A Brief History
Reconstruction and Continued Growth, 1949-1973
Harold L. Bowen was installed as Bishop Coadjutor in 1947; he served as Diocesan Bishop from 1949 until 1955.
Joseph Minnis succeeded Bishop Bowen and served as Diocesan Bishop from 1956 until 1968. During his tenure, the church built the Episcopal Diocesan Center on 16th Ave. and purchased Trinity Ranch, west of Pueblo. Bishop Minnis experienced several serious financial and personal crises; he was removed from office in 1968.
The social disruptions of the 1960s and 1970s also visited The Episcopal Church in Colorado. Suburban parishes boomed along with young families. During this period Edwin Burton Thayer (1968–73) reorganized the budget and overhauled the diocesan infrastructure. At the end of his episcopate The Episcopal Church in Colorado had 45,000 baptized members in 91 parishes and missions, and more than 100 clergy.
