For over seven decades, Wasatch has provided a welcoming church home for a diverse, vibrant group of people. A leading voice in the Salt Lake community, Wasatch has been active in community service, mission, justice issues, and worship.
Wasatch Presbyterian Church was established in 1946 by the union of two congregations, Westminster and Third Presbyterian. It had 236 charter members. According to one charter member, Mina Boyd, the inspiration for the new church’s name happened one sunny morning. “There was a little hill there. We stood looking all around. The sun was up, just beautiful, a little way over the mountains… and I said, ‘Oh, look at that beautiful sun over those beautiful Wasatch mountains.’” With its magnificent view of the Wasatch Mountains, the new church had a name. The Rev. Donald G. Christiansen, a newly discharged Army Air Force chaplain, was the first Pastor. In August 1948 they broke ground for the new church. The church sanctuary was dedicated in October 1949.
In June 1974, a tragic fire roared through the sanctuary and adjoining areas of the church. Wasatch members, friends, neighbors, and members of other churches contributed several thousand hours toward a massive cleanup. Restoration began in November 1974 and was completed in the Fall of 1975 and fully paid with a building fund drive.
In 2001, WPC’s entire building complex was inadequate and needed repair. A $3.3 million expansion and renovation project was conceived in 2001, designed in 2002, and built in 2003-2004. With a $10,000 grant from the LDS Church Foundation, a $100,000 donation from the Episcopal Diocese of Utah and a Wasatch Capital Campaign, the project was paid off in 2018.
