Park Hill Character: Going The Distance
J. Carlton Babbs Winner Pastor Nathan Adams: “It Was As Simple As, ‘We Are A Church, We Have A Parking Lot, And This Is What We Need.’
Story and photos by Cara DeGette
Editor, GPHN
Pastor Nathan Adams runs marathons. He is a classically trained trombonist. He collects nativity scenes, which he displays in his office, along with hand-drawn cards of love from several young members of his congregation. A football (and basketball and baseball, whatever-the-season) fan, he gets a kick out of the sports column “Kickin’ it with Kiz,” in the Denver Post.
The mission of the church he leads, Park Hill United Methodist Church, is this: “Because Christ calls us to love all people, we live our faith through discipleship, diversity, acceptance, social justice and mission.”
In October, Pastor Nathan, 37, was named this year’s recipient of the J. Carlton Babbs award. The honor is presented yearly by Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. (GPHC) to someone who has made a significant contribution to the neighborhood. In many ways the award has come home. Pastor Nathan — as he is called — is the first leader from the church to receive the award, which is named for the minister who preceded him decades ago.
Earlier this year, under Pastor Nathan’s leadership, the church opened its heart, and its parking lot, to a group of 40 unhoused people. The plan immediately became a target for controversy (and lawsuits). Eight months later, the Safe Outdoor Space, which is run by the organization Colorado Village Collaborative, is up and running, with two months remaining until its lease expires. Though one lawsuit remains active, much of the neighborhood ultimately rallied around the program that provides people trying to get on their feet with sturdy tents in a safe space with electricity, meals, bathroom and garbage facilities, showers and access to other services.
“Pastor Nathan has demonstrated the true essence of what the award is intended for,” says Heather Shockey, the treasurer of GPHC, herself a past Babbs recipient.
Standing straight, facing the storm
The award was presented during the Oct. 6 annual Registered Neighborhood Organization meeting, via Zoom. LeAnn Anderson, a former chair of GPHC and last year’s recipient of the award, highlighted the history of the church, leading up to Adams’s leadership this year.
PHUMC started in 1911 as a tent tabernacle at the corner of 23rd and Glencoe. The church, as it currently stands, opened its doors 100 years ago, in 1921. Dr. J. Carlton Babbs was pastor of the church from 1955 until his death in 1978.
Babbs was also a founding member of the Park Hill Action Committee, and a leader in the battle against blockbusting in Park Hill — a practice in which real estate agents try to scare homeowners to sell their houses at low prices by convincing them that racial minorities would move in and lower their property values. In the Civil Rights era Greater Park Hill was considered a national model in neighborhood integration. (The Action Committee later became Greater Park Hill Community Inc.)
One Sunday in May, 1956, all of the ministers in the community preached sermons on the need to eliminate all the barriers to church membership and housing on the basis of race, sex, or national origin.
When Babbs’ died, clergymen and women representing many places of worship in the neighborhood decided that a community service award in his memory would be a fitting tribute to one of Park Hill’s outstanding leaders. Since then, the Babbs Award has been awarded to people who continue to work for the betterment of all.
In her remarks, Anderson said Pastor Nathan’s work “exemplifies the spirit of Dr. Babbs and our neighborhood’s long history of fighting for social justice.”
“[Pastor Nathan] led on a controversial issue and stood with his back straight and in truth and conviction,” she said. “He faced the storm unwavered and continued to carry on their message without hesitation to simply be part of a solution and offer a hand up.”
Anderson held up the Safe Outdoor Space initiative — the idea to host it was hatched not just by the pastor but by other church leaders and members of the congregation — as the essence of putting faith into action.“You have provided a safe place for those experiencing homelessness to have a good night’s rest and meals to eat while they work to regain a permanent residence.”
Anderson also highlighted Pastor Nathan’s and the church’s continued work standing against racism, and advocating on behalf of all persons. For example, every Monday since the murder of George Floyd, members of the congregation line up along Montview and ring church bells for eight minutes and 48 seconds, “to remind us all that we need to do our part to stand up against injustice wherever it may occur.”
In the past several years the church has also provided sanctuary to two immigrant families who have lived long-term in the church, under the threat of deportation. It has also hosted a women’s homeless initiative, providing shelter to unhoused women.
Targeted by name
Pastor Nathan says he expected some neighbors would be upset when learning of the plans for the Safe Outdoor Space, but didn’t expect the vitriol to get so ugly. The announcement was made during the Easter Sunday services in April, to immediate and fierce pushback among some neighbors. Among the complaints: They should have been notified of the plan sooner, that unhoused people who moved in would attract other undesirable people to the wealthy section of the neighborhood around the church; that children nearby would be endangered. And yes, that property values would plummet.
Neighbors sued the city of Denver and the church, specifically naming Pastor Nathan. One of the plaintiffs vowed during one Zoom neighborhood meeting to make the church and program miserable every day the camp was in business. Another offered to personally pay to have the authorized campsite relocated somewhere else — anywhere else but near his house. Another neighbor took photos of a couple of pieces of trash on a sidewalk nearby and blamed it on homeless people.
The attacks against Pastor Nathan, who is biracial, turned personal. He was accused of hosting the camp for his own political gain. He was criticized for not living in the neighborhood. Critics contacted his bishop and tried to get him fired.
Riling the neighborhood into an uproar had certainly not been the goal. Rather, Pastor Nathan said, “it was as simple as, ‘we are a church, we have a parking lot and this is what we need.’ ”
‘What is the chapter we’re writing?’
The controversy, and the vilification of a biracial pastor, was shocking to some, particularly longtime Park Hillians who have long prided themselves on the legacy of a tolerant neighborhood. The parallels between the actions of the anti-camp activists and those who opposed integration in the 50s and 60s was not lost on them. “I know Dr. Babbs ticked off people when he preached about desegregation and anti-block busting … and we knew [the Safe Outdoor Space] would be received differently by people,” Adams said.
Within a matter of weeks, the neighborhood began to galvanize and support the program. Volunteers sign up to work in shifts at the camp, bring meals daily to share with the 40 residents, and to patrol the blocks near the church to pick up trash — no matter who left it there.
“Our willingness to live out our faith makes some people uncomfortable and get mad at us,” he says. But, while they have a duty to address concerns, “we must move forward. We inherited this great history and this great legacy, and part of our story has got to be asking the question, ‘so what is the chapter we’re writing? How are we contributing to our legacy?’ ”
“We are all Denverites, and [homelessness] is a challenge for all of us. How do we all contribute to the issues of our society as a city; what are we doing about it?”
Adams says he’s honored his name appears on the award, but noted that everyone in the building — from the committee that initially promoted the idea, to the worshippers who lent support, to the church’s partner, Temple Micah — which shares a space in the building — deserve kudos for their work to do their part to address Denver’s homeless crisis this year.
“Ultimately it’s all of us,” he said.
Past Babbs Award Recipients
Named in honor of Dr. J. Carlton Babbs, the award has been presented annually, since 1980, to a resident who has made a significant contribution to the neighborhood.
1980 – Robert Hickman
1981 – Helen B. Evans
1982 – Jules H. Mondschein
1983 – Marjorie Gilbert
1984 – Madeleine Hegarty
1985 – Issac and Marie White
1986 – Karen Saliman
1987 – Art and Bea Branscombe
1988 – John and Gladys Bates
1989 – Mary Ann McClain
1990 – Henry Turner
1991 – William R. “Bill” Turner
1992 – Gerald “Jerry” Kopel
1993 – Cynthia C. Kahn
1994 – Emmett F. Wallace
1995 – Liz Cruder
1996 – Patricia B. Clarke
1997 – Dr. Robbie Bean
1998 – Lewis and Bernice Watts
1999 – Algene and Odell Holleman
2000 – Richard Pickett
2001 – Ann Long
2002 – Marietta “Jo” Mosby
2003 – Sarah Lee Foster
2004 – Geneva Goldsby
2005 – Linda L. Elliott
2006 – Bob Homiak
2007 – Roz Wheeler-Bell
2008 – Roberta Locke
2009 – Lyle Hansen
2010 – Susan Schneider Homiak
2011 – Lynn Smith
2012 – Tracey MacDermott
2013 – Bernadette Kelly
2014 – Kate Sultan
2015 – Heather Shockey
2016 – Lynn Kalinauskas
2017 – Claudia Fields
2018 – Blair Taylor
2019 — The Bresler Family
2020 — LeAnn Anderson