Our Mission & Vision
Love, Service, Diversity
The UCC Crested Butte values several important principles, including feeling love, serving needs, celebrating diversity, and growing faith. First and foremost, we believe in experiencing Godly and neighborly love individually, as a church body, and in the wider community, and we strive to give the same in return.
Additionally, the church is committed to assisting disadvantaged and marginalized individuals both locally and globally with compassion. We also believe in accepting and including all of God’s children, regardless of age, status, or orientation, and respecting personal differences of every kind without judgment.
Growing Faith Through Worship and Community
We value growing faith by stimulating questions, prompting reflections, and inspiring action through worship together, thought-provoking sermons, uplifting music, and small group interactions. These principles are at the core of UCC Crested Butte’s mission to create a welcoming and supportive community that fosters personal and spiritual growth for all.
UCC Affiliations
Union Congregational Church is part of the United Church of Christ denomination. It is a progressive mainline Protestant church. We are non-doctrinal, meaning that congregants do not have to profess belief to be members.
One of the central mottos of the UCC is “wherever you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”
The United Church of Christ is divided into regions, called conferences. We are part of the Rocky Mountain Conference, which is Colorado, Utah and most of Wyoming. The Conferences offers individual churches and pastors support in various ways, and is also the place where bigger programming, such as camps, social justice work, etc. takes place.
UCC Crested Butte Church History
Serving Crested Butte for over 140 years
The Union Congregational Church of Crested Butte, Colorado was founded in 1880 with assistance from the American Missionary Society. At that time meetings were held in the old School House. On March 22, 1882, the Church was officially named, a constitution and by-laws approved, and the Apostle’s Creed acscepted as a formula of belief. Then, in 1883, the Church building was erected. Though it has undergone some structural changes up to the present, the building appears much as it did when first completed. The belfry was not finished until after 1890. The present bell was brought from a church in 1917 to replace the original one, which had cracked. All the beams for the structure were hand-hewn on the site. There was also a rough-cut, unfinished balcony which can be seen through the upper windows at the front of the Church.
UCC Staff
Who We Are
In the tradition of congregational churches, the power and authority for governing Union Congregational Church resides with the membership itself. Items of significant importance must be brought before the membership at duly called congregational meetings. Each year on the second Sunday in February, Union Congregational Church holds its Annual Congregational Meeting. At this meeting the events, programs and finances of the previous year are recapped and discussed and the budget for the coming year is presented to the members for approval. In addition, at this meeting, the congregation elects a group of other church members to serve as the Church Council for the year. These elected members are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the church and serve at the consent of the membership.
The UCC Church Council meets on the second Wednesday of each month. The meetings are open to every member of the congregation.
Tim Clark
Senior Pastor
Rev. Timothy Clark came to UCC in Crested Butte in June 1992, a Master of Divinity graduate of Union Theological Seminary in NYC where he was trained in the liberation theology perspective. His undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland OR was in History and Religious Studies. He was born in Cheshire Connecticut where he was baptized and raised in the First Congregational Church UCC established in 1724. He and Rev. Kelly Jo Clark were married in 2004 and have 2 girls, Rachel and Vivian. His interests include; mt. biking, telemarking, fishing, whitewater rowing, sailing, hunting, competitive hockey and backpacking. Tim is a an outdoorsman whose theology reflects a profound appreciation of the natural world as sanctuary and the sanctity of all life as the framework for the shalom which God calls us to work toward as brothers and sister in Christ. His messages encourage us to welcome all people as beloved children of God and to work as disciples for justice, peace and the integrity of creation.
Kelly Jo Clark
Associate Minister
Rev. Kelly Jo Clark has served Union Congregational Church as the Associate Pastor since November 2003. Prior to that, she served in three different congregations as the Youth Pastor. She attended Western State College for her undergrad and received her Master’s of Divinity at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. In addition to her commitment to youth in local churches, she has been very active in the wider church setting such as: co-directing the conference high school summer camp, participating or having leadership roles in the conference annual meetings, leading conference youth mission trips and taking youth to attend National Youth Events, Western Regional Youth Events, General Synods, etc.
When Kelly Jo started her ministry here, she also merged her life with Pastor Tim Clark in marriage! They have two daughters, Rachel and Vivian, and a menagerie of animals. Kelly Jo also works for the local bookstore, Townie Books.
Maisy Ramsey
Office Administrator/ Youth Leader
Maisy grew up in Niwot, Colorado and moved to Crested Butte at the beginning of 8th grade. She was a middle school youth leader throughout high school until she graduated from Crested Butte Community School in 2019. She moved to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State University. She moved back to the valley to start her DJ company and to be a part of UCC. Maisy love to bike, hike, read, DJ local events, and put together fun youth activities! She strives to help youth navigate challenges and grow their faith!
Alicia Belgiovane
Music Director
Alicia moved to Gunnison in 1986 from Philadelphia, an area that she grew up in surrounded by her many Italian relatives. She earned her Bachelor of Music (Piano Performance) and Bachelor of Music Education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Alicia also has a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Grand Canyon University. When Alicia first moved to Gunnison, she joined the Community Church and worked initially as the Children’s Choir Director, then moved on to become the Organist, and for the last 8 years the Accompanist/Choir Director. At the present, Alicia also works at WSCU as the Collaborative Pianist and Adjunct Lecturer. She is also the Director of the Gunnison Arts Center Singers, a community choir.
Alicia is married to Ken Todd, who is the Professor of Applied Strings at WSCU. Her hobbies include: walking her dogs, hiking, traveling, cooking, reading and of course, playing the
piano.
Alicia has two adult children: Daniel (Fort Collins) and Lauren (Washington, DC).
UCC Church Council
Scout Walton, Moderator
Tom Stumpf, Vice Moderator
Hunter Baker, Treasurer
Jennifer Jeffery
Mike Paulaitis
Laura Ramos
Pete Rowland
Kinga Fauser
Malcolm Boyce
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”