HomeMy WebLinkAboutAttachment B Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25List of letters recieved between Nov. 20th and Feb. 27th, in the order they were received:
Date Name
2/7/2025 Historic Boulder Inc.
2/21/2025 Kelly Champion
2/21/2025 Elizabeth A. Barricklow
2/22/2025 Amy Van Roo
2/22/2025 Carol Rassmussen
2/22/2025 Kathy Reed
2/22/2025 August Plummer
2/22/2025 Keith Murdock
2/22/2025 Janet Oller
2/22/2025 Vivian Toan
2/22/2025 Lisa McAlister
2/22/2025 Judith Packer Jesudason
2/23/2025 Bob Greene
2/23/2025 Elizabeth Schumann and Lizzie French
2/23/2025 Ross Taylor
2/23/2025 Rabbi Fred Greene
2/23/2025 Martha (Marty) Coffin Evans (Smith), Ed. D.
2/23/2025 Rabbi Ruth E. Gelfarb
2/23/2025 Susannah Santamaria
2/23/2025 Bronwyn Fraser
2/23/2025 Balfour Patterson
2/23/2025 Terry A. Roper
2/23/2025 Rosélène Robinson
2/23/2025 Charley Noecker
2/24/2025 Rev. Jacqueline Decker Vanderpol
2/24/2025 Sarah Chesnutt
2/24/2025 Rev. Monica J. Butler
2/24/2025 Rev. Emily Crider
2/24/2025 Corey Priebe
2/24/2025 Rev. David Schwartz
2/24/2025 Pamela Greene
2/24/2025 Heather Blackwelder
2/24/2025 Bernadette Stewart
2/24/2025 Ralph Patterson
2/24/2025 Harumi B. Rhodes
2/24/2025 Warren Taylor, PhD
2/24/2025 Rev. Nancy Chalfant-Walker
2/24/2025 Julie Bottke
2/24/2025 Sheryl Bain
2/24/2025 Donna Colville
2/24/2025 Beverley Robinson
2/24/2025 Erik Peters
2/24/2025 Matthew Weber
2/25/2025 Melanie C. Sokhey
2/25/2025 Spencer Edmunds
2/25/2025 Paul S. Voakes
2/25/2025 William H. Kaempfer
2/25/2025 Chris and Leanne Walther
2/25/2025 Kandace Einbeck, Ph. D.
2/25/2025 Rt. Rev. Kym Lucas
2/25/2025 Alphonse Keasley, Ph. D.
2/25/2025 Thomas (Tom) Hopson
2/25/2025 John Tayer President & CEO of Boulder Chamber
2/25/2025 Harry Poehlmann
2/25/2025 Priscilla Newbury
2/25/2025 Rev. Canon Jon Anderson
2/25/2025 Maren Fadley
2/25/2025 Wesley Leffingwell
2/25/2025 Dr. Elizabeth Harnett
2/25/2025 Jennie Garcia, FVGEC
2/25/2025 Justin Schwartz
2/25/2025 Katherine Kittridge
2/25/2025 Terryann Stilwell Masotti
2/25/2025 John Lettang
2/25/2025 Sarah Middleton
2/26/2025 Nieves Huarcaya
2/26/2025 Rev. Stephen Wengrovius
2/26/2025 Lily Elliott
2/26/2025 Julia Fetzer
2/27/2025 Edith Presler
From:Leonard Segel
To:Abby Daniels; Ronnie Pelusio; John Decker; Gerwing, Marcy; Chelsea Castellano; Renee Golobic
Cc:Mueller, Brad
Subject:HBI input on the proposed St Aidan"s Church demolition and development
Date:Friday, February 7, 2025 11:59:00 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Greetings:
I'm writing on behalf of Historic boulder Inc. (HBI) regarding the proposed
demolition of St. Aidan's church. FYI, St. Aidan's reached out to HBI to
have a conversation about their future development plans for their church.
Patrick O'Rourke and I met with the rector, Mary Kate and 2 members of
the congregation, Betsey Madison and Bal Patterson. Here is
information that may be relevant to your deliberations about landmarking:
1) They claimed that the church was not significant because it did not
show up in the survey of modern buildings in Boulder 1947-12977. I
explained that I co-authored that survey with Michael Paglia and Diane
Wray. I explained that our criteria for selection was buildings that
were unaltered just to narrow the scope of our survey. St. Aidan's
church was left out because it is a composition of an original building by
Fisher, Fisher and Davis and the addition of the sanctuary
designed beautifully by Everett, Ziegel and Heinzman. FYI, Fisher and
Fisher were one of the most important architecture firms in the first 60
years of the 20th century in Colorado. They designed the beautiful Tuscan
vernacular style house at 707 14th street in the University Place historic
district that was on the 2024 Historic Boulder Inc. Holiday house tour.
They were a long time successful architecture practice with many
distinguished designs. Everett Ziegel evolved over time to become the
award-winning company, OZ Architecture.
2) I explained that in my evaluation the building did have architectural and
historical merit that would qualify it as a landmark. We said that the
history, embodied in the church buildings, is important as a testament to
the spirit of the congregation in the progressive times of the 1950's and
1960's in Boulder. We encouraged their congregation to reflect on the
foundational character of the buildings and find a way to incorporate all or
some of it in the redevelopment of their property.
3) We said that HBI would not come out publicly in opposition to the
demolition, only in support of it being saved.
4) We discussed the local, statewide and national issue of established
churches with declining membership (income) and growing costs as a
concern for the preservation of their legacy buildings.
5) We asked if CU had approached the church about buying their
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
property. It seems likely that CU would benefit from acquiring all the
adjacent properties along Folsom and Colorado to expand their
central campus. They said that CU had not contacted them though they
expected it to happen since the request for demolition was a public notice.
6) We said that HBI would help the congregation to attempt to get more
planning considerations, such as increased density for the apartment
development, if they went forward with landmarking.
7) They were more focused on saving an old oak tree than their building.
We said that the tree, while it is lovely, says nothing about the history of
the people of Boulder and the remarkable story of St. Aidans.
Furthermore, the demolition of the church would be more
environmentally damaging than the removal of the tree in terms of being
stewards of natural resources, carbon and energy.
8) HBI is concerned that this preemptive request for a demolition is an
attempt by their development advisor (Trestle Strategy Group) to bypass
the Boulder site review process. Until an actual design for the
new apartments is presented it's not really possible to evaluate the
tradeoff of demolition vs preservation. This 'sidestepping' strategy
should be discouraged by the landmarks board and preservation planners.
Thanks for considering these thoughts in your deliberation about the
proposed demolition of this legacy property.
.............Leonard
Leonard Segel, AIA
Executive Director - Historic Boulder, Inc.
Boulder, Colorado USA
303/579-8308
Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Territories
email: leonard@historicboulder.orgwebsite: www.historicboulder.org
Click HERE to Join or Renew!
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Kelly Champion
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church Appeal
Date:Friday, February 21, 2025 10:26:35 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Kelly Champion, I serve as the database and giving manager on the St.
Aidan's Episcopal Church staff.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. Please do not designate it as a
historic landmark.
My work at St. Aidan's is managing our donor database, giving, and
stewardship. Having this work matters to me because St. Aidan's provided so much
for me as a student at CU Boulder, and I am honored to pay it forward. Additionally, it
provides a flexible part-time position for me.
As a CU undergraduate from 2003-2007, I found a second home and community at
St. Aidan's. I felt nourished spiritually and connected. Mother Mary Kate Rejouis
became my friend and mentor during those years, and our relationship continues
today. She officiated my wedding, baptized both of my children (and my niece), and
continues to shine a light on CU Boulder and the world. Perhaps most impactful is
how St. AIdan's reaches out to the community: many staff, faculty, and students park
in the parking lot of the church, and on football game days the parking lot also
welcomes Buffs fans. Additionally- St. Aidan's supports the CU Basic Needs Center
Mobile Pop-Up Food Pantry. They are truly embedded in the CU and Boulder
communities- to support and serve.
I support St. Aidan's and the work I do there matters. I want this community to
continue to exist. Please do not Landmark St. Aidan's building.
Thank you,
Kelly Champion
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Betsy Barricklow
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Objection to s Landmark designation for St Aidans Episcopal Church
Date:Friday, February 21, 2025 10:47:29 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
To whom it may Concern:
I am vehemently opposed to the proposal to St Aidans as a Landmark Property.
My name is Betsy Barricklow, I am one of the founders of Tara Performing Arts High School in Boulder. We have a
partnership with St Aidans which allows us to have our Christmas Candlelight Festival in their facility each year.
We occupy the space for a full week, for a price that we could not find elsewhere in Boulder for a weekend. This
allows us to bring our Christmas Candlelight Festival to about 1,800 people during the course of the performances.
They are a community focused, active organization that cares about culture, music, diversity, inclusion, caring for
those who are homeless and hungry with genuine care and love for humanity --something critically needed in our
world right now. They need the freedom to do all of these things and continue to develop their property without the
restrictions that come with a Landmark classification.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth A Barricklow
Co-Founder/Co-Director
Tara Performing Arts High School
Boulder, Colorado 80304
303 440 4510
(
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:UNA-BC President
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please DO NOT to initiate landmark designation for St. Aidan’s.
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 8:45:36 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Good morning,
My name is Amy Van Roo. I know of St. Aidan’s because they have graciously
provided our non-profit community space for the last 4 years. I am the President of
the United Nations Association Boulder County.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan’s building. The presence of this faith community
and the work they do are more important than its building alone. We NEED this
community to stay here because they offer so many needed services to the Boulder
community. Not only do they offer a place for worship, but they also offer free
community space for nonprofits, like United Nations Association Boulder County.
UNA-BC is a non-profit, all volunteer, grassroots organization that functions without a
“brick and mortar.” We heavily rely on the generosity of St. Aidan’s for free community
space when holding events. Every year in October, we celebrate United Nations Day
with an in person educational event which highlights our local community work that
promotes the values and goals of the United Nations. Without St. Aidan’s, we would
have to rent space for our events, which would deplete our budget to the point of
having to cut services we provide to the local community.
We are grateful St. Aidan's is where it is and support their right to plan their future.
Please do not Landmark this building.
Thank you,
Amy L. Van Roo
President, United Nations Association Boulder County
In community,
Amy
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
~
We are dedicated to educating, inspiring, and mobilizing Americans to support the principles and vital work of
the United Nations and its agencies. UNA-USA
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Carol Rasmussen
To:landmarksboard
Subject:your vote on landmark status for St. Aidan"s church
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 11:03:32 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
I'm writing to ask you not to give St. Aidan's Episcopal Church landmark status.
St. Aidan's has been my and my family's home church since the early 1980s, even during
periods when job changes led us to live out of state. My husband and I were married at St.
Aidan's in 1987. Both of us have served on the vestry multiple times and been active in other
church ministries over the years; we still sing in the choir every week. Our three children grew
up in the church. When they wrote their college application essays, all of them independently
chose to talk about experiences they had had on St. Aidan's mission trips—a sign of how
important the church has been in forming young people's character. Two of our children went
on to be leaders in the church's college and young adult programs.
Obviously, we see something very special about St. Aidan's. But that "something" is the
people, not the building. St. Aidan's greatest assets are a clear-cut mission to the CU students
across the street, and members who are devoted to serving God by serving Boulder and the
world. Our old and tired physical plant, though we are fond of it and do our best to maintain it,
would come much further down any list of our assets. It was created to serve the mission and
community, not the other way around.
As we look to the future, we want to make the best use of all our assets, including our property.
Landmark status would limit our ability to change to meet today's needs. Please, don't
designate the building as a landmark.
Thank you,
Carol Rasmussen
303-443-0251 (cell)
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Kathy Reed
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St Aidan"s Church, 2425 Colorado Avenue
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 1:08:35 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
I am writing today to urge you NOT to designate St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Colorado
Ave., as a historic landmark.
Although I have been an Episcopalian all my life, I have only been attending St. Aidan’s for about
a year and a half, so I have less nostalgia towards the building itself than longtime members may
have. Frankly, I don’t see anything particularly special about the building. It’s very typical of a lot
of Episcopal churches. Different parts of the building were built at different times, but overall I’d
say it’s functional rather than architecturally significant.
It may sound like a cliche to say a church is the people, not the building, but it’s certainly true in
the case of St. Aidan’s. It’s a welcoming, inclusive, compassionate group of people.
The building sees a lot of use, by church groups (Advent Quiet Day, book discussion groups),
community groups (Morris Dancing, Tara High School for the Performing Arts), and helping events
like the CU Basic Needs Center. There’s a strong outreach to CU students and staff, particularly
through the Bread+Belonging group that meets for supper and fellowship on Tuesdays; this is run
in conjunction with Lutheran Campus Ministry. But it’s the location, not the specific building, that
makes a lot of this possible. The building itself is aging (and frequently frigid this time of year, as
well as too hot for comfortable worship in the summer). The building also requires expensive
maintenance due to its age, money that might be used for outreach to CU and the Boulder
community.
I sing in the choir, and love the Choral Scholars program that pays a handful of CU music
students each semester to join us and strengthen our musical offerings. This month (Black
History Month), we’re blessed to have a Beloved Community Gospel Choir, with members of the
community joining St. Aidan’s choir members to present Gospel Music. It’s been wonderful to
learn more about this music that’s so much a part of America’s heritage, and a great opportunity
to practice the skill of learning by ear, the traditional way of learning Gospel music.
St. Aidan’s building won’t remain frozen in time if landmarked. It will continue to age, and become
less and less useful for the needs of our community. Please allow us the flexibility to evolve in our
current location. Please do NOT landmark the church building.
Thank you,
Katherine Reed
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:August Plummer
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please do not designate St. Aidan’s a landmark!
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 2:16:17 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is August Plummer, I know of St. Aidan's through the annual Christmas
candlelight service that is presented by Tara High School. This is not only an important event
for the high school, but an invaluable offering to the larger community. It would also not be
possible without the amazing space that St. Aidan’s is able to provide us each year. I ask you
NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community, and the work
they do are more important than its building alone. We need this community to be able to stay
here because they offer not only a physical structure, but a safe space for cultural exchange
and healing within the community. I have witnessed first hand the countless ways they give
back to and support the community, and we would be at a huge loss without their presence.
I completely support their vision for the future of St. Aidan’s, including the possibility for
innovation and change to the building that is St. Aidan’s as much as the people who lovingly
inhabit it. The ability to make the structure safer, more accessible and durable for decades and
centuries to come is dependent on the ability to make changes and innovations to the structure
itself. These necessary changes would not be possible with a Landmark designation, so I am
once again asking that the structure of St. Aidan’s is NOT designated a landmark.
Sincerely,
August Plummer
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Keith Murdock
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please don"t designate St. Aidan"s an historical landmark
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 3:32:58 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
I ask you to not "Landmark" our church building. Please do not designate it an historic
landmark.
Our building doesn’t meet our needs anymore. It’s too hot in Summer and too cold in
Winter, the roof leaks every year even after expensive roof repairs. The old boiler
seems to work just fine until the coldest Sunday of the year. I care about our church
family and the impact our building has on it.
My name is Keith Murdock, I am a member of St. Aidan’s and I am retired from
Lockheed Martin. I have been attending St. Aidan's for over 25 years. My mother's
funeral memorial was here and I've attended numerous weddings and other funerals.
As part of the St. Aidan’s community I help with the music. My marriage has stayed
strong all these years with our participation in the congregation and I enjoy the CU
students that join us each year.
My concern is the survival of our faith community and those in the future who will
become part of it.
Thank you,
Keith Murdock
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Janet Oller
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church - DO NOT landmark
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 4:05:29 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Members of the Landmarks Board:
Please DO NOT initiate a landmark designation for St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado.
I became a part of St. Aidan's in 1970 as a student at CU/Boulder. In those years, dinner in my dorm (Kittredge) was
not provided on Sunday nights- and St. Aidan's did provide a free dinner as well as community and the opportunity
to be part of various outreach efforts.
I am so glad that St. Aidan's continues to be a vital and important part of our community. However, my needs and
abilities (physical and otherwise) have changed over the years since I was a student. St. Aidan's, too, has changed
both in terms of what we need the building to provide and also to effectively serve the needs of the congregation and
the wider community. I love and care for our beautiful but problematic, un-air-conditioned physical plant. To ensure
that St. Aidan's can continue to grow and thrive - and most importantly, continue to serve CU and the wider
community, we need to be able to adjust and amend our physical plant to better serve the needs of the parishioners,
the CU students (and faculty/staff) and the wider community. A landmarks designation would prevent that from
happening long term.
I care deeply about the mission of St. Aidan's to the wider community - through ministries such as weekly feeding
the hungry and unhoused, which our current kitchen is no longer able to adequately support. I care deeply about our
ability to be a venue for music and theater programs, which the lack of air-conditioning makes difficult. I care
deeply about seeking the best as well as the proper use of the property that the church inhabits. We are much more
than a church - we are, and seek to be, a light to the community. For that purpose to grow and thrive, we need to be
able to seek alternatives to our current physical footprint. Please do not initiate a landmark designation for St.
Aidan's.
The question before the Landmarks Board is about the survival of our faith community, including our ability to be a
place of ministry in this community long into the future. Thank you for your consideration
--
Jan Oller
765-225-8554
The nicest place to be is in someone’s thoughts; the safest place to be is in someone’s
prayers; and the very best place to be is in the hands of God.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Vivian Toan
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 6:38:40 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Vivian Toan. I am currently living in Ouray, Colorado, but I attend St.
Aidan’s when I come to Boulder to visit my two children and their families and I have
received needed counsel and advice from Rev. Mary Kate. I am seventy-seven years old, and
have Parkinson’s disease. As this condition worsens, I will be moving to an assisted living
facility in Boulder, and will join St. Aidan’s as my faith community
I urge you not to move forward with a landmark designation of the church building. The
real essence of St. Aidan’s is not the brick and mortar of its current physical building but in
the loving congregation which is so very inclusive of students and seniors like me. My future
may not be as long in years as others, but I hope that St. Aidan’s can remain a vibrant active
worshipping community. Landmark designation of the church building would severely
hamper this future.
Thank you for your consideration of these issues.
Sincerely,
Vivian Toan
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Lisa McAlister
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 7:05:43 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
February 22, 2025
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Lisa McAlister, I know of St. Aidan’s because I serve on the Board of Directors for
the UN Association of Boulder County and St. Aidan’s is one of our community partners.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community and the
work they do are more important than the building alone. They have not only offered a safe and
affordable space for us to hold educational programming for the community, but have been
wonderful to work with.
We were able to host our annual UN Day conference at St. Aidan’s the past 3 years at no cost.
As you know, finding space for community, volunteer run organizations to hold events has
become incredibly difficult in Boulder and this makes St. Aidan’s incredibly valuable to many.
I am grateful that St. Aidan’s has been a place of love, support and community for Boulder for
so many decades and I support their right to plan their future. Please do not Landmark this
building.
With gratitude,
Lisa McAlister
With Good Cause, Inc.
UN Association of Boulder County Board Member
--
Lisa McAlister
303-931-0955
CAPABILITIES DECK
www.withgoodcause.com
OFFICE HOURS
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Judith Jesudason
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Mary Kate Rejouis
Subject:St. Aidan"s doesn"t need Landmark status
Date:Saturday, February 22, 2025 9:36:30 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board.
My name is Judith Jesudason, and I have been a parishioner at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church
on Colorado Avenue in Boulder for the past 10 years. My beloved younger son's ashes have
been inurned in the columbarium of the Chrch for more than 8 years. I have been a Boukder
resident for more than 25 years.
The leadership of our church have suggested considering measures to remodeling the Church
so that it doesn't cost as much to maintain, and so that the Church facilities can be run in a
more sustainable fashion. I agree with their plan. Therefore I request that the Church nor be
labeled with Landmark Status. Such status would not help us Church members, and would
make badic maintainence of the chuch prohibitively expensive.
Thanking you for your consideration,
Judith Packer Jesudason
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:ROBERT E GREENE
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Mary Kate Rejouis
Subject:Do not landmark 2425 Colorado Avenue
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 12:14:12 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
February 23, 2024
Dear Landmarks Board:
I am a 94-year-old resident of Boulder, grateful to have been warmly welcomed at St. Aidan’s
Episcopal Church. St. Aidan’s is important to me. It is around the corner from my home and it
gives me the chance to practice my faith and be involved in community life outside of senior
living.
I first wrote to you in February re: the importance of St. Aidan’s to the lives of many in
Boulder. Now I write again, in hopes that you will make the wise decision to allow St. Aidan’s
the right to determine what it needs to do with its own church building so that it can continue
to serve this community with faith and love.
I once again urge you to issue a demolition permit for the building at 2425 Colorado Ave.
Please do NOT initiate a landmark designation. This church has a history only 17 years
shorter than mine. The church’s history includes providing a warm and welcoming faith
community, and serving our poor and marginalized neighbors. It’s a church with whom I
worship and socialize with others from infants to teenagers, from young parents to the elderly.
This warm, wonderful church community has been critical to my fight against the loneliness
of aging, and to my ability to continue to practice my faith.
I gladly donate funds to support the ministry of this church -- we serve not only our
congregation, but also many who live in Boulder or attend or work at CU. But, too much of
my financial support is spent paying to heat and maintain the inferior structure that we
worship in, even thought he space is quite inadequate. I can’t hear much of what is said,
because the acoustics are bad. I’m usually uncomfortable, either from inadequate heat or
because it’s not air conditioned. The priest has to bring communion to me–due to the stairs I
can no longer take communion with others at the altar. I also worry about tripping on uneven
floors when I walk to coffee hour after church.
Many of our other elderly members are homebound. While St. Aidan’s ministers to its
homebound members through home visits and online connections, many more would be able
to join our community in person if our structure was modern and ADA accessible.
In my 94 years on this earth, I’ve learned what’s really important about history. I grew up
during the depression in a family that faced financial instability. I served my country in Korea.
And I was fortunate enough to attend college on the GI Bill, eventually overachieving by
earning a Ph.D. I faced a lot of obstacles in my life, but my community and my faith helped
me persevere. The importance of a church is the community of members and its outreach to
others, not the building in which that community congregates.
I’ve worshiped in many different churches across this country. All have enhanced my life.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
That said, Saint Aidan’s is a special place. NOT because of its building, which does more to
interfere with the continued practice of my faith than to enhance it. Saint Aidan’s is special
because it serves this community with love, kindness, and welcome. It truly shines Christ’s
light on this world. It should be important to Boulder to allow this church to continue to serve
Boulder for many years to come, helping each other and our neighbors and persevere through
challenges.
It’s far more important to save this faith community than it is to save an underused building. I
urge you to vote in a way that allows this church community to thrive. Please do not initiate
landmarking. Vote to issue the demolition permit.
Thank you,
Bob Greene
2525 Taft Dr
Boulder, CO
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Elizabeth Smith
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please do NOT initiate landmark designation for St. Aidan’s
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 12:26:57 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Elizabeth Schumann, and I have run an elementary aged piano
camp at St. Aiden’s church for the past three years alongside with my
colleagues Lizzie French and Abby Terrill.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith
community and the work they do are more important than its building alone. We
need this community to be able to stay here because they offer a high-quality
accessible space for music performances for the musicians in Boulder.
When we first began our camp three years ago, St. Aidan’s church provided us with
an affordable space to be able to hold our music camp. Our other space had backed
out at the last minute, and the camp would have been cancelled if it wasn’t for St.
Aidan’s and Reverend Mary Kate Rejouis. Since then, we have continued to hold our
summer camp there, as well as piano recitals for our students in the area. We have
been recognized on a national level for our camp’s structure, but none of that would
be possible without St. Aidan’s generosity with their space and time. We are so
grateful for the space that they have provided with us and support their right to plan
their future. Please do not initiate Landmarking for this building.
Finish with something along the lines of "We are grateful St. Aidan's is where it is and
support their right to plan their future. Please do not initiate Landmarking for this
building."
Thank you,
Elizabeth Schumann and Lizzie French
--
Elizabeth Schumann
D.M.A. Candidate, Piano Performance, University of Colorado Boulder
Program Development Coordinator, Frances Clark Center
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Ross Taylor
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Vote No - Landmark designation for St. Aidan’s
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 1:06:06 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Ross Taylor, I know of St. Aidan’s because of the wonderful support and
connection of Rev. Mary Kate Rejouis.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community and
the work they do are more important than its building alone. We need this community to be
able to stay here because they offer a myriad of valuable services to our community which is
likely to be compromised if this is enacted.
We are grateful St. Aidan's is where it is, and support their right to plan their future. Please do
not initiate Landmarking for this building.
Respectfully,
Ross Taylor
Associate Professor
University of Colorado Boulder
--
Follow me at:
Twitter: ross_taylor
Instagram: rosstaylorphoto
www.rosstaylor.com
www.vimeo.com/rosstaylor
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Fred Greene
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 1:58:04 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Rabbi Fred Greene, and I lead Congregation Har HaShem, one of Boulder's
synagogues serving the Jewish community in Boulder County and beyond. I am a colleague of
The Rev. Mary Kate Rejouis and have worked with her during my ten years here at
Congregation Har HaShem.
I encourage you to NOT Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community
and the work they do are more important than any single building. We need this community to
be able to serve the Boulder faith community and beyond in the most flexible, nimble, and
networked way possible.
They support the community by providing space that is difficult to come by for nonprofit and
campus partners. They provide key emotional, financial, and spiritual supports to individuals
and families as a community of belonging.
While there is important work to do for the preservation of the community's assets, houses of
worship like St. Aidan's need to function in the best way possible to serve its parishioners,
students, and guests. Our buildings have held incredible stories and have indeed served sacred
purposes, but it should be their own community who should determine their needs in order to
be the most responsive as a faith community in the City.
I am grateful St. Aidan's is where it is, and support their right to plan their future. Please do
not Landmark this building.
Thank you,
Rabbi Fred Greene
Congregation Har HaShem on the Margolis Family Campus
3950 Baseline Road · Boulder, CO 80303
Pronouns: he/him/his . What's in a pronoun?
303.499.7077 x123
www.harhashem.org
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:itsmemartee@aol.com
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Fw: Requesting a NO vote for Landmarking St. Aidan"s
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 3:38:40 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: itsmemartee@aol.com <itsmemartee@aol.com>
To: landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov <landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov>
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 03:29:46 PM MST
Subject: Requesting a NO vote for Landmarking St. Aidan's
Dear Landmarks Board,
I am writing this email to request you vote NO to Landmark the St. Aidan's church building. I continue
as a contributing member of the St. Aidan's community where my late husband, Rev. Ray Smith,
previously served as interim rector. My membership in our St Aidan's Writing Group remains an
important part in my own writing journey.
In living its mission to serve the University of Colorado students and community, St. Aidan's has done
so in a variety of ways for decades from its current location - hosted student recitals, offered childcare
a number of years ago for faculty, students and staff, as well as providing a venue for lectures along
with musical concerts. This church has supported the homeless overnight during the winter months
while providing meals as well.
Voting NO to Landmark its building enables St. Aidan's to do all the above plus bring back the
childcare, continue its faith community at its current location along with providing a space for housing
available to CU faculty and staff. With Boulder's concern for housing plus affordable childcare, St.
Aidan's can help the community address these needs. Is this not a win for all?
Landmark restricts this parish and greatly inhibits its ability to grow its membership while it attempts to
support both those involved at CU and within the greater Boulder community.
Please DO NOT designate it an historic landmark. Vote NO!
Sincerely,
Martha (Marty) Coffin Evans (Smith), Ed.D.
MACE Associates, LLC, President
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Ruthie Gelfarb
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Fwd: Message from "RicohNorthBuilding"
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 3:38:01 PM
Attachments:20250223154601836.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Please see attached scanned letter. Thank you!
Rabbi Ruth E. Gelfarb (she/her/hers)
Congregation Har HaShem on the Margolis Family Campus
3950 Baseline Road
Boulder, CO 80303
Email: rg@harhashem.org
Tel: (303) 499-7077
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Susannah Santamaria
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Value in moving forward to save a giving community- St Aidans
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 6:06:21 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
The question before Landmarks Board is about the survival of our faith
community, and our ability to be a place of ministry in the community long into
the future.
My name is Susannah Santamaria, and I am a member of St. Aidan’s Episcopal
Church. I am a nurse and widowed mother of two children. We arrived at St
Aidens after the death of both my mother and my husband. We were
devastated and St. Aidans was a soft place to land. We had to leave our home
Church, our home country and we did not know what was to come. Mother
Mary Kate and the St. Aidans congregation were so welcoming and generous to
us. At a time, when everything felt complicated, we felt like we could simply
come to church and just be. We did not have to offer any explanations or
pretend to be in a better place than we were. My children struggled with the
loss of their father, we cried through services, we missed services, and we
were loved through it all. That presense, week after week was life giving. It
helped to sustain us when we were not able to hold ourselves up. There were
two occasions in which we received an annomyous and substantial financial
donation just to help us do something nice together. It was such a gift. We still
attened mass at St. Aidans, eight years later. We give when we can and in the
ways that we can, but more than anything we continue to receive joy, peace,
reminders of God's love, and to be remined that the world is so much bigger
than all of us and yet we are so precious and loved. Where else can one get
these gifts on a weekly basis?
We love this Church community. We love how giving they are, how loving they
are and how dedicated they are to helping students, immigrants, eachother. All
of these beautiful attributes are because of the people and of our comittment to
eachother and to others, and have nothing to do with where we are housed.
It is so important for us to be able to continue to serve eachother and the larger
community. It is obviously important to be close to the University to be able to
continue to work with and serve the students of CU. The only way that we can
continue to do these good works for decades to come is to be able to have the
freedom to make changes to our building.
We all care for our well loved and aging church building, but I care more about
the future of our church. Over time, I have come to understand how much work
and money it takes to maintain this building. This is not sustainable if we have
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
a bigger vision, and we do.
There is so much at stake here.
I ask you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our Church building.
As part of the St. Aidan’s community I know how important it is to have this
welcoming, loving and faithful community avaliable to people when they are
vulnerable, when they are in need and when they are lost. it is also important to
be a pillar for the community when people feel strong and like they are ready to
give back. This is what St Aidans does and has been doing for over 75 years.
Especially in these uncertain times, people are looking to belong to something
good, true and beautiful. They want to band together and do right by those who
are suffering. Help us to make this avaliable to people. Allow us to restructure
and rebuild in a more sustainable way.
Help us to be good stewards of these resources we have. Allow our community,
and our leadership to make the most sound and sustainable decision for our
community moving forward. I know St Aidans will do right by this decision. I
have full faith that our leadership will make the right, reasonable and
responsible decisions to usher us into the next 75 years and beyond.
We are people of faith, always with one eye on the time when we will no longer
be here. Our way of leaving behind hope and love to the community of Boulder
is to set this Church up in a lasting way. I would hope my children could
continue to grow with this church well into their old age. It would be a gift of
continuity that they have not had elsewehere.
St. Aidans knows our history, this building is PART of this story, but it is not
the whole story. Help us to write the next chapters with our community in trust
that we have always done right by Boulder and by the University students and
we will continue to do so.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
With faith,
Susannah Santamaria
720 421 1062
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Scott Fraser
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Question of St Aidans Landmarking
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 6:09:37 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Bronwyn Fraser, I serve on the vestry at St Aidans and I have been attending this
church since my family moved to Boulder in 1966. It is truly my home - I was married there,
my kids were baptized there and both my parents' remains are interred in the St Aidans
Columbarium, along with many others who have been important in my life over the last 6
decades. I was also involved in the campus ministry when I attended CU and this served as a
spiritual anchor in a time of lots of change. With this history to speak to, I do not take the
contents of this letter lightly.
Boulder is a very different place now than it was when I started attending, and the needs of the
congregation have changed dramatically too. I truly believe the current building isn’t practical,
sustainable or of enough historical significance to warrant keeping it as is instead of rethinking
the church property in such a way that propels it forward into a healthy future. I urge you not
to designate it a historic landmark.
The building is not the congregation or the wonderful, faithful people who have sustained me
for so long. Securing the future of this vital community is of paramount importance to me.
Reimagining a space in the same location that better meets the needs of this community, and
that can be sustained with far fewer resources than are necessary to maintain our current
building just seems like the logical thing to do. I ask that you please consider that we are
undertaking these decisions about our worship space in order to secure the very survival of our
faith community and our ability to continue to serve Boulder and the CU campus as we have
done for so long.
I appreciate your consideration in this request to NOT initiate landmarking of our building.
Many thanks,
Bronwyn Fraser
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Balfour Patterson
To:landmarksboard
Subject:concerning St Aidan"s Episcopal church
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 7:10:20 PM
Attachments:Landmarks Board letter.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
My appreciation to all of you for your service to the community. My letter asking you to NOT
initiate landmark designation on the church property is attached.
Thanks, Bal Patterson
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
To the Members of the Landmarks Board:
As the son of Fr Pat and Virginia Patterson, I am a lifelong member of St Aidan’s as well as co-chair of the
team leading our change management and redevelopment process. I urge you to not initiate the
landmarking process on our building, as that would be preserving an object of their service, and not the
idea.
My parents have a legacy within the community of Boulder… remembered in Patterson Alley downtown,
in Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Boulder awards in Virginia’s name, in her acknowledgement in
the Birthing Center at BCH, and the just announced creation of the Virginia Patterson Legacy Society at
Impact in Education, recognizing her role as founder of that wonderful entity.
Mom and Dad poured their lifeblood into the creation and growth of the parish of St Aidan’s, and then
expanded their focus, making it a springboard for their love and support f or the University, the Boulder
Valley School District, Boulder Community Hospital, Downtown Boulder, CU’s Athleti c Department and
the many residents of Boulder, of all ages, touched by their presence and good works. The building did
not do any of that work, and there is no sense in deifying it, rather than the community they created.
Driven by the age of our building and the headwinds of change in our society, we have the necessity to
reimagine our location to be able to continue the ministry begun by Fr Pat and Virginia, now our
ministry, for decades to come. We need a modern facility better suited to our needs, while also adding
new ways to serve the neighborhood, CU and the City. My parents’ legacy at St Aidan’s is invested in the
church and its ministries, and in the hope of continuing the parish’s work for decades to come. To do
that, those of us who carry on their legacy are challenged to re-create our property, so I hope you will
recognize the wisdom of an old Sunday School hymn:
“the church is not a building, the church is not a steeple,
the church is not a resting place, the church is the people!”
Respectfully,
Balfour Patterson III
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Terry Roper
To:landmarksboard
Subject:ST. AIDAN"S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 7:52:48 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Terry A. Roper. I am a member of St. Aidan's, and I have been Treasurer
of the Endowment Committee for seven+ years. I retired from careers in computer
software at NASA (Skylab following the moon landing), in computer software service
and sales, and, finally, in financial advisory services.
I have known the family of St. Aidan's "Father "Pat" Patterson since 1973 and have
been a member of St. Aidan's since 2016.
I respectfully ask that you NOT initiate the landmark designation for our church
building.
I love and care for our aging, costly-to-maintain, but spiritually healthy, healing, and
uplifting building.
I care about the future of our church even more, and that is what is at stake for us.
Having been part of St. Aidan's faith community, I find that our church is more than
just a building. My Endowment Committee commitment allows me to witness
personally the generous giving spirit of multi-generational parishioners who have long
been involved with this church. For example, not only does St. Aidan's cater to and
readily host CU students from across the street, but also the church serves as a
spiritual haven for students during some of their most difficult, maturing years. Too,
another aspect of St. Aidan's Endowment Committee's Charter involves serving the
hungry and homeless in the Boulder area, sometime offering not only nourishment
but also supervised overnight shelter. To witness these many generous gifts from St.
Aidan's congregation is, to me, so impactful. Our building proffers all of that and
much more.
Due to the profound legacy and memories of St. Aidan's, we are called to continue to
be entrusted to use and improve our assets at this site for a common good, growing
as we develop and build the same for generations long after ours.
Such proven faith and commitment by St. Aidan's over these generations are the
basis of our prayers that the Landmarks Board will allow the survival and continuation
of our faith community far into the future.
Sincerely,
Terry A. Roper
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Rosele Robinson
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Saint Aidan’s Church
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 8:25:00 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Rosélène Robinson, and I am a member of Saint Aidan’s. I am a retired teacher and have attended
Saint Aidan’s since moving to Boulder. Saint Aidan’s is not only my faith community, but also where I find
community in Boulder. I entreat you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
I love and care for our aging building. However, due to changing times and the increased needs of the community
that we serve, it is imperative that we be able to make many adaptions and alterations to our beloved building. I care
about the future of our church, which is what is at stake for us.
A faith community is more than a building. For example, it is where people of all ages get to meet, meaningfully
interact, work, and play together. Our outreach and care for one another in various ways is particularly meaningful.
The question before the Landmarks Board is our survival as a faith community and our ability to minister to our
community well into the future.
Thank you,
Rosélène Robinson
Sent from my iPad
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Charley Noecker
To:landmarksboard
Subject:NO to landmark designation for St. Aidan"s
Date:Sunday, February 23, 2025 11:45:00 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Please vote NO to landmark status for the buildings of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church.
My wife Carol Rasmussen and I have been members of St. Aidan’s for 40 years, and we raised
our daughters in this community. Of course we feel sentimental about the building and its
architectural treasures and peculiarities. But that’s not what a church is made of.
The features of the buildings, whether iconic or utilitarian, are echoed in other churches
around Boulder County. That alone isn’t a reason to cling to them, because those features
aren’t what a church is made of. A beautiful abandoned building isn't a church.
The church isn’t a stack of bricks and lumber. It’s a community of people, their mission, and
their faith-driven activities. The buildings and the land aren’t just for pretty; they must sustain
those activities and the community. A faith community needs to adapt and move forward to
sustain itself for generations. A building that's no longer appropriate or workable can be just a
hindrance.
That's why I hope you won't mistake the buildings for a church. Please vote NO on landmark
status for the buildings of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church.
Charley Noecker
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Rev. Jacqueline Decker Vanderpol
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Request to NOT Landmark St. Aidan"s
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 9:15:13 AM
Attachments:image001.png
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
I am the Pastor of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church on Baseline, and we’ve partnered
with St. Aidan’s on numerous occasions to serve the youth, young adults, and
unhoused in Boulder. As a colleague and partner in ministry, I ask you NOT to
Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community and the work
they do are more important than its building alone. We need this community to be
able to stay here because they offer a place of community and safety for progressive
Christian students at the university, a kitchen where food is rescued and made
available to those with food insecurity, a place for worship and community for aging
members, and a youth group that is inclusive of LGBTQ youth. Something vital would
be missing from Boulder without the good works of St. Aidan’s. In order for their
ministry to be sustainable and relevant to this century, I ask again that you not
landmark their building. As you support the good works of faith communities in
Boulder, I ask you to respect their right to plan their future.
Peace,
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Sarah Chesnutt
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 10:52:10 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
I have been a member of St. Aidan's since 2010 and before that of St. John's
Episcopal on Pine Street. I have lived in Boulder since 1990, graduated from CU and
have always lived in central Boulder and continue to do so, working my way up from
advertising staff at the Daily Camera to art director for a few Colorado publishers. I
am also a BVSD school and community volunteer.
If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, St. Aidan's has an entirely online book group that is
well-organized and attended by CU professors current and retired, plus local
intellectuals and just avid readers and thinkers such as myself, that was of great
solace to me during a period of unemployment after the acute COVID era. A regular
community to meet with that was of no cost to me was very fulfilling when many of the
usual Boulder-area public events and offerings were on hold.
I ask that you do not landmark St. Aidan's due to possible eventual unsustainability
with its age and condition. It's my understanding that an outsize amount of the
operations money earned by and donated to the church has to go to repairs and
maintenance instead of supporting CU students and the larger community, people in
desperate need for food, shelter and care, and neighbors such as myself as they
navigate life events and death.
Although the church is beautiful and has mid-century flair, I can attest that -- as
trustee to a 200-year-old historic property -- an aging building can easily turn into a
money drain and become a white elephant or vanity project, and a significant amount
of energy in just coordinating and checklisting the repairs is also an ongoing need and
source of stress. I recently had to sell my home in North Boulder under duress (from
the same era) due to rising local costs in maintenance and repairs, and that home
had also been very well cared for!
The faith community is what matters -- not only has St. Aidan's served as our spiritual
home as my son learned to provide hospitality when he was young plus volunteer to
feed the homeless and participate in bulk food packing for Haiti, but the support as I
and others go through life's painful transitions is essential. If a family does not have a
local extended family to support them, as may be the case with a lot of Boulder's
rather mobile population, the faith community provides solace and ritual to help
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
people move through difficult times. The future of the community, not the aging
building itself, may not be sustainable while tethered to a landmark status.
We DO continue to take good care of the building including a huge remodel of the
reeking bathrooms several years ago, only possible with a $100,000 bequest. The
church currently serves us well.
We intend to continue to serve the community far into the future in a meaningful way,
and this may mean something other than existing as a high-maintenance mid-century
structure.
Thank you,
Sarah Chesnutt
--
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Pastor Monica Butler
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Re: St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 11:27:05 AM
Attachments:2025 02 Landmarks LuMin-St. Aidans.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Members of the Landmarks Board,
My name is Monica Butler and I serve as the pastor of Lutheran Campus Ministry. St. Aidan’s
is a primary partner in our service with and among students, faculty, and staff at CU Boulder.
I am writing to ask you NOT to landmark St. Aidan’s building. The presence of this faith
community and the work they do are broader and more important than the building alone. We
need this community to be able to stay here because they offer a vital and vibrant support for
the Boulder community and the university. St. Aidan’s provides space for numerous campus
groups and activities supporting students in need including weekly meals for over 30 students
during the school year, a winter space for the CU Basic Need Center’s Buff Pantry, and a
spiritual home for students and the campus community.
St. Aidan’s is a critical partner in the work Lutheran Campus Ministry does with students,
especially in providing a safe, affirming, celebratory spiritual community for students who
identify as LGBTQIA+. Many of the students who participate in our Bread + Belonging meal
and community come to us because they know our community will affirm and celebrate all
parts of their identity. St. Aidan’s commitment to a true celebration of all people is invaluable
to LCM and to the wider student and campus community.
We are grateful St. Aidan’s is located where it is, and support their right to plan their future to
best continue to provide supportive, affirming experiences of community and faith for so
many. Please do not Landmark their building.
Thank you,
The Rev. Monica J. Butler
Pastor, Lutheran Campus Ministry ELCA at the University of Colorado, Inc
--
Rev. Monica J. Butler (she/ella)
Campus Chaplain
Lutheran Campus Ministry/Bread + Belonging
University of Colorado, Boulder
chaplain@saintaidans.org
970-573-6020
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
2425 Colorado Ave. Boulder, CO 80302
February 24, 2025
Dear Members of the Landmarks Board,
My name is Monica Butler and I serve as the pastor of Lutheran Campus
Ministry. St. Aidan’s is a primary partner in our service with and among
students, faculty, and staff at CU Boulder.
I am writing to ask you NOT to landmark St. Aidan’s building. The
presence of this faith community and the work they do are broader and
more important than the building alone. We need this community to be able
to stay here because they offer a vital and vibrant support for the Boulder
community and the university. St. Aidan’s provides space for numerous
campus groups and activities supporting students in need including weekly
meals for over 30 students during the school year, a winter space for the CU
Basic Need Center’s Buff Pantry, and a spiritual home for students and the
campus community.
St. Aidan’s is a critical partner in the work Lutheran Campus Ministry does
with students, especially in providing a safe, affirming, celebratory spiritual
community for students who identify as LGBTQIA+. Many of the students
who participate in our Bread + Belonging meal and community come to us
because they know our community will affirm and celebrate all parts of
their identity. St. Aidan’s commitment to a true celebration of all people is
invaluable to LCM and to the wider student and campus community.
We are grateful St. Aidan’s is located where it is, and support their right to
plan their future to best continue to provide supportive, affirming
experiences of community and faith for so many. Please do not Landmark
their building.
Thank you,
The Rev. Monica J. Butler
Pastor, Lutheran Campus Ministry ELCA at the University of Colorado, Inc
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Ben Nelson
President
The Rev. Lindsay Batesmith
Vice President
Erik Peters
Secretary/Treasurer
Student Members
Kylie Shrank
Alumni Members
Carina Julig (’19)
Kevin Criley (’20)
Campus Pastor
The Rev. Monica Butler
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Emily Crider
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Landmark
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 1:16:09 PM
Attachments:Landmark Board Letter - St. Aidan"s.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Hi,
Attached you’ll find a letter asking the board NOT to Landmark St. Aidan’s. Please use in your
deliberations.
Thanks,
Emily
-------------------------
Rev. Emily Crider
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
GFM Area Director – Central Rockies (CO, UT, WY)
720-273-4618
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Emily Crider and I know St. Aidan’s Church because of our
partnership in caring for the spiritual needs of CU Boulder students,
faculty, and staff.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith
community and the work they do are more important than it’s building
alone. We need this community to be able to stay here because they
offer spiritual grounding for students and faculty. St. Aidan’s extends itself
to be good neighbors, volunteering space for the food pantry that serves
food insecure on campus. Even more, they provide safe space for
students to gather and share in the challenges of life, offers belonging
which significantly bolsters the mental and spiritual health of students and
faculty, and is a place that honors significant life events for our
community.
For the past couple decades, St. Aidan’s has offered no-cost space, resources, and
care to InterVarsity’s graduate students and faculty ministry. We have used classrooms,
yard space for gatherings, and chapel space for spiritual support. In 2019, we had a
PhD student lose their life in a tragic ski accident. St. Aidan’s provided a space for us to
hold a memorial service which included several physics graduate students and
professors from the department. Our ministry provides a safe space for belonging and
inclusion which is important for a thriving campus and broader Boulder community.
The welcome, love, and care the St Aidan’s community has provided has been life
changing for so many graduate students and faculty that have graced Boulder for
decades. We’re so grateful for them. We hope to partner with St. Aidan’s in the future
and plead with you to NOT Landmark this building.
Thank you,
Rev. Emily Crider
Area Ministry Director, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
emily.crider@intervarsity.org
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Corey Priebe
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Landmarking St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 1:30:49 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Corey Priebe. I serve as part of the staff at Saint Aidan’s Episcopal Church in the role of Office
Manager.
I would like to ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. Please do NOT designate it as a historic landmark.
Part of my work at St. Aidan's involves interfacing with various members of the outside community. Having this
work at St. Aidan’s matters to me for two reasons. First, working at St. Aidan’s gives my family both income to
provide for our basic needs as a family unit trying to survive in Boulder, as well as a caring and generous space of
belonging that seems to be “for us” regardless of what life may throw our way.
The second reason our work at St. Aidan’s matters is because St. Aidan’s has been and continues to be a gathering
place of people that are committed to being a welcoming presence in the midst of an increasingly unwelcoming
world. The landscapes that we find ourselves in- both on a national stage as well as on a local level- have drastically
changed in recent months and years. Boulder needs spaces that will welcome and bless all individuals- regardless of
their positionalities and preferences. Just this week “L” (an individual living in Boulder not connected to the church)
called St. Aidan’s needing $700 to help pay their rent so that L and their family would not be put out on the streets.
L got our number from their case manager because their case manager knows that St. Aidan’s is generous and loves
helping out those in the community when the church is able. Mother Mary Kate from St. Aidan’s of course found
the money in the church’s budget to help out L. This is not unusual. It happens ALL THE TIME. Landmarking St.
Aidan’s building would make our sustainability for the future much more difficult. Please don’t do this. There are
many other L’s out there in our community that need this church around. Boulder needs a faith community like this
now more than ever. Please don’t put this in jeopardy by landmarking our building.
I wholeheartedly support St. Aidan’s and the work that is being done for the common good of our community.
Landmarking St. Aidan’s puts the future of the church in serious jeopardy. Please help us help our community.
Thank you,
Corey Priebe
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:David Schwartz
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Requesting St. Aidan"s not be landmarked
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 2:11:58 PM
Attachments:St Aidans Landmark letter.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
Attached please find a letter urging you not to landmark St. Aidan's church. If you have any
questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.
all the best,
David
Rev. David Schwartz, Lead Minister
Website | Facebook | YouTubeI'm in the office Monday-Thursday by appointment
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
5001 Pennsylvania Ave | Boulder, Colorado 80303 | p: 303-494-0195 | office@uuchurchofboulder.org | www.uuchurchofboulder.org
Rev. David Schwartz, Lead Minister
February 24, 2025
Dear Landmark Board Members,
I’m Rev. David Schwartz, and I serve as the lead minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of
Boulder. I am writing to ask you not to landmark St. Aidan’s Church.
The value of landmark buildings to shape the character of a community isn’t in doubt – I grew up
in Lexington, Massachusetts where colonial and 19th century landmark buildings played a
profound and beautiful role in making the town what it is.
At the same time, as a religious leader in Boulder, it is unambiguous that the deeper, wider, and
more lasting impact on Boulder isn’t the form of St. Aidan’s building, but what happens inside of
it. The building is a tool which makes it possible for them to provide space for the community, to
be a moral voice for justice in the public square, and to offer an unconditional invitation into
belonging for everyone who walks through their doors.
Landmarking the building limits the ways that community will be able to carry out its mission in
the future. It also creates additional long-term financial strain on a nonprofit volunteer
organization. Congregations are already stretched thin. In the years and decades ahead, they will
be stretched thinner. I don’t want any congregation to be in the position of deciding whether to
keep a façade picture-perfect or fund a food pantry – one of those is clearly a higher priority to
our community than the other.
I appreciate the work that you do as a Landmark Board, but the real and enduring value to our
community isn’t what St. Aidan’s looks like on the outside – it’s the vital community-facing
mission they live out on the inside. I urge you not to landmark their building.
Sincerely,
Rev. David Schwartz
Lead Minister
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Pam Greene
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Mary Kate Rejouis
Subject:2425 Colorado Ave
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 2:54:02 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
February 24, 2024
Dear Landmarks Board:
Thank you for your volunteer service on this important
board. I write to you again about St. Aidan’s building at
2425 Colorado Ave.
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church is a warm and welcoming
faith community with a long and storied 77-year history in
Boulder. This community’s aging, inefficient building is an
obstacle to their continued service to the citizens of this
city.
I urge you to issue the demolition permit for this aging
building. Please do not initiate a landmark designation.
Allow this faith community to exercise their private property
rights over the building that they built. This choice is the
only one that will allow this historic congregation to
continue its important charitable and religious ministry. It is
the only choice that will allow St. Aidan’s to maintain its
critical role in my life as a welcoming, loving,
intergenerational faith community whose mission is to
improve lives.
St. Aidan’s congregation has lovingly cared for the building
since we built it. We hold great nostalgia for the hundreds
of weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other celebrations that
have occurred here.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
However, the church building is grossly underutilized, does
not meet the congregation’s current needs, and costs well
over $100,000 per year to operate and maintain -- a quarter
of the church’s annual budget. The worship spaces are
uninsulated, not air conditioned, poorly heated, and
wasteful. The building cannot be made fully ADA
accessible, which limits the ability of some congregants to
fully participate in worship and community life.
Our congregation spent several years contemplating our
past and our future, and concluded that the current
unmaintainable and inefficient structure is an obstacle to
our ability to survive, let alone thrive, for another 77 years.
We determined that we value loving, ministering to, and
nurturing all of those in our faith community and in Boulder
as a whole, over nostalgia for our building. From this
location, we want our congregation to continue serving its
important role in this community, and in the lives of so
many who live here.
If you landmark this unaffordable building, this loving faith
community will eventually wither away. So will the work that
we do to feed the hungry, serve our community, and
provide a safe haven, especially for young adults who feel
afraid, marginalized or discriminated against. Many will
suffer.
The decision before the Landmarks Board is about the
survival of our historic faith community and our ability to
serve the citizens of this city long into the future. Please
vote to issue a demolition permit for our current building.
Our congregation will build a new, beautiful building on
Colorado Avenue–a building that honors our faith, our
ministry, and our history.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Thank you,
Pamela Greene
5249 Pierre St
Boulder, CO 80304
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Heather Blackwelder
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan’s
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 3:39:25 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Heather Blackwelder and I serve on the Vestry (Board of Directors) of St. Aidan’s. My family (myself,
my husband and our three children) discovered St. Aidan’s in 2020 and fell in love with the community almost
immediately. The Rector, Mary Kate Rejouis, is an inspiring leader and her weekly sermons have helped my
husband and I navigate marriage and parenting in a tumultuous world.
I appeal to you NOT to Landmark our church building. Please do not designate it a historic landmark.
As the lay leadership we care for our aging building. The building lacks air conditioning, which becomes more and
more problematic every year, and the heat does not work that well either. When serving coffee hour, we often run
into problems with blown fuses. It is not uncommon to smell something “funky” during the service. Landmarking
our building will limit our ability to repair and sustain a building that already fails to meet our needs.
The heart of St. Aidan’s is not the building, it is the loving, supportive and welcoming congregation that meets
there. I love that every week we get to connect with a diverse group of parishioners of all ages. Since we do not have
family in the area, St. Aidan’s has stepped in and allowed my boys to get to know many lovely seniors including
many former CU professors and BVSD teachers. In a disconnected world, St. Aidan’s has allowed our family to feel
anchored and connected. This type of cross generation connection becomes more and more important everyday.
Please consider the rights of self determination of faith based communities like St. Aidan’s in balance with your role
of historical preservation. In order to insure that this congregation can continue to exist for years to come, St.
Aidan’s vestry has spent almost 3 years discerning the best way to utilize our property. We are a small non-profit
and have funded this work with grants and hours of volunteer work. I feel confident that all plans for the future of
our building will be carefully considered, so that the vital, loving congregation we have grown to count on will
continue long into the future. I want my children and future grandchildren to get married and be baptized at St.
Aidan’s. We are working hard towards that goal. Designating the building as a landmark would significantly impede
our work.
Please do not initiate landmarking of our building. We lead a community, not a building, and the survival of that
community depends on our ability to modify and adapt, so that we can be present in the Boulder community long
into the future.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Heather Blackwelder
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Bernadette M Stewart
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s church
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 3:56:57 PM
Importance:High
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Bernadette Stewart, and I have lived in Boulder for over thirty years. I represent
my family of five. We have made St. Aidan’s our spiritual home for over a decade. Our three
children were baptized at St. Aidan’s by mother Mary Kate.
We love and care for our aging, beautiful, but increasingly costly to maintain church building,
and we care even more about the future of our church. That is what is at stake for us. So, we
ask you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
St. Aidan’s has been a beacon of hope for many, including me. St. Aidan’s led by rector Mary
Kate has given me unwavering support, compassionate outreach, and has provided me a sense
of belonging and purpose when I am feeling joy, and when I am feeling lost- searching for
answers and help. The kindness of its members and the warmth of its fellowship offer a
reminder that no one is alone, and that love and faith can bring light to even the darkest times.
We all need this more than ever these days.
Our church building has been a place of ministry, inclusion, and care for generations. And
although our building does not always meet our needs—it can be difficult for those with
mobility issues, it has hvac issues, and its infrastructure is costly to maintain, we must be
entrusted with the responsibility to steward our resources wisely. We need to be empowered
to determine what our community and building needs.
Please trust us to preserve the legacy of our church community in a way that ensures its
survival and continued ministry for generations to come.
The question before the Landmarks Board is about the survival of our faith community and
our ability to be a place of ministry in the community long into the future. Again, I ask you
NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
Respectfully,
Bernadette
Bernadette Stewart
Assistant Dean of People, Engagement & Culture
University of Colorado Boulder | College of Arts and Sciences
1600 Pleasant Street |Carlson 205 | 275 UCB
In person M-F
Bernadette.Stewart@colorado.edu
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Ralph Patterson
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please do not landmark St. Aidan"s
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 4:33:27 PM
Attachments:Outlook-lf2uplqz.png
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Monday, February 4, 2025
To: Members of the Landmarks Board
From: Ralph Patterson
I’m the 3rd son of Fr Pat and Virginia Patterson. I am writing to ask you to not landmark St
Aidan’s building.
I grew up at St. Aidan’s. I was the luckiest kid in the world to have the parents I had! I
moved from Boulder in 1986 and have lived in North Carolina and South Carolina ever
since. I’m exceptionally proud of what Dad and Mom accomplished in Boulder. It is
incredible the impact they have had in the Boulder community. Mom ran out of places to
put plaques and awards, so she started placing them under her bed! I have served and
continue to serve on several boards in South Carolina. The reason I’ve embraced the
opportunities that I have had as a board member is because I think that it would make
Dad and Mom proud. One thing we always try to accomplish in making major decisions
as board members, is to do the right thing.
When Dad retired from St. Aidan’s in the late 70’s an article and several pictures were
published by the Daily Camera. The caption under one of the photos of Dad from his
retirement dinner at the UMC, it mentioned that as CU’s Episcopal Chaplain (and at
University of Texas before that) he mentored a total of sixty-three people that answered
the call to enter the priesthood. Think about how many have been impacted by Dad, and
those sixty-three…and it just keeps going…it’s amazing to think about!
It could feel good to protect St. Aidan’s as a member of the Landmarks board, but it
would not be the right decision. The legacy left for Boulder from Dad and Mom is to be
intentional to make a difference in the lives of young people, so that they can, in turn,
make a difference in others. That is what it’s all about. That is what all of us should be
about. When I make decisions, I always ask myself what Dad and Mom would have
done.
My parents would want the St. Aidan’s leadership and community to continue to reach
out and mentor and encourage those they encounter, and in 2025, the best way to do
that is to allow the church property to evolve to keep my parents’ vision alive. Please do
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
not landmark the building!
Please reach out to me if you have any questions or comments.
Count your Blessings!
Sincerely,
Ralph Patterson
Vice President for Athletics
Erskine College
Ralph.Patterson@erskine.edu
864-378-6068
Ralph Patterson
Vice President for Athletics
Erskine College
PO Box 338
Due West, SC 29639
#TheFleetWay
Office: 864-379-8876
Mobile: 864-378-6068
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Harumi B Rhodes
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Letter in support of St. Aidan"s future
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 5:15:16 PM
Attachments:Letter to Landmark Board Members-In Support of St. Aidan"s.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
Please find attached letter in support of St. Aidan’s future.
Thank you,
Harumi Rhodes
Artistic Director
“If Music Be The Food…” – Boulder branch
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
February 24, 2025
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Harumi Rhodes, Artistic Director of the Boulder branch of “If Music Be The
Food” – a concert series designed to raise awareness for food insecurity in local
communities. St. Aidan’s has been a loyal community partner by hosting several “If Music
Be The Food” concerts over the past ten years and creating a welcoming space for those in
need.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. Landmarking the building will not allow St.
Aidan’s to continue carrying out their vision for the future as an inter-faith leader in our
community. Rev Mary Kate Rejouis has created a ministry of inclusion and welcome that is
integral for our community.
The welcome that St. Aidan’s provides for this community goes beyond just the building
itself. St. Aidan’s has a vision for bringing people together of all faiths, providing a safe
space for those who are hungry or in need, and provides low-cost (or no-cost) community
space for shared events like the concerts I have curated for “If Music Be The Food….”
I am grateful St. Aidan's is where it is, and I support their right to plan their future. Please do
not initiate Landmarking for this building.
Thank you,
Harumi Rhodes
Artistic Director
“If Music Be The Food” – Boulder Branch
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Warren Taylor
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 6:35:57 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Hello,
I have been a member of St. Aidan's for over 30 years. We need to address our future needs.
We are particularly focused on the needs of our congregation, our community and the
university students. We are concerned about meeting these needs for future generations. As
the Junior Warden a few years ago, I can attest to the high maintenance that our current
building requires.
I support St. Aidan's request of the Landmarks Board.
Warren Taylor, PhD
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Nancy Chalfant-Walker
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 7:20:36 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is the Rev. Nancy Chalfant-Walker. As a retired Episcopal priest, recently moved
to Boulder, I am a relatively new participant at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. I have settled at
St. Aidan’s as my new church home, finding the congregation to be welcoming and also very
intentional in their calling to follow Jesus by serving the larger Boulder community and
especially the students, staff and faculty at CU.
I am writing to ask you NOT to landmark the church building. Please do not designate it as
an historic landmark.
The building that houses the congregation of St. Aidan’s has served them well over the years.
But it is showing its age, much like a beloved old sweater that has been worn so long and
patched so much that it no longer fits. Maintenance is increasingly expensive, and, even in
the short time I’ve been here, there have been several significant capital expenditures. Looking
to the future, the building was not designed to be a fit for a world in which energy
conservation is increasingly necessary to care for creation. Retrofitting it for true energy
efficiency would be massively expensive and perhaps not achievable. And to be honest, from
my perspective, the church building was constructed in an era of church architecture that is
generally not all that worth preserving.
What is worth preserving is the congregation itself and its ministry of service to the University
and the Boulder community. The people that God has called to be a part of St. Aidan’s are
looking to the future very intentionally, wanting to use their resources in a way that supports
their desire to be a blessing to Boulder for years to come. The current building, going
forward, would be a serious hindrance to that.
Since arriving at St. Aidan’s, I have become one of the hosts for Bread & Belonging, which, in
our partnership with the Lutheran Campus Ministry, welcomes CU students to a weekly free
meal and a chance for good company in a safe space. Spending time with these students has
been a gift to me. There are multiple other ways in which the congregation of St. Aidan’s
currently uses its building to serve others. The CU Basic Needs Center uses St. Aidan’s space
for food distribution. The building is used to host many other groups as well.
The building is well used. But it is the work of welcoming others and of generously sharing
our space that really is the heart of St. Aidan’s, not the building itself. For the people of St.
Aidan’s to be able to move forward into the future, using our resources as wisely as possible in
service to God and for the benefit of our neighbors and the rest of creation, our future
decisions should not be limited by our beloved old building.
Thank you for your consideration,
Nancy Chalfant-Walker
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Julie Bottke
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Letter in Support of NOT Landmarking St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 7:54:44 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Julie Bottke, and I primarily know St. Aidans Episcopal Church through
the support they provide for a volunteer group I'm a part of, Boulder Food Not
Bombs.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community
and the work they do are far more important than the building alone. St. Aidan's is so
much more than a church-- they are a gathering space for volunteers seeking to
make Boulder better, a welcoming beacon of light for LGBTQ+ individuals who have
been shunned by other churches, and a home for college students who are in need of
an extra meal or a community to be a part of. I have witnessed only a fraction of the
work that St. Aidan's does in the community, but can say with confidence that its loss
would be deeply detrimental to Boulder.
We need St. Aidan's to stay here because, among other things, they offer
instrumental support for the unhoused community in Boulder. St. Aidan's allows Food
Not Bombs to cook in their kitchen on a weekly basis, which has allowed us to serve
hundreds upon hundreds of healthy and delicious meals to those in need. Without the
presence and support of St. Aidan's, we would simply not be able to serve the
number of meals we do, and the loss would be felt greatly by both volunteers and the
unhoused community. St. Aidan's graciously provides us their space on a weekly
basis without cost-- this is a rarity for volunteer groups to recieve, and Landmarking
the church would certainly disrupt the support we provide to those in need.
Beyond the support that St. Aidan's provides to Food Not Bombs, I also believe that
St. Aidan's needs to stay where it is because of the support they provide for the
LGBTQ+ community, especially LGBTQ+ Christians. I grew up very religious, so can
attest to how special it is to have a church that is so open and welcoming to truly
anyone, even those who are nonreligious. St. Aidan's and its faith leaders have
genuinlely changed my perspective on religion, which was soured by years of
unaccepting and cruel treatment by other churches that I used to belong to. It must be
noted that I probably would not have had this experience with St. Aidan's if it was
located elsewhere. As a student at CU, the close distance of St. Aidan's has made it
easy to get involved, especially as someone wary of churches. St. Aidan's has been
extremely impactful for CU students like me, and Landmarking the building would
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
certainly prevent future students from experiencing the same love and kindness I
have received.
It is frankly difficult to quanitfy or find the words to explain how significant St. Aidan's
is to the Boulder community, including the students at the University of Colorado. I am
incredibly grateful for the support that St. Aidan's provides me as a volunteer seeking
to make my city better, as well as for the love I've been shown as a queer individual. I
hope this email has helped illustrate some of the ways in which St. Aidan's is a pillar
to our community--a pillar which would be shattered by Landmarking the building. I
am so thankful for the presence of St. Aidan's at their current location, and fully
support their right to plan their future. Please do NOT Landmark this building.
Thank you,
Julie Bottke
CU Student and Food Not Bombs Volunteer
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Sheryl Bain
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Fwd: St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church Building
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 8:02:35 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
I hope I have the correct email address for you, this time.
Sheryl Bain
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Sheryl Bain <s.bain60@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Feb 24, 2025, 6:20 PM
Subject: St. Aidan's Episcopal Church Building
To: <Landmarkboard@bouldercolorado.gov>
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Sheryl Bain and I am a member of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church and have been
since 1981. Over the years I have been involved with outreach (serving as chair for over 20
years), a lay reader, a member of the choir, and a member of the hospitality committee.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's church building. Please do not designate it a historic
landmark.
We are in the process of planning for our future in the community and want to stay in our
current location. The building; however, is not up to the standards it needs to be going
forward. Years ago we had a child care center (Joy Care) housed at our facility with the
emphasis on child care for staff, faculty, and students at CU. With the regulations updated for
child daycare facilities, we were unable to renovate to meet all the requirements and had to
find a location away from campus. Eventually we closed our Joy Care Center.
I do not have a crystal ball, but, if in the future, we would like to help with child care again,
we need a modern facility. This church building is not environmentally friendly, costing a lot
to heat in the winter and has no air conditioning for the summer months.
The current building has met our needs for many years, we have cared for it with love and a
lot of sweat and tears and money. This is not sustainable for our future and I would ask you to
please help us through our planning process to become a faith community for future
generations.
Thank you for taking time to read my email.
Sheryl Bain
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Donna Colville
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Fwd: Re: Please don"t designate St. Aidan"s a historical landmark.
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 9:06:47 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Donna Colville, I am a member of St. Aidan’s and have been for over 25 years. I
am a retired businessperson and have lived in Boulder for over 50 years. As part of the St.
Aidan’s community, I have served on the Vestry several times, and I have served as Treasurer
for many years. As a current member of the Standing Committe of the Episcopal Diocese of
Colorado, I have seen firsthand the hardship that landmarking has caused other aging parishes
in the state.
I ask you NOT to Landmark our church building. Please do not designate it a historic
landmark.
Attending St. Aidan's is a vital part of my having a happy life. The spiritual direction, love and
support I have received over the years and more importantly, the opportunity for personal
growth through service has been life sustaining. The most important things I know about
running a business and managing people, I learned through my experience at St. Aidan's.
Our location near the University of Colorado is crucial to the mission of the church to serve
the students and faculty of the University, as well as the broader community. Our building has
provided a place for our community of faith for generations and so we have cherished it,
despite its largely unremarkable appearance and its age. To care for our old building, we spend
significant amounts of time and money on recurring building repair issues. Money and time
that could be better spent on our mission to care for our congregation and those in the broader
community.
Our faith community is more than a building. While we try to manage the limitations our
building presents, our congregation has evolved, and the world has changed. The building no
longer suits our space needs, it is too large; and even if it were in perfect condition, it is
inefficient to heat and is an obstacle to our sustainability values. Values that we share with the
City of Boulder: to reduce our carbon footprint and maintain efficient use of our land.
The Landmark Board's decision will have a critical impact on the future survival of our
congregation and the sustainability of our mission to be a place of worship and to minister to
those of our community in need.
Thank you,
Donna Colville
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Beverley Robinson
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Mary Kate Rejouis
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 9:16:52 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Beverley Robinson, member of the Vestry of St. Aidan’s Episcopal
Church, and am writing to implore the Landmarks Board NOT TO DESIGNATE
OUR CHURCH AS AN HISTORIC LANDMARK. I have been a member of the
congregation since 2008 upon my return from my first Education Mission to Haiti
and am currently a member of the Vestry.
My reasons for the above are, (1) it is a church whose sanctuary and grounds house
so many emotionally charged associations for many members of the congregation:
baptisms, confirmations, weddings, ordinations, and funerals. (2) and looking
ahead, our future is at stake if we do not have the ability to adapt with the changing
times.
With all due respect,
Bev Robinson
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Erik B Peters
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Mary Kate Rejouis; Pastor Monica Butler
Subject:Concern Regarding Landmark Designation of St. Aiden’s Episcopal Church Building
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 11:15:05 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmark Preservation Board,
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the proposed designation of St. Aiden’s
Episcopal Church building as a landmark. While I understand and appreciate the importance
of historic preservation, I believe that granting landmark status to St. Aiden’s will have
unintended and detrimental consequences for its congregation, mission, and broader
community impact.
First and foremost, a landmark designation would significantly increase maintenance costs for
the church. The requirement to use historically appropriate materials and methods, while well-
intentioned, imposes financial burdens that St. Aiden’s is ill-equipped to bear. The added
expense of maintaining the building to historic standards would divert critical resources away
from the church’s core mission and community programs.
St. Aiden’s Episcopal Church represents far more than the sum of its buildings. Its ministry,
outreach programs, and role in the community define its true value. Imposing landmark
restrictions that limit necessary modifications would severely hinder the congregation’s ability
to adapt its space to meet evolving worship needs. Flexibility in the use and design of its
facilities is essential for the church to continue serving its community effectively.
Moreover, the landmark designation would impose governmental regulations that would
significantly constrain the congregation’s autonomy. The financial strain and bureaucratic
oversight associated with such a designation threaten the long-term viability of the church.
Ultimately, these burdens could serve as the death knell for a congregation whose mission
extends far beyond the walls of its building.
I urge the Board to consider the broader impact that landmarking St. Aiden’s Episcopal
Church would have on the community it serves. Preserving history is important, but not at the
expense of living institutions that continue to play a vital and evolving role in our
neighborhoods.
Thank you for your consideration of these concerns.
Sincerely,
Erik Peters
Erik Peters
Secretary/Treasurer
Lutheran Campus Ministry at University of Colorado Boulder
Bread + Belonging - Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
1145 Georgetown Rd
Boulder, CO 80305
Email: Erik.peters@me.com
Phone: 720.524.6929
Sent from my iPad
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Pr. Matthew Weber
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Landmark Designation
Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 11:15:29 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
I'm writing to request that you not designate St. Aidan's Episcopal Church as a
Landmark Building.
I am familiar with St. Aidan's because I am the pastor of a different congregation in
Boulder, and our denomination (ELCA Lutheran) has a mutual relationship with the
Episcopal Church. Further, the Lutheran campus ministry meets in St. Aidan's
building.
Please do not landmark St. Aidan's building. The work St. Aidan's does in the
community is dependent on the use of their building, and that designation would have
a significant negative effect on the work that community does and needs to continue
doing.
I know that there are many events that occur at St. Aidan's building which are
important and life-giving for the congregation, the neighborhood, CU campus life, and
for the city of Boulder. A landmark designation would negatively impact those
programs and events.
From my perspective, perhaps the most important regular even that happens at St.
Aidan's is an open and affirming and welcoming gathering of students for a meal and
conversation and community building. This is vitally important, especially because of
the epidemic of loneliness that's becoming so pervasive in our world - having a place
to be welcomed and affirmed, and to experience connection and community
engagement is vitally important for young adults.
I am thankful that St. Aidan's is located where it is; I fully and completely support their
right to determine their own future. Please do not Landmark their building.
Thank. you.
Matthew Weber
Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church
+++ +++ +++
Matthew Weber
Pastor, Grace Lutheran Church
303.442.1883 (office)
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
720.301.9411 (cell)
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Melanie Sokhey
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Demolition permit for St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church, Boulder
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 12:00:56 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Melanie Sokhey, I have been a member of St. Aidan's Episcopal
church since 2018, and I serve on the Vestry (Parish Council, Board of
Directors) of St. Aidan's and participate in other activities and ministries as
well. I am appealing to you, the Landmarks Board, NOT to make the St.
Aidan building a landmark.
I am retired, but moved to Colorado in 2018 to be near family. My son and
daughter-in-law are both tenured professors at the University of Colorado
Boulder; they and my grandchildren all attend church with me. My
grandchildren were baptized at St. Aidan, my son and daughter-in-law
were confirmed here, we all care deeply about the future of our faith
community.
Why did I join the St. Aidan congregation? It wasn't because of its
undistinguished "mid-century modern" building! Rather, I was drawn to a
group of caring, committed, friendly people who were striving to make a
difference in Boulder and the world, especially for CU. For example, we
have a regular Tuesday evening ministry feeding students, we offer space
to the Buff Pantry, many community organizations use our facilities. As a
member of the lay leadership I have participated in a three-year process of
discernment which determined that our congregation needs to make a
huge change: we need to utilize our land and assets to best ensure our
survival, we need to modernize and right-size our worship space. I
appreciate that the Landmarks Board is charged with maintaining the
character and esthetic of the neighborhood, but our building is not in
character with our immediate neighborhood (i.e. the Stadium, the
Fieldhouse or the Engineering Building) now. Chronic issues with the roof,
the plumbing, a lack of air-conditioning point toward a new building as a
better solution for us.
In closing, I ask again: please do not designate our building a "landmark."
Such a designation would do a disservice to our congregation and the
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
community.
Thank you for your time and attention,
Melanie C. Sokhey
Vestry member, St. Aidan's Episcopal Church
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Spencer Edmunds
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Re: St. Aidan"s Landmark Designation
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 4:35:45 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Spencer Edmunds. I am a member of St. Aidan’s and I am
invested in the future of the church as a parishioner, a member of the
Boulder community, and a human being.
For reasons too lengthy to elaborate fully in this communication, I ask you
NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
St. Aidan's is special to me for many reasons, but probably most importantly
because it helped to save my life. I came to be a member when I was in a
truly fragile state, and Rev. Mary Kate Rejouis met me at the margins, when
I was really a broken person, and she and the church helped me to heal.
Over time, I became more involved in the church, not only attending
services, but also joining work groups aimed at maintaining and improving
the property. I have been on that roof, for instance, and cleaned every
gutter. I also, as a way of giving back, did various maintenance tasks around
the church, since I am a tradesman with a lot of tools and experience.
I found in St. Aidan's not only a church home, but a place where members
are invested in every imaginable way in the life and work of the church, from
worship to campus ministry to outreach in the community, celebrating and
mourning and grieving as faithful people do, and in a sacred space in the
heart of Boulder.
The location of our church is amazing, but the building isn't perfect.
Neither is life. And over time, in the same way change happens all across
the globe, St. Aiden's will have to change and adapt to meet the needs of the
church, including the facilities. What a shame it would be, indeed, if a
landmark designation impeded the efforts of our church from being able to
meet and conquer the challenges that face us in the future.
But more than that, I fear a landmark designation, even if based on good
intentions, could threaten the future of our church family as we know it and
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
render us unable to remain in existence as a vibrant member of the Boulder
community.
I think maybe I like to see it distilled this way: Has St. Aidan's been a good
member of the Boulder community. Have they paid their taxes and kept
their property in good condition, even amid challenges? Have they fed and
supported those in need, literally and figuratively and spiritually? Are they
good neighbors and people and faithful stewards of their resources? Have
they touched the lives of parishioners in ways that are known and unknown,
year after year?
If the answers are yes and yes and yes, then I implore the landmarks Board
to have faith in St. Aidan's to continue down their long successful path and
to guide St. Aidan's into a bright future, unencumbered by a landmark
designation that could threaten the Church's very existence.
Ever yours, in faith.
J. Spencer Edmunds, Sr. Ph.D.
Boulder, CO
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Paul S Voakes
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Church on Colorado Avenue
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 10:16:16 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Members of the Landmarks Board,
My name is Paul Voakes, and as a lay leader and 20-year member of St. Aidan’s
Church, I’m writing to ask you to help us preserve a precious part of our legacy -- by NOT
initiating a landmark designation for our building.
The precious legacy I’m referring to is that of Virginia Patterson, the wife of our
founding rector, Fr. “Pat” Patterson, and herself a positive force in the Boulder
community for decades. She devoted her public life to selfless service; public tributes to
her abound.
“Gingy Pat” was one of the first non-university people I met when I moved to
Boulder to begin my work at CU. Immediately, I was charmed. Among the things we
discovered we had in common was that we were lifelong Episcopalians. She invited me
to check out St. Aidan’s, and I’ve been coming back ever since.
A lot of the good work we’ve done over the years has taken place in our social
hall, aptly named “Gingy Pat Hall.” Twelve years ago, St. Aidan’s joined BOHO, a
rotation of churches taking in the official shelter’s “overflow” of homeless people on
cold winter nights. My volunteer shift began at 6 a.m., and our job was to gently rouse
our 80-100 clients, offer them coffee and a bite to eat, send them out to face another
day, and quickly transform our makeshift shelter back into a church social hall. It was
hard work, though nothing compared to the hardships our clients faced. It was also
deeply rewarding work.
BOHO eventually ended as the city’s approach to homelessness evolved. Today,
the highlight of the typical week in Gingy Pat Hall is the Tuesday night gathering of CU
students for Bread+ Belonging. Students have come to know that this is a safe and
inclusive place, where they can enjoy a hot meal and the company of other students. For
a few hours they can relax before heading back to their busy and often stressful
schedules on campus.
Many, many other ministries take place in Gingy Pat Hall. As I pass through, I
often pause for a second at the modest, framed photo of Gingy Pat. I delight in her
inimitable smile. Like my own mom, Gingy gradually lost her sight to macular
degeneration. Even then, whenever Gingy and I greeted each other on a Sunday morning,
those eyes never lost their twinkle.
Gingy’s spirit lives on at St. Aidan’s, but not as a social hall, nor as any other part
of our building. It lives on as the congregation’s willingness to reach out to others in our
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
community, especially those who may be struggling. It lives on as the way members care
for one another, creating the kind of “beloved community” we’ve celebrated in February.
And it happens in a perfect location -- central Boulder, across from campus – just as the
Pattersons planned it.
But as a matter of architecture or interior design, the social hall is truly
unremarkable – as is the rest of the St. Aidan’s building. Worse, the building is now too
large for us and increasingly expensive to maintain. The irony is that every week, going
back 75 years, remarkable things happen in this unremarkable building. I have no doubt
that Gingy and Fr. Pat would be proud of the services we continue to offer, the things we
do to live out our faith, and that they would encourage us to adapt and grow into new
opportunities to serve. This is how we ought to be honoring the legacy of Gingy Pat.
If the building were to become a landmark, St. Aidan’s would be hard-pressed to
continue any of this. Landmarking this building, again ironically, seems like the worst
possible way to regard the legacy of Virginia Patterson. Please do NOT initiate landmark
proceedings.
Thank you for the work you do, and for your consideration of this matter.
Paul S. Voakes
2260 Mariposa Ave.,
Boulder
Professor of Journalism, Emeritus
College of Media, Communication and Information
University of Colorado
UCB 478
Boulder, CO 80309
303-817-1658
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:William H Kaempfer
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 10:38:10 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Hello,
This is Bill Kaempfer writing. For 38 years I was a member of St, Aidan's Episcopal
Church. During those years I served the church in many roles including Senior Warden
(chief lay officer) and chair of its campus ministry. For those same 38 years I was
Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado of Boulder and during the second
half of my tenure, I also served as Senior Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor of
Academic Affairs for Budget and Planning. I have been retired and removed from the
Boulder community for the last six years, but still have an active interest in both CU and
St. Aidan's.
I am writing and asking for you not to initiate landmark proceedings for the St. Aidan's
property.
St. Aidan's Episcopal Church is not a building but a faith community with many
important missions to serve. One of those that I would like to mention is the role of the
Church in the University's life. For instance, there is a strong link between St. Aidan's
and the College of Music on campus that includes hiring musicians for church services
as well as providing rehearsal and occasional performance space for the College. St.
Aidan's ministry has also long served in support of Student Affairs activities on campus.
But perhaps most important to me is how many students have entered a career of
ministry through the St. Aidan's community. Over the last half-century, St. Aidan's has
been a major nurturer of college students entering seminary and the priesthood in the
Episcopal Church nationwide. Currently there are three such individuals, two recent
seminary graduates and one still enrolled. All found this calling to ministry while CU
students through their involvement in St. Aidan's.
My fear is that landmark status could be an overly restrictive burden on St. Aidan's in
continuing to deliver its mission into the future. Becoming a designated landmark could
lead to additional expenses on the congregation that might break the link between St.
Aidan's and CU. I ask that you allow St. Aidan's to continue to be a place of ministry and
mission to the community, including the University community long into the future
William H. Kaempfer
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Senior Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs for Budget and
Planning, Retired
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Leanne Walther
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan’s Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 10:50:08 AM
Attachments:Letter to board.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Board members,
Please see attached letter in support of NOT designating St. Aidan’s Church as a historical landmark.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Chris and Leanne Walther
5311 Sun Dial Place
Boulder, CO 80301
Leanne
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
February 25, 2025
Dear City of Boulder Landmark Board members:
My name is Leanne Walther and I am writing to you on behalf of my husband, Chris, and myself.
We have been members of St. Aidan’s since 2015. I am a retired research librarian from the
University of Colorado Libraries and Chris is a retired general contractor.
We ask you NOT to landmark our church building. Please do not designate its a historic
landmark. Our church is a beautiful space for worship but the building is not what makes us a
church. What makes us a church is our commitment to and care for each other when we visit
someone in the hospital, take a meal, call someone and pray for each other inside and outside
of the building. The church is our community and connection. For example, people and clergy
of St. Aidan’s came to visit and minister to Chris when he was in the hospital with a seizure in
2014, even though we were members of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Denver at the time.
It is because of their kindness and outreach that we switched our membership to St. Aidan’s in
2015.
The building itself often needs repair and is costly to maintain. There are continuing heating
and cooling issues and occasional leaks. The space, while lovely, is increasingly rigid to our
broadening needs and programs. We are members of the choir and when we rehearse on
Wednesday nights in the worship space, there is a dance group rehearsing in the chapel and a
number of Bread and Belonging (a student outreach program in partnership with the Lutheran
Church) groups in the library and other spaces. We often have to walk through their meeting
spaces to get to and from rehearsal. A more flexible building space would provide an ability to
create private and/or open areas as needed. We also provide the Bread and Belonging students
a once a week free meal on Tuesday evenings. Other examples of the use of St Aidan’s space
include the Food Not Bombs who use the kitchen area Saturday mornings. We occasionally
host a food/essential supplies pantry for University of Colorado students and staff who need
basic necessities. Church and other groups use the St. Aidan’s spaces for meetings. We held
a free community COVID shot clinic during the pandemic. For years our fellowship hall was a
once a week overflow overnight shelter for BOHO, for which we also provided dinner to the
guests. We have a small gallery which is used as an exhibition space for local artists. While the
College of Music was being renovated, we hosted student recitals in our chapel. My husband
and I hosted some of these concerts and the feedback was very positive. It was a challenge to
host some of these events because the spaces available were not always very accommodating.
There are other campus and community groups who most certainly would use the church
spaces if they were accommodating and available.
My husband and I sing in a community choir and have sung with several choirs in Boulder over
the past fifteen years. We rehearse and perform in church spaces. There is a continuing need
for rehearsal and performance space in Boulder. Unfortunately, the St. Aidan’s worship space is
challenging to rehearse and perform in. A performing arts high school group uses the worship
space at Christmas time for several concerts and it is awkward to accommodate their equipment
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
with our services but we make it work because we enjoy having them use our space for their
event and we love their concert. Several of the churches in the Boulder area that are used for
performances have made significant efforts to create an open and great acoustical space for a
concert venue in their worship spaces. A more flexible and versatile St. Aidan’s building would
provide better spaces for performance and attract groups from all over the Denver metro area.
Being adjacent to CU, more and better spaces would make attractive places for campus events
and performances. Being close to downtown, a large open space could be a venue for events
like film viewings.
We hope we have shared enough examples of our St. Aidan’s experience with you. We believe
that St. Aidan’s is a living community of care and connection and that its building should be a
living, open and inviting space which is used and enjoyed by many. Please don’t landmark the
building, so that we can create a more open and versatile place both for worship and meeting.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Chris and Leanne Walther
5311 Sun Dial Place
Boulder, CO 80301
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Kandace Einbeck
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:18:43 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
As a member of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, I am writing to urge you NOT to designate St. Aidan's Episcopal
Church, at 2425 Colorado Ave., Boulder as an historic landmark. I have attended St. Aidan's for almost 25 years,
have served on the Vestry, sing in the choir, volunteer in the office, and take communion to those who cannot
attend in person. I am a semi-retired teacher/professor of German language and literature, and taught at CU for a
number of years, as well as in other schools and universities in the United States, Germany, Austria and China.
Wherever I went, I sought out a community of faith like St. Aidan's, where I found much more than a place to
attend Sunday services, but a place to interact with people of all ages and backgrounds, where not everyone was
in the 18-22 age group and not all academically inclined.
While I really love the community I have found at St. Aidan's, I don't see what is so historic about our building.
It is not the original chapel where Fr. Patterson founded the first Episcopal student group more than 75 years ago.
That was "on the hill". Our building is more recent, and like the rest of us who originated in that era, has its aches
and pains. Fixing the boiler has become so legendary that its welfare has elicited special prayers. This is the first
year that I can recall when we have not had to place buckets in the sanctuary, parish hall or choir room to catch
drips, despite our valiant (and costly) efforts to keep the roofers of Boulder County in steady employment. And
some of the plumbing sounds like it is trying out for the tenor section of the choir.
However, more important than our building is our mission. At no place in the Gospels does Jesus tell us to
"build a church building" or "fix the water heater." What he does ask us to do, and what we feel our mission is, is
to care for the community around us, to welcome the stranger, to feed those who are hungry, and provide hope to
those who have lost sight of it. The city of Boulder and the University of Colorado have changed in so many ways
since our building was constructed. Our church - which is not the building, but the community of people who attend
worship, or use our kitchen to cook meals for the homeless, or just stop to rest at the picnic table under the oak
tree on their way to class - is changing as well and we need to be able to make our physical space fulfill our
spiritual needs and the needs of the community around us. If we can adapt this wonderful space on Colorado
Avenue in such a way that we can respond to needs for food, for child care, housing, now and as these needs
continue to change, then we really must do so.
Once again, please let us change with the times, and not designate St. Aidan's as a landmark - we wish to be so
much more than that.
Sincerely yours,
Kandace Einbeck
--
Kandace Einbeck, PhD
German/French/English Teaching and Translation
810 Wade Road
Longmont, CO 80503
303-682-3088
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Kirsten Manica
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Mary Kate Rejouis; Canon Mike Orr
Subject:Urgent Letter- NO Landmark Designation- St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:19:44 AM
Attachments:image096116.png
Urgent Letter- NO Landmark Designation- St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Members of the Landmarks Board,
Please see the attached letter from the Rt. Rev. Kym Lucas, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in
Colorado, regarding St. Aidan's Episcopal Church at 2425 Colorado Ave, Boulder, CO 80302,
requesting that you not designate the St. Aidan's church building as a historic landmark.
Warmly,
Kirsten
Kirsten Manica
Executive Assistant to the Bishop
m: 720-422-7499
e: kirsten@episcopalcolorado.org
a: 1300 N Washington Street, Denver, CO 80203
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
The Office of the Bishop works to engage, equip, and
empower God’s people to love and follow Jesus.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Re: Urgent Appeal Against Landmark Designation for St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church
Dear Members of the Landmarks Board,
I appeal to you for a second time NOT to landmark the St. Aidan’s church building. Please
do not designate it a historic landmark.
As Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Colorado, I write in strong support of St. Aidan’s
Episcopal Church and its mission in Boulder. For over 75 years, St. Aidan’s has been an
essential part of this community, faithfully serving both the University of Colorado
Boulder and the broader city. While we honor the history of this sacred space, we must
emphasize that the church is not the building—it is the people and the mission they live
out every day.
St. Aidan’s serves as a Christian voice of inclusion, providing a welcoming home for
LGBTQIA+ students, young adults, and anyone seeking belonging. Through its campus
ministry, Bread+Belonging, St. Aidan’s actively supports students with food, fellowship,
and pastoral care, offering a vital resource that the university itself cannot provide. The
congregation is multigenerational, with a deep commitment to serving both its members
and the wider Boulder community.
I urge you to recognize that a landmark designation would impose significant restrictions
on St. Aidan’s ability to adapt to the future. By 2030, it is estimated that over 100,000
church properties in the United States will be sold due to the financial burden of
maintaining aging buildings. The ability to invest in future ministry and respond to the
needs of the congregation must take precedence over preserving a structure that no
longer meets their needs.
Religious institutions exist to serve people. The flexibility to make necessary changes to
church property is essential for faith communities to continue their work. A historic
designation would severely limit St. Aidan’s ability to make decisions that ensure their
long-term sustainability. I ask you to consider the impact this designation would have on a
vibrant faith community that is actively engaged in serving both its members and those
beyond its walls.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Again, I appeal to you NOT to landmark St. Aidan’s church building. Please allow this
congregation the freedom to continue its vital ministry in Boulder without the constraints
of a historic designation.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Kym Lucas
Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Colorado
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Alphonse Keasley
To:landmarksboard
Subject:In support of St. Aidan"s NOT becoming a landmark designated
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:35:29 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Alphonse Keasley. I know of St. Aidan’s because I have worked with the
Rector for Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations, along with other religious
congregations that are directly across the street from the University of Colorado
Boulder. This proximity has been important for our collaborations for more than 2 or
more decades.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community
and the work they do are more important than its building alone. We need this
community to be able to remain in its location because they offer a close site for many
student and community events. As noted before, St. Aidan’s has been actively
involved in helping to produce a religious-secular Martin Luther King, Jr celebration in
January each year. The church has also been available for regular gatherings
following the January event to maintain regular contact with attendees.
Unquestionably, St. Aidan’s presence so close to the university and the Rector’s
desire to partner with many University of Colorado Boulder faculty, staff and students
is tremendous value to town-gown relations. St. Aidan’s presence is a model for
continued collaborations for years to come.
Respectfully,
Alphonse Keasley, Ph.D.
Retired Associate Vice Chancellor
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Tom Hopson
To:landmarksboard
Cc:Tom Hopson
Subject:Please do not initiate landmark designation for St. Aidan"s
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 12:49:14 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Thomas (Tom) Hopson, and as a community member I know
of St. Aidan’s because I have visited the church in the past (and used to
walk by it every day as a CU grad student), and also because the pastor
works with my wife, Rabbi Ruth Gelfarb.
I write to please ask you not to Landmark St. Aidan's building, since the
presence of this faith community and the work they do are more important
than its building alone, since they provide a good, safe, accessible church
building and services to the broader (nearby and far) community, and
need to have the flexibility to move in directions with their building that
keep it sustainable in the coming decades.
Thank you for your consideration,
Thomas (Tom) Hopson
4817 Hopkins PL
Boulder, CO. 80301
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Jonathan Singer
To:landmarksboard
Cc:John Tayer; Devin Edgley
Subject:St. Aidan"s Landmark concerns
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 1:28:27 PM
Attachments:2025 - St. Aidan"s - Landmark Opposition - 2-23.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Members of the Landmarks Board,
Please read attached (or in plaintext below) our concerns regarding the St. Aidan’s Landmark
process from our President / CEO John Tayer.
Thank you for your careful attention to this among many matters and do not hesitate to reach
out to us any time.
Best,
Jonathan
JONATHAN SINGER (he/him)
Senior Director of Policy Programs
Ph. 720-823-2339
Your Chamber does that.
February 23, 2024 RE: St. Aidan’s Church: Landmark Concern City of Boulder Landmarks Board:
Understanding that you will be considering landmarking for the St. Aidan’s Church, we write to
express a deep concern with that proposed action.
As a general principle, the Boulder Chamber discourages landmarking in advance of planning efforts.
St. Aidan’s is in the process of reviewing opportunities for redevelopment of their site. This could
include significant housing, something that would be of great value in close proximity to the
University of Colorado campus.
While the preservation of historic community structures also is a value to our community, we cannot
foreclose the opportunity to weigh the benefits of other thoughtful planning objectives and their
contribution to community goals. Along those lines, historic landmarking should not serve as a
barrier to that character of broader evaluation.
Therefore, we express our concern with the proposed landmarking of the St. Aidan’s Church and ask
you to please hold any such action in abeyance until there is a better understanding of the character
and goals of redevelopment proposals for that site.
Sincerely, John Tayer President & CEO
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
February 23, 2024
RE: St. Aidan’s Church: Landmark Concern
City of Boulder Landmarks Board:
Understanding that you will be considering landmarking for the St. Aidan’s Church, we
write to express a deep concern with that proposed action.
As a general principle, the Boulder Chamber discourages landmarking in advance of
planning efforts. St. Aidan’s is in the process of reviewing opportunities for
redevelopment of their site. This could include significant housing, something that
would be of great value in close proximity to the University of Colorado campus.
While the preservation of historic community structures also is a value to our
community, we cannot foreclose the opportunity to weigh the benefits of other
thoughtful planning objectives and their contribution to community goals. Along those
lines, historic landmarking should not serve as a barrier to that character of broader
evaluation.
Therefore, we express our concern with the proposed landmarking of the St. Aidan’s
Church and ask you to please hold any such action in abeyance until there is a better
understanding of the character and goals of redevelopment proposals for that site.
Sincerely,
John Tayer
President & CEO
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Harry Poehlmann
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 1:33:55 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Harry Poehlmann, and I am a retired physicist, having worked at Ball Aerospace
from 1965 until 2014. My wife and I have been members of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church for
most of those years. Both of our daughters were married there, and our son’s funeral service
was held there (after his tragic death at the age of 46 climbing a fourteener). The church has
been a vital part of our lives for many years, and we plan to have our funeral services there
upon our passings.
We love the existing church building and it has served us faithfully throughout its life (as we
have it). However, we ask that you NOT initiate a landmark designation for it. It has a leaky
roof, it’s hard and expensive to heat in the winter and it can’t be cooled in the summer, it has
recurring plumbing problems, it’s troublesome for people with limited mobility and it’s just
generally hard to maintain because of its age (as are both of us)!
Although a building is important, the survival of the religious community it houses is much
more important. St. Aidan’s was started as a mission church to serve the needs of CU students
and that is still its primary calling, which my wife and I wholeheartedly support. To continue
as a thriving church community serving CU (and Boulder and beyond), we must be able to
adapt to the times in whatever physical structure is appropriate, which would be impossible
were our beautiful but tired, old and expensive building be landmarked.
Please consider our request and help us survive as one of the major faith communities in
Boulder for many years into the future.
Thank you,
Harry Poehlmann
225 Lipan Way
Boulder, CO 80303
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Priscilla Newbury
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Letter Opposing Landmark Designation for St. Aidan"s Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 1:54:10 PM
Attachments:Newbury Signed to Landmarks Feb 24,2025.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Please consider the attached letter, thank you
Priscilla Newbury
--
Priscilla Newbury
newbupr@gmail.com
(347) 986-0103
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:The Reverend Canon Jon Anderson
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Boulder, letter of support to Landmarks Board, 02.25.2025.pdf
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 2:15:25 PM
Attachments:image267763.png
St. Aidan"s Boulder, letter of support to Landmarks Board, 02.25.2025.pdf
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear City of Boulder Landmarks Board,
Attached is my letter of support for St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church Bolder.
Thank you,
The Rev. Canon Jon Anderson
The Reverend Canon Jon Anderson
Canon for Mission and Operations
t: 720-660-3180
e: jon@episcopalcolorado.org
a: 1300 N Washington Street, Denver, 80203
Pronouns: He/Him
The Office of the Bishop works to engage, equip, and
empower God’s people to love and follow Jesus.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:maren fadley
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Landmarking St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 2:27:35 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmark Board Members,
Hello, I hope you are all doing well. My name is Maren Fadley. I am a resident and community
member of Boulder and I know of St. Aidan’s because the non-profit organization I volunteer
with utilizes their kitchen space.
I kindly ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community
and the work they do are more important than its building alone. We need the St. Aidan’s
community to be able to stay where they are because they offer many local groups their space
to utilize for small events, cooking, storage, and overall support. Many of our volunteers start
as students and are able to easily access the church due to the proximity to campus. While
they are more than just a building, it’s important to have them stay where they are due to the
specific services, programs, and community they provide to students and others.
Every Saturday morning-afternoon (barring pre-planned Church events), St. Aidan’s allows us
into the space at no cost to do meaningful work for the Boulder community. This alone allows
us to even function as a group. Without their space, we would have no regular space to cook or
store our supplies.
I know our whole group would agree in saying how thankful we are to have St. Aidan’s right
where it is, and we fully support their right to plan their future. Please do not landmark this
building.
Thank you for reading and considering,
Maren Fadley
Community Member, Volunteer of Food Not B*mbs
724-480-8761
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Wesley Leffingwell
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 2:57:16 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Hello Landmarks Board,
My name is Wesley Leffingwell, and I conduct the choir at St. Aidan's. My Father was
confirmed at the church in the 1960's and his mother's funeral was held at St. Aidan's.
I would like to plead that the board to Not designate this building as an historic landmark.
The community that I feel at St. Aidan's is strong and deep. When I am at the Organ or in front
of the choir, I feel an energy of devotion and love. This congregation is bound together, not to
a building but a place and a community.
When the sanctuary was built in the early 1970's it was because they needed more room. Now
we need less, and we need to be able to adapt the structure to better serve our community and
congregation in the century to come. There are so many issues in the maintenance of the
current pieced-together building that cannot be truly fixed, but only mended over and over
again.
If the Landmarks board deems the building an historic landmark, the future of the church
community at 2425 Colorado Ave, is in jeopardy. I hope that you will grant us the ability to
shape our future together.
Best Wishes,
Wesley Leffingwell
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Johnson, Kristofer
To:landmarksboard
Subject:FW: St Aidan"s Episcopal Church Landmark Designation
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 3:17:33 PM
One more ...
Kristofer Johnson, AICP, PLA
Comprehensive Planning Manager
(Pronouns: He/Him/His) What's This?
O: 303-441-4277
johnsonk3@bouldercolorado.gov
Department of Planning & Development Services
1739 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80302
bouldercolorado.gov
-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth Harnett <elizabeth.harnett@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2025 7:15 PM
To: landmarksboard <landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov>
Subject: Re: St Aidan's Episcopal Church Landmark Designation
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Dr. Elizabeth Harnett, I am a member of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. I also work as a climate finance
expert at the Boulder-based energy thinktank the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).
I ask you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
Our current building has served us well for many years, but it’s becoming increasingly impractical for our
community. Our future is at stake with this decision.
As part of the St. Aidan’s community, I served on our ‘Partnerships and Visioning’ committee to safeguard the next
75 years of St Aidan’s Church, and explore how new spaces within our church property could greatly enhance our
ability to serve future generations in Boulder and the Front Range.
A faith community is more than a building. I joined St Aidan’s when I moved to Boulder from England three years
ago for my work and it was the first place that made Colorado feel like home. St Aidan’s introduced me to a
welcoming, multi-generational community who quickly became my friends and family.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Being part of St. Aidan’s has helped me grow both personally and professionally. Last year, I was nominated by St
Aidan’s Rev. Mother Mary-Kate Rejouis and the Bishop of Colorado to join the global Episcopal Church’s
delegation to the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan. This opportunity allowed me to advocate for
global climate action and promote interfaith education on this critical issue, including giving talks in Boulder and
across Colorado. It’s one example of the many ways the church nurtures individual skills and passions to serve both
local and global communities.
As I look to the future, we must embrace opportunities to change in a more environmentally and financially
sustainable way. It is critical that we have a building and space that meets these needs in a way that our current
building cannot. This could help generations of local residents and students enjoy the same experience of family,
fellowship and faith that I have.
The Landmarks Board can give us the freedom to survive and thrive into the future as a sustainable and outward-
looking faith community. Please DO NOT initiate the landmark designation for St Aidan's Church.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Elizabeth Harnett
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Johnson, Kristofer
To:landmarksboard
Subject:FW: Please do NOT landmark our building
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 3:17:11 PM
This landed in my Junk folder, so wanted to make sure it came through to all of you. Thanks!
Kristofer Johnson, AICP, PLA
Comprehensive Planning Manager
(Pronouns: He/Him/His) What's This?
O: 303-441-4277
johnsonk3@bouldercolorado.gov
Department of Planning & Development Services
1739 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80302
bouldercolorado.gov
-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Garcia <bocoverger@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 9:39 AM
To: landmarksboard <landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov>
Subject: Please do NOT landmark our building
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Jennifer (Jennie) Garcia, I serve on the Vestry (Board of Directors) of St. Aidan's. In my "day job," I'm
the assistant director of residential and nursing services for Imagine!, a non-profit agency that serves people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities. I've been a member of St. Aidan's for over 20 years. I came as a student
in 2003 and was nourished and supported through my time at CU in the Campus Ministry program. I was confirmed
and married at St. Aidan's and my son was baptised here in 2020.
I appeal to you NOT to Landmark our church building. Please do not designate it a historic landmark.
The community at St. Aidan's has supported me through some of the most difficult times of my life. When I was in
college, I experienced a mental health crisis. The people at St. Aidan's visited me in the hospital and invited me into
their homes for meals. The campus ministry meetings and meals each week were my safe space. The Campus
Ministry is where I healed. I can't tell you how many hours I spent at St. Aidan's during my college life, but it
became a home away from home.
As the lay leadership, we care for our aging building. I didn't want to be married anywhere else! We care for our
building and create workarounds so that we can still spend time in it while it often doesn't meet our needs. For
example, I had a winter wedding so that we didn't run the risk of anyone passing out in our unair-conditioned
sanctuary—and then we had to move our reception to the chapel because the roof over the parish hall was leaking.
As a Vestry, we lead a congregation and the future of our community is our primary concern. We need a space that
will meet our present and future needs, and landmarking this building will limit our capacity to repair and sustain a
building that already does not meet our needs. The building is an object, the church is an idea and community. I love
Saint Aidan's and I want it to be around for future generations, especially for my son. We have been working hard as
a Vestry to move toward that goal.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
The questions before the Landmarks Board is about more than a building. It is about the very survival of this faith
community, which is my home away from home, a safe space, and the only place where my son has so many bonus
grandparents and aunties and uncles who will support and guide him into adulthood. We want and I need for Saint
Aidan's to have the ability to change and be present in Boulder long into the future. Please do NOT initiate
landmarking our building.
Thank you,
--
Jennie Garcia, FVGEC
303-517-0244
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Johnson, Kristofer
To:Gerwing, Marcy; Brandt, Clare
Cc:Noble, Aubrey
Subject:FW: Please Do Not Landmark St Aidan"s
Date:Monday, March 3, 2025 3:26:11 PM
FYI for the record (fell into my Junk folder).
Kristofer Johnson, AICP, PLA
Comprehensive Planning Manager
(Pronouns: He/Him/His) What's This?
O: 303-441-4277
johnsonk3@bouldercolorado.gov
Department of Planning & Development Services
1739 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80302
bouldercolorado.gov
-----Original Message-----
From: Justin Schwartz <justinschwartz45@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 3:24 PM
To: landmarksboard <landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov>
Subject: Please Do Not Landmark St Aidan's
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Justin Schwartz, I am familiar with St. Aidan’s as a community partner. I have been organizing with
Boulder Food Not Bombs for nearly 4 years now. Every Saturday St. Aidan's generously donates their commercial
kitchen space to us.
I ask you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith community and the work they do are
more important than its building alone. We need our group to be able to stay here because they offer a convenient
and accessible space for us to prepare a needed resource for the Boulder unhoused community. Every week we
provide dignified and nourishing meals for upwards of 100 folks experiencing homelessness. We are a critical
resource for one of our most vulnerable communities, and we would not be able to accomplish it without the space
that St Aidan's lends us on a weekly basis.
The St. Aidan's staff goes above and beyond lending their space to us and allows us to host trainings and monthly
meetings that allow us to improve and continue our operations.
We are grateful for St. Aidan's where it is, at the building it is at. We support their right to plan their future.
Jepordizing this space is jeopardizing a key resource for some of Boulder's most vulnerable community members.
Thank you,
Justin Schwartz
Program Coordinator, Boulder Food Not Bombs
From:Katherine Kittridge
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please Do NOT Landmark St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 4:45:08 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Katherine Kittridge, I know of St. Aidan's from my time volunteering
with Food Not Bombs, who they very generously provide space/resources for.
I urge you NOT to Landmark St. Aidan's building. The presence of this faith
community and the work they do are more important than its building alone. We
need this community to be able to stay here because of the work that they do in and
out of their congregation.
St. Aidan’s provides valuable space and tools for our organization's efforts, and its
existence has long been integral to the work that our Food Not Bombs volunteers
provide to the community.
I have personally volunteered with FNB for over a year, and in all that time, St.
Aidan’s has functioned as our efforts' main base of operations – it is where we
cook, meet, and store a variety of supplies (food, winter supplies, feminine
products, etc) that are all distributed to those in need. We also regularly coordinate
and collaborate with leadership in St. Aidan’s to better serve the community on both
fronts.
On a personal level, I have always greatly appreciated the inclusive atmosphere of
this faith community. I believe they are a great benefit to the well-being of the
overall boulder community, and it hurts my heart to think of Boulder losing them.
Myself and our FNB community are grateful St. Aidan's is where it is, and we
support their right to plan their future. Please do not Landmark this building.
Thank you,
Katherine Kittridge
Volunteer
Food Not Bombs
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Terryann Stilwell Masotti
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Please do Not initiate Landmark designation for St. Aidan"s
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 4:57:44 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Terryann Stilwell Masotti, I know of St. Aidan’s because I have met and engaged with the wonderful
constellation of human beings who share their gifts of service.
I ask you NOT to landmark St. Aidan’s building. The presence of this faith community and the work they do are
more important than its building alone. We need this community to be able to stay here because they offer warmth,
compassion, connection, and safe sacred sanctuary with embodied aliveness; it is a wellspring of beloved
community goodness and life nourishing water. St.Aidan’s is more than a building, it is a living breathing
community!
I am grateful St. Aidan’s is where it is, and support their right to plan for their future. Please do not landmark this
building.
Thank you,
Terryann Stilwell Masotti
Educator/Tara Performing Arts High School
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:John Lettang
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan’s Letter
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 6:47:46 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is John Lettang, I am a participant at St. Aidan’s and I am a graduate student at
CU Boulder. I have been a member of the St. Aidan’s campus ministry for the last three
years.
I ask you NOT to Landmark our church building. Please do not designate it a historic
landmark. This building is great but could use lots of important updates in order to
function better as a space. I care about the future of our church even more, and that is
what is at stake for us.
As part of the St. Aidan’s community I sing in the choir and am a part of the student
ministry where I am fed for a weekly student dinner.
A faith community is more than a building. It is a place of gathering. The needs of those
gatherings change over the years as the people do. St. Aidan’s absolutely needs the
flexibility to change in order to be a place of gathering to fit the community.
The question before Landmarks Board is about the survival of our community in the
future years.
Thank you,
John Lettang
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Sarah Middleton
To:landmarksboard
Subject:Comments on Saint Aidans Church Building
Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 8:10:38 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Hello,
My name is Sarah Middleton, I am a student at CU and a part of the Bread and Belonging
community at St. Aidans.
I ask you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
Coming to dinner on Tuesdays matters a lot to me because it has provided me a community in
which to explore my faith and spend time with individuals in the community.
If St. Aidans isn't able to stay here because their building is landmarked and it becomes too
expensive to care for, that would be bad for all of the Bread and Belonging community. Please
do NOT landmark this building.
Thank you,
Sarah Middleton
Sophomore in MCDB and Biochemistry at CU
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Nieves Huarcaya Osorio
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St Aidan’s Landmark
Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 12:48:08 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Nieves Huarcaya. I am a CU student and part of the Bread+Belonging
Community. I learned about B+B through the Volunteer Resource Center.
I ask you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for the church building. Coming to
dinner on Tuesdays matters to me a lot because I have found community at B+B and
enjoy cooking for other students on our campus. It's my favorite place to volunteer and I
have become a better cook because of it.
I would miss being able to see all the friends I've made there and being able to eat the
delicious food we make every week. I have also noticed that it is a safe and inclusive
space for many students, so this would affect them negatively.
If St. Aidan's isn't able to stay here because their building is Landmarked and it becomes
too expensive to care for, that would be bad. Please do NOT landmark this building.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Nieves Huarcaya
Get Outlook for iOS
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Steve Wengrovius
To:Noble, Aubrey
Cc:landmarksboard
Subject:Re: St. Aidan"s Episcopal Church request not to be landmarked.
Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 10:16:43 AM
Attachments:Letter - Landmark Board - 22525 3.pdf
image001.png
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Aubrey,
Thank you for going to the trouble to let me know that the scan of a letter I submitted
yesterday to the Landmarks Board was not legible and for the chance to resubmit it. My
scanner is the greatest.
I have attached a PDF copy of the letter to this email and added the Landmarks Board email
address also. I typed in “Signed” above my name. I hope that is sufficient for you and the
Board.
Thank you.
The Rev. Stephen Wengrovius
Priest Associate, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church
2425 Colorado Avenue
Boulder, CO 80302
On Feb 26, 2025, at 8:10 AM, Noble, Aubrey <NobleA@bouldercolorado.gov>
wrote:
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, the jpeg scan of your letter came through
very pixelated and isn’t legible. Will you please copy and paste the text into an
email instead? Alternatively, we accept pdf files. Regardless of the avenue you
choose, I want to be sure your thoughts are communicated to board and staff.
Your letter is very important to us.
Please let me know if you have any trouble with this.
Sincerely,
Aubrey Noble
Historic Preservation Program Coordinator
(pronouns: she/her/hers) What's This?
303-441-3209 | noblea@bouldercolorado.gov
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
bouldercolorado.gov
From: Steve Wengrovius <swengrovius@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 4:58 PM
To: landmarksboard <landmarksboard@bouldercolorado.gov>
Subject: St. Aidan's Episcopal Church request not to be landmarked.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
3712 W 99th Avenue
Westminster, CO 80031
February 24, 2025
The City of Boulder Landmarks Board
Boulder, CO
Dear Board Members:
I am writing to ask that you not “landmark” the St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church building located
at 2425 Colorado Avenue.
St. Aidan’s is seeking to discern how best to plan for its future so that it can continue to serve
the Boulder community and future congregations. This reimagining/redevelopment/renewal
process is driven by the Gospel imperative to serve others as Christ would serve them; namely,
with compassion, healing, and live-giving love. Landmarking St. Aidan’s current building would
significantly limit the congregation’s options for offering this ministry in the decades ahead.
After finishing seminary in 1979, I served as a newly ordained priest at St. Aidan’s for three
years before leaving to serve six other parishes over the next 35 years. After retiring from full-
time work in 2017, I again began worshiping St. Aidan’s and, in 2018, was invited to serve as a
part-time assisting priest, which I continue to do.
Over my many years in parish life, I became keenly aware of the fact that a healthy
congregation needs always to be in some state of renewal in order to remain healthy and
responsive to the continuously evolving world around it. Along with churches in other
denominations, the Episcopal Church is steadily closing churches in Colorado and elsewhere
because clergy and congregations refuse to do the often hard but necessary work of renewal.
The building and grounds of St. Aidan’s have served the Boulder community well for 75 years.
It’s particular ministry focus has been, and continues to be, in serving the students and staff of
the University of Colorado, a sense of ministry that lead to it’s founding in the 1950’s by Fr.
Balfour Patterson, campus chaplain in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. Clearly, the world and the
Boulder community have changed considerably over the past eight decades. Church buildings
are not meant to be museums. Rather, a building’s purpose is to be in service to the ministry
the congregation feels called to offer and, therefore, needs also to evolve as ministry needs
evolve.
Please allow St. Aidan’s congregation the flexibility it needs to sort out how it and its property
can best be used to serve future CU and Boulder communities.
Thanks for your consideration of this request.
(Signed)
The Rev. Stephen A Wengrovius,
Priest Associate, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church
2425 Colorado Avenue
Boulder, CO 80302
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Lily Elliott
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Letter
Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 10:22:09 AM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Lily Elliott, I am a student and part of the Bread+Belonging
Community. I learned about it through my volunteer work at the Buff Pantry. I ask you
NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building. Coming to dinner on
Tuesdays matters to me a lot because the community is always kind and the food is
always healthy. If this dinner wasn't available I would miss out on having a home made
meal that is different from cup ramen.
Brand and Belonging has taught me that I can feel welcomed in spiritual spaces
despite not following a faith myself. I can connect with others through the eating of food
and have a more realistic understanding of spiritual leaders who are kind. If St. Aidan's
isn't able to stay here because their building is Landmarked and it becomes too
expensive to care for, that would be unfortunate. Every student deserves a welcome
place with a quality meal. Please do NOT landmark this building.
Thank you,
Lily Elliott
Evolutionary Biology and Ecology senior
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Julia Fetzer
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St. Aidan"s Church
Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 4:46:34 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board Members,
My name is Julia Fetzer, and I am writing this letter along with my husband, Jeff
Fetzer. I know of St. Aidan’s because it was the first church home we found when we
came to Boulder in the summer of 2023. We have been assisted by St. Aidan's and
all of the wonderful staff and clergy there as we looked for a personal church home,
but also as one of the first organizations to support our business endeavors as we
looked to build Bitty & Beau's Coffee in Boulder.
I ask you NOT to Landmark this building. The presence of this faith community and
the work they do are more important than its building alone. We need this community
to be able to stay here because they offer so many wonderful services to the
community members, but also because they offer so much support to non-profit and
growing businesses, like our small coffee shop.
We were lucky enough to align with the clergy at St. Aidan's and they allowed us to
hold our hiring fair at the church when we were just coming into the community. The
fact that they provided this space for free and for an entire day, was remarkable and
so generous. Since that time, they have provided both personal support for our family
as we searched for our church home, but also for our coffee shop as they have
hosted events, purchased products, allowed us use of their community space and so
many other ways we have interacted with them over the past 2 years.
The presence of St. Aidan’s matters a great deal to more than those who are part of
the faith community. Please do not Landmark their building.
Thank you,
Julia Ingram Fetzer
Franchise Owner, Bitty & Beau's Coffee
Julia Ingram Fetzer
713.208.2105
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
From:Edith Presler
To:landmarksboard
Subject:St Aidan"s Landmark Designation? - NO
Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 8:06:54 PM
External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender.
Dear Landmarks Board,
My name is Edith Presler. I've lived in south Boulder since 2012 and I work as a nurse
practitioner at Boulder Community Health. I am also a member of St. Aidan’s
Episcopal Church.
I ask you NOT to initiate the landmark designation for our church building.
My husband and I looked for a church home for our family and found it in St. Aidan's.
Our two children were baptized at St. Aidan's in 2016. Our older son learned to large
amounts of pasta in the kitchen by cooking for the students in the Bread and
Belonging CU Campus Ministry.
I would say I have affection for our funny, eccentric, aging church building, with its two
sanctuaries and heavily-used kitchen, gallery for art, stained glass windows and
library. I would also say that I care about the future of our church community even
more, and that is what is at stake for us.
As part of the St. Aidan’s community I rely on its faithful members, its indispensable
clergy and staff, the music made, the fellowship, the rituals, the services and love and
care in the community.
A faith community needs a building but it is more than a building. It is parishioners
caring for each other in joy and sorrow, the food we feed each other, our rector's visit
to my husband's hospital bed soon after we joined the church, the unexpected
connections we've made, the comfort and ease my children feel amongst adults
who've watched them grow and wished them well, the home provided to CU students,
the learning and growing we do together. We are the church, not the building.
That said, St. Aidan's respects its history. Please trust that the wise stewards of the
church's assets will continue to preserve St. Aidan's legacy. This group of people
have taken good care of the building and will continue to do so. We do need to be
able to change with the times and make updates to meet the needs of the church.
The question before Landmarks Board is about the survival of our faith community
and our ability to be a place of ministry in the community long into the future. Please
do not designate our building as a landmark.
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25
Thank you for your attention.
Yours,
Edith Presler
Attachment B - Public Comment Received 11.20.24 to 02.27.25