Aurora Ethiopian church celebrates move to larger building
AURORA — The renovated walls of the newly inaugurated Addis Kidan Evangelical Church couldn’t contain the sound of the congregation’s singing voices on Saturday, although most passers-by wouldn’t understand the words of the Ethiopian hymns.
[Addis Kidan Evangelical Church worship team member Etana Disasa, left front, leads his choir during their church dedication Saturday in Aurora. (Photos by Andy Cross, The Denver Post)]
Menty Sisay, a keyboard player at Sunday worship services, called the music “fast-paced gospel” and said nearly every song that roughly 300 adult church members sing are in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. On Saturday, they sang and worshiped inside before eating a feast of spicy Ethiopian food to celebrate their church’s new home.
Addis Kidan bought the building at 15150 E. Evans Ave. in Aurora from the Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Denver when the latter moved to 445 S. Lansing St. about six months ago. Both churches, serving Denver’s Ethiopian and Eritrean populations, needed larger locations to hold their growing congregations.
Mickias Alamirew, who leads Addis Kidan’s young adult ministry, said the two churches offer strikingly similar services, with one primary difference.
“Our pastor used to be a church leader back home in Ethiopia, before he came to America.” Alamirew said.
He considers Pastor Teame Desta’s sermons to be authentic Evangelical Christian services, like those in eastern Africa.
More space at Addis Kidan’s new location meant Bereket Tekle, one of 10 founders of the church in 1999 and an architectural engineer, could erect additional interior walls for youth religious classes.
While the 150 kids study in their new classrooms, it gives the adults some much-needed elbow room in the worship space, Alamirew said.
U.S. Census Bureau data show that while Denver’s African-American population has grown more slowly than the city’s since 2000, those close to the community say Denver’s Ethiopian and Eritrean population has grown more rapidly and is now more than 30,000.
Alamirew said children are typically the only members of Addis Kidan’s congregation who do not speak Amharic. It’s the common tongue among nearly 90 tribal languages spoken in Ethiopia, Alamirew said, and one aspect of the church that keeps their traditions alive.
“I was raised in this church,” Sisay, 24, said. “I know everything I know from this church.”
Saturday choir practice is one of 11-year-old Zeru Christian’s favorite parts of the week. He enjoys going to church, he said, because that’s where he learns about God.
Alison Noon: 303-954-1223, [email protected]
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By Alison Noon
The Denver Post
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