What may be the last pulpit the Rev. Acen Phillips will ever preach from is up for sale – along with the vast sanctuary and historic church that surrounds it.
Phillips doesn’t own the church at the corner of East 23rd Avenue and Ogden Street in Denver, but until about two months ago he had rented and held Sunday services of his New Birth Temple of Praise Community Baptist Church there.
The owner is asking $850,000 for the 14,500- square-foot church, built in 1906, according to real estate agent Lynn Bartelt.
The building is probably best known as the home for many decades of New Hope Baptist Church. New Hope relocated in 1993, and the old church has had numerous tenants since.
Phillips, 71, once a prominent Denver pastor, faces charges in Arapahoe County that he stole or attempted to steal more than $575,000 by making bogus life-insurance claims to AIG Life Insurance Co.
Karen Augé: 303-954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com
