A 1962 Congregation in the Applewood Neighborhood
Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church has stood at 11500 West 20th Avenue in Lakewood for more than sixty years. The congregation formed in the early 1960s when the Applewood neighborhood was filling with young families. The Denver Presbytery organized the church in 1962, and Dr. Malcolm Sweet became its first pastor in 1963. Five acres were purchased at 20th and Simms, and the first building went up in 1964. As the membership grew, additions followed, including a sanctuary completed in 1970 and designed by architect Robert Strange. Its tent-like form was inspired by the biblical "David's tent" or "tent of meeting," and that symbolism has shaped the congregation ever since. The church describes itself as a flexible, mobile body ready to adjust to whatever its neighborhood and its own family need.
Sunday Worship at 9:30, Livestreamed and In Person
Worship begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, and the service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel. The congregation describes worship as a sacred space to pray together, sing together, and listen for God's word together, and the welcome is wide. First-time visitors are invited to come as they are. Some regular attenders prefer a more formal look, while others arrive in jeans and a T-shirt. The Sunday bulletin is posted online and can be downloaded before the service. After worship, around 10:45 a.m., adults gather in the Community Room for Bible studies and book discussions led by pastors and lay leaders.
Music Across the Building
Music is woven into nearly every part of life at Shepherd of the Hills. The adult handbell choir gathers on Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m., followed by the Chancel Choir at 7:15 p.m. Jubilation Singers is a women's chamber choir that auditions, and SOTH Winds is an instrumental ensemble. There are weekly opportunities to play in the worship band. The bell choir rings on the second Sunday of the month, the Chancel Choir sings on the first and third Sundays, and the worship band leads every other week. The Justice in Song Initiative invites the congregation to give to a pooled fund throughout the year when the choir sings music by composers from historically underrepresented or marginalized communities; at the end of the year the funds are prayerfully directed to living composers, communities, or organizations that help people learn, make, and experience music.
The Joyful Noise Music Internship Program supports high school and college students studying music with a $500-per-semester stipend distributed to their school or private instructor, and in return the interns rehearse on Wednesday evenings and perform on Sunday mornings. Singers, ringers, guitarists, drummers, bassists, and keyboardists of any skill level have a place. Other ways to serve artistically include liturgical dance, theatre, poetry readings, and the audio/visual crew.
Outdoor Worship on the SOTH Field
During the warmer months the congregation moves outdoors to the SOTH Field, the green space that doubles as the campus's natural amphitheater. Some families bring lawn chairs, blankets, and umbrellas; the church sets up chairs and shade tents for those who do not. For those with mobility needs, tables with umbrellas sit close to the parking lot. Themes rotate through the summer and include Blessing of the Garden, Blessing of the Backpacks, picnics with lawn games, and Blessing of the Animals, when pets come to worship for a special blessing. Nursery care remains available in the building for the youngest attendees.
Faith Formation for Every Age
Education is treated as a core piece of spiritual growth rather than an add-on. Kids' Connection meets at 9:30 a.m. most Sundays from September through May for grades K through 8, using Presbyterian Publishing curricula - "Growing in God's Love" for K through 3 and "I Know My Bible" for grades 4 through 8. On the first Sunday of each month, children stay in the sanctuary for First Sundays: All Together, a family-friendly service built around communion, interactive litanies, storytelling, and prayer practices that welcome all ages. Nursery care for infants through age five is offered most Sundays during the 9:30 worship service by trained staff caregivers.
CLUB 3/4/5/6 gathers 3rd through 6th graders on the second Sunday of the month from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in the Community Room, with snacks, hands-on mission projects, and conversation aimed squarely at the tween years. Worship Bags are available for children in the pews, and a Kids Worship Space in the sanctuary offers activities so children can engage with the service.
WorKship: A Worship That Serves
Four times a year the congregation holds WorKship Sundays, weaving hands-on service projects into the worship experience. All ages work together. Past themes have included making Blessing Bags to better understand homelessness in the wider community. The format draws on Teresa of Avila's poem "Christ Has No Body," with the idea that the congregation's hands and feet are Christ's hands and feet in the neighborhood.
Mission Partners Across the Region
The Mission Action Team coordinates a wide network of partnerships that put the church's faith into action.
The Action Center in Jefferson County is the congregation's primary local partner. On the first Sunday of each month, members collect food and hygiene items. They also organize a traditional Thanksgiving meal collection, a back-to-school supply drive, a fall Neighborhood Food Drive, and hands-on volunteer days that include packing school supplies, helping with the Holiday Gift Distribution, boxing Thanksgiving food, working shifts at the Beautiful Junk Sale, sorting clothing, and organizing food.
Through Habitat for Humanity Metro Denver, Shepherd of the Hills is one of three Presbyterian congregations in The Carpenter's Helpers coalition, alongside Central and Wellshire. Together they raise funds for a Habitat home each year and recruit volunteers for build days.
Family Promise of Greater Denver has been a partner for more than twenty years. The church serves as a host congregation, housing up to eight families experiencing homelessness for a week at a time, rotating with other faith communities several times a year. Hosting brings the whole congregation into the work - preparing meals, sleeping overnight at the church, doing laundry, and offering presence.
La Puente Home in Alamosa serves the San Luis Valley, providing shelter, food banks, clothing banks, rural outreach, and case management. The partnership shows up most visibly during the church's Intergenerational Alamosa Mission Trips, when members travel south to help prepare meals and serve the community. A Summer Market collects La Puente's most-needed items beforehand.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is supported through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering and designated gifts. Donations can be given online or by check and are channeled through the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s relief network.
The Mission Action Team also keeps a contact with the Severe Weather Shelter Network, recruiting volunteers when cold nights open the network's emergency shelter.
Pillow Hugs: One Pillowcase at a Time
In 2008 a Companions in Christ Bible Study group at the church put their sewing machines to work making pillowcases for travel-sized pillows, hoping to comfort children arriving at a local domestic violence shelter. Pillow Hugs has since delivered more than 14,500 comfort pillows to children at fourteen shelters and agencies serving children in crisis. The pillowcases use bright kid-prints - sports, Disney, animals, dinosaurs, emojis, and more - and the children keep their pillow when they leave. The ministry is endorsed by the church but funded through donations and fabric gifts. Volunteers can sew pillowcases at home (each one takes about thirty minutes), donate fabric, or order a finished Pillow Hug by emailing the coordinator.
A Community Garden in Galvanized Tanks
What started as a weed-covered vacant lot became the SOTH Field, a community green space developed in 2019 with input from surrounding neighbors. The Community Garden is a defining feature of that project. Gardeners grow in galvanized metal livestock tanks instead of in-ground beds. The committee trialed the approach with five tanks and expanded to fifteen after a successful first season. The tanks are rented for the growing season, and the plots draw gardeners from both the congregation and the wider neighborhood.
Care, Support, and Connection
The Care Center and the Deacons keep the congregation connected. Member Care Deacons notify pastors when members are unwell, organize meals, arrange transportation, serve communion, and assist with financial needs. Fellowship Deacons prepare coffee before worship and organize food for fellowship hours. Hospitality Deacons welcome newcomers, run registration, and offer golf cart transportation around the campus for those who need it. The Care Team maintains contact with members who are homebound or no longer able to attend in person.
Two support groups are open to anyone in the wider community. The Grief Group meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. in the church Library and welcomes people at any stage of loss. The Caregiver Support Group meets online on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at both 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., with separate Zoom links for each time slot, and is a space for families and partners caring for adults.
A Campus the Neighborhood Uses
The seven-acre campus is widely shared. Spaces for rent include the Sanctuary with a sound system and screen for slides, Sweet Chapel and Kitchenette, Fellowship Hall and its adjoining kitchen, the Narthex with its coffee bar, the Community Room, the Children's Library, the Art Room, the Large Office Space, and the SOTH Field itself with its picnic tables and walking path. A columbarium sits in a peaceful courtyard for small ceremonies. The Coffee Bar hosts coffee, tea, and espresso service when an outside host is arranged. Weddings and funerals are among the events the church hosts, and the rental process begins with an online request form.
Staff and the Shape of the Week
The pastoral team is led by Senior Pastor Matt Syrdal, with Parish Associate Heather Cameron supporting member care and deacon ministry. Worship Leader Jennifer Ketcham leads the music program and the Joyful Noise Internship; Music Conductor Michael Martin leads rehearsals. Sandy Safford coordinates faith formation for all ages. A deep bench of lay leaders carries much of the ministry work. Ministry moderators include Jason Pond (A/V), Barry Stamp (Business, Finance, and Facilities), Scott Meiklejohn (Personnel), Anne Nance (Mission Action and Special Events), Connie Jones (Presbyterian Women), Nancy Cummings (Worship), and Cathy Stamp (Visioning).
Joining In
Shepherd of the Hills welcomes newcomers across many doors. Adults can join a Bible study or small group. Musicians can ring, sing, or play. Families with children can step into Kids' Connection or the nursery. Sewists can pick up a Pillow Hugs project. Gardeners can rent a tank in the community garden. Volunteers can serve through the Action Center, Family Promise, Habitat for Humanity, La Puente, or the Severe Weather Shelter Network. Presbyterian Women host an annual used book sale and distribute funds to more than fifteen local agencies and programs. Giving is available online through the church's Realm account, and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance gifts can be designated online or by check.
The church's mission statement is short: to join God's work in the neighborhood by sharing Christ's light and hope and demonstrating his love and mercy. Six decades after the Applewood community gathered its first members, that mission still shapes the week at 11500 West 20th Avenue.