be delinquent not to mention an exceptional group of people who gave their time, talent and financial means to help make it all possible. A group of people who believed in the promises of our Lord and that through Christ all things are possible. In a community before known as a grave yard for churches, so many before having failed, a church stands on the corner of Charles and Lena, a vital church, a loving church, a growing church and it isn't going away too soon.