Faith In Practice

Dedicated to Serving Our Neighbors.

Central Presbyterian Church is a community-building, service incubator that houses and empowers multiple nonprofit organizations and social ventures serving Denver’s diverse and growing population. For over 150 years, Central has been committed to partnering with people of all faiths and no faith to come together as neighbors in a shared mission to ensure that our community thrives and opens its arms to the vulnerable in our midst.

Our In-Building Partners

Central Presbyterian is home to four non-profit organizations with headquarters / flagship locations under one roof at 1660 Sherman St. in downtown Denver. This collection of organizations serves Denver’s neediest individuals and families, while also bringing the broader community together through cultural events.

Heartbeat Denver Working Men’s Shelter

There has been a shelter in our basement since 1986. Over the years it has been called the Central Shelter, New Genesis and now Heartbeat Denver Working Men’s Shelter. The Shelter averages about 90 people a day with a capacity of 120. Residents are required to have a job, pay weekly fees and be sober. Residents also have the opportunity to participate in a Program to learn financial skills, job search skills, how to build a support community that will help them reach their foal of staying sober and transition into an independent lifestyle.

Central Visitation Program (CVP)

Headquartered on the third floor of the building, CVP provides critical support to families in crisis through low-cost, supervised visits between children and their non-custodial parents. CVP has served Denver families from its third floor offices in Central Presbyterian Church for 25 years, and in 2019, provided over 9,500 hours of supervised visitation – a 54% increase over 2018. CVP supports children at their most vulnerable – during times of divorce, parental drug or alcohol abuse, incarceration, and domestic violence.

The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra

DPO has hosted its season in our 1000+ seat performance hall with outstanding acoustics since September 2016. DPO produces concerts with ticket prices well below market value. A typical concert brings in 950 attendees with community programming and food trucks outside. While the DPO is the largest and most consistent user of the facility, there are numerous other musical groups who produce events here, including: Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado, Boxwood Ensemble, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Chorale, Colorado Honor Band Association, Denver Children’s Choir, Denver Gay Men’s Chorus, Denver Pops Orchestra, Denver Women’s Chorus, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, East High School Choirs, Evergreen Chorale, Harmony Chorale, Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, Swallow Hill, and the University of Northern Colorado Symphony Orchestra. In total, more than 40 concerts are attended by 16,000+ per year.

Purple Door Coffee

Founded in 2013 in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, Purple Door is a specialty espresso bar and coffee roaster that employs youth who have experienced homelessness and are seeking job skills training and employment. The new Purple Door location brought to life through this campaign will significantly expand Purple Door’s proven model for breaking the cycle of homelessness with a flagship location in downtown Denver.

If health concerns or even just a busy schedule makes joining us in person a challenge, we welcome you to join us online. Every Sunday, we’ll livestream our services via Facebook Live, and welcome you to join us for an online Fellowship Hour via Zoom (password to join is CPC).

Fellowship Hour (password to join: CPC)

WORSHIP BULLETIN

Louise Westfall, Pastor

Louise Westfall became Central’s senior pastor in 2011, following pastorates in Cleveland, Detroit, and Iowa. She received a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She has co-authored two Bible studies– The Face Is Familiar: Remembering Unnamed Women in Scripture, and Peacemaking in Mark: Restoring God’s Community of Men and Women. Her dissertation Listening Beyond Our Differences: Conversations about Abortion was honored with a faculty prize.

Louise believes the Church is a community of transformation and the congregations she’s served have resettled refugees, built homes with Habitat for Humanity, tutored urban school children, converted a closed church into a Boys and Girls Club, and helped enroll people in affordable health insurance. Her leadership has helped make connections between suburban and urban, Black and White congregations, and among Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Increasingly she considers the Communion cup a central symbol of faith representing God’s love poured out for all, and the Table a place where everyone is welcome.

Louise is the mother of a son, Paul, an attorney in Washington DC.

Glenn Ross, Concert Manager

  Glenn joined the staff at Central in 2021 with two decades of leadership in the classical arts.  With a wealth of knowledge in all areas of performance and operations, Glenn brings valuable technical and administrative experience to his role at Central Presbyterian Church. Glenn is also a musician and professional photographer, with a focus on portraiture, live music, and events. His work has taken him around the World and his imagery has been featured in esteemed publications, magazines, books, and newspapers. Glenn holds Bachelors degrees in Business and Philosophy from Illinois State University and is involved in various community-based organizations. He enjoys helping others, traveling to new places, visiting museums, and writing.

Charis Smith, Music Director and Office Administrator

Besides Jesus and her family, Charis (pronounced Care-is) has two great passions: music and organization. These two seemingly disparate entities came together recently as she became Central's Music Director and Church Administrator. She holds undergrad and graduate degrees in vocal performance, and has lived and performed throughout Italy on a Rotary fellowship. Her career allowed for solo gigs at Carnegie Hall, the Vatican for Jubilee, as well as with the Colorado Symphony and many others. In between gigs, she worked for c-suite executives in NYC where she put her organizational and admin skills to great use. She met her husband, Ryan, in a production of "Into the Woods" in Ft. Collins. It was love at first listen when he came to the first rehearsal with his entire role memorized. They have two daughters, Ahna and Liza, who are truly gifts straight from God.

Molly Dowling Brown, Director of Mission & Faith Formation

Molly has been a member at Central since 2004 and joined the staff team in 2018. From 2013-2015, Molly served as the Director of Central Presbyterian Church’s Health Assistance Site which assisted Coloradans in health insurance enrollment.

Molly worked for over a decade on behalf of Federally Qualified Health Centers here in Colorado. Prior to that, she taught middle school social studies in North Carolina. Molly holds a BA in History from Davidson College (Davidson, NC). As the Director of Mission and Faith Formation, Molly believes faith is built via serving others in need in one’s community.

Molly and her husband, Adam, have 3 daughters: Caroline, Morgan, and Francee plus two canines…Murray (a goldendoodle) and Sylvester (a standard poodle).

Molly enjoys mountain and beach trips with her family, hiking, photography, water aerobics classes, dining out, and a good happy hour(s).

Louise Westfall, Pastor

Louise is the mother of a son, Paul, an attorney in Washington DC.

Faith In Practice

Our In-Building Partners

Heartbeat Denver Working Men’s Shelter

Central Visitation Program (CVP)

The Denver Philharmonic Orchestra

Purple Door Coffee

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Louise Westfall, Pastor

Glenn Ross, Concert Manager

Charis Smith, Music Director and Office Administrator

Molly Dowling Brown, Director of Mission & Faith Formation

Louise Westfall, Pastor