Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church, Westcliffe, CO

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1870

From a humble log cabin in the Wet Mountain Valley to the proud sentinel that looks over the town of Westcliffe, Colorado, Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church bears forth a history strong in faith and tradition.

"Come over to the Wet Mountain Valley and help us!" Grossmutter (grandmother) Ograske well knew that many of the original 1870 colonists needed a missionary when she wrote this plea. They were led here by Captian Carl Wulsten, a former sea captain, Union officer, newspaper editor, and gold miner, who is most remembered for being the founder of the Wet Mountain Valley. The lure of wealth and a better life than these immigrants had found in Chicago was soon replaced by a need for more spiritual endeavors. Hence, the "Macedonian Call" from a caring grandmother.

1872

After Grandmother Ograske's request, the first pastor to arrive in the Valley was the Rev. J. Hilgendorf. While in Denver, in route to this destination, various threats were made on his life due to the fact that the "Itinerant Minister" before him skipped town with a small fortune. After an adventuresome train journey, where among some of his fellow travelers were "cowboys who shot at antelope as they rocked across the prairies," Rev. Hilgendorf finally arrived in the Wet Mountain Valley and organized the first Lutheran Congregation. It was Rev. Hilgendorf who also indirectly arranged for candidate Heinrich Hoemann to be ordained pastor of this congregation. In 1873, Rev. Hoemann "knelt on bare ground" for his rite of installation. He brought order to Hope Congregation, making it the Territory's oldest Lutheran congregation. West of Colfax lane on Piroth Creek, the members built a church of aspen poles, which had neither floors nor windows. This building had to be abandoned because of frequent floods and was converted into a chicken coop. Approximately 1/4 mile further west, the second place of worship was built of huge pine logs where Rev. Hoemann and his bride lived in two rooms at the rear of the building. Eventually, it was enveloped into a large barn structure and became housing for cattle when the "valley" church was erected directly across Marble Road. The barn is still in use.

1888

This valley church was of frame construction and more in keeping with conventional architecture of the day. The congregation was blessed with all the appointments of a modern church facility of that era. It remained in use until about 1928.

1917

The current church was already being built with construction started in 1917 by the parishioners themselves. The blocks used in this construction were made on site. The pulpit and the altar were built by the Rev. John Reininga who devoted 3 1/2 years of self-sacrificing labor to the cause. The cross on the bell tower reaches 96 feet above the ground and the bell is still being rung to call the worshippers to service. Other highlights to the church are its immense and colorful stained glass windows and of course its majestic setting complete with the stunning backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) mountain range.

2000

An ambitious, $400,000 preservation and rehabilitation project began in the fall of 1999. The project is partially funded by a Colorado Historical Fund grant award from Colorado Historical Society. If you are interested in details of this preservation effort, contact a member of the committee.

At one point the church bell tower was removed for renovation to reinforce the supporting structure which held the bell and tower.The bell, tower and cross weighed in excess of 1 ton. Following are 2 photographs taken during that renovation project.

Photos courtesy of Ken Harris

During the Christmas season of 2005, Hope Lutheran decided to participate in the Westcliffe Home Tour, especially since many folk of the community had never seen the inside of the church, and because the church was on the Historic Register. Members of the church worked very hard to decorate the church and staffed the church during the tours, so that those touring would understand all about the many pieces of architecture and history of the church. The following photographs were taken during the tour by local Westcliffe photographer Larry Simmons for Hope Lutheran.

Photos © Shoot the Moon Photo. All Rights Reserved.
by Larry Simmons, used with express permission.

2008

In September 2007, we began our “Hope for Tomorrow” campaign to obtain funds to build a multi-purpose building. We no longer have enough room in our small church basement to adequately serve the needs of our church and to reach out to our community. We have commitments of $304,000 from our members to be paid over a three-year period and over $200,000 from our Lange Endowment Fund. Our old parsonage has been sold and moved. The site has been made ready for the new structure and the building is to be erected in July. With the help of our Lord, we will be using our new building by the end of the year. To God be the glory!