A Brief History
Trial and Rebuilding, 2003–2017
Bishop Robert O'Neill was elected as Colorado's Bishop Coadjutor on June 21, 2003, and was consecrated Diocesan Bishop on October 4, 2003. Bishop O'Neill faced a number of challenges posed by the culture wars besetting both the country since the Civil Rights movement and the Episcopal church since the General Convention of 1979. What was the role of Scripture, for example, and how was it interpreted? What place would LGBTQ+ individuals occupy among the church's faithful? How would new forms of service be incorporated into the church's liturgy? Knowing that the many and far-flung parishes of the diocese reflected a spectrum of theological beliefs and opinions, O'Neill engaged The Episcopal Church in Colorado in prayerful and face-to-face discussions at regional and diocesan gatherings. He also encouraged a focus on areas where there was diocese-wide agreement—ministry to teens and young adults, developing and fostering healthy congregations led by healthy, well-equipped clergy and lay leaders, and by answering God's call to address the suffering of the world.
These areas of focus led The Episcopal Church in Colorado to establish more than 30 Jubilee Ministries, now part of the Office of Advocacy and Social Justice, to bring in the Congregational Development Institute, to add two chapters of the Colorado Episcopal Service Corps (Denver and Steamboat Springs), and to create and equip a disaster-preparedness and recovery office—all under Bishop O'Neill's leadership.
Just a block from the Office of the Bishop, the newly constructed Saint Francis Apartments at Cathedral Square has recently opened and begun providing permanent housing and case management for people who were recently homeless.
Bishop O'Neill was also the driving force in 2011 behind the acquisition of Cathedral Ridge, a camp and conference center for the church in the mountains near Pike's Peak.
