Alfred Reeves Slighter

Dr. Alfred R. Slighter, a retired clergyman of the United Church of Christ died on April 29, 2018 at Garden Square in Greeley. He leaves his wife, Katherine Staffeld Slighter. They were married at First Trinitarian Congregational Church in Scituate, MA on September 1, 1951. They are the parents of four children, Reb Mixon, Thomas Slighter, Timothy Slighter and Patty Slighter and four grandchildren.

He was born on January 21, 1927 at Syracuse, New York, to Ralph and Viva Baker Slighter. He grew up and attended elementary school in Buffalo, N.Y. His family moved to Hamburg, N.Y. where he completed high school. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University for Teachers at Buffalo. He received a Masters of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology in Boston, MA. Years later, Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree for his leadership of one of the most rapidly growing churches of the Northwest and a church which was deeply committed to the justice and peace issues of that time. Dr. Slighter attended Princeton Theological School and Union Theological School in Richmond, VA while on sabbatical leave.

Dr. Slighter served churches in the Stillwater Valley of Montana from 1952-54. This included the churches in Columbus, Absarokee and Fishtail, MT. He served as Senior Minister of the First Congregational Church if Burbank, CA from 1954-1959. The City Council of Burbank recognized him by presenting him with the Distinguished Citizen Award for his work in organizing and serving as chairperson of the Human Relations Committee. In 1959, Dr. Slighter was called to be pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ in San Francisco, CA. While there, he was active in the Civil Rights Movement and, along with others, helped to bring Martin Luther King Jr. to San Francisco to train leaders for one of the first Civil Rights marches to be held in a northern city. In 1964 Dr. Slighter was called to be the pastor of a new church in Corvallis, OR. The church had no land or facilities and was meeting in a rented Masonic Temple. During the next ten and a half years the church grew to 750 members and built and paid for a lovely sanctuary and Christian education facility. In January 1975 Dr. Slighter was called to be the Senior Minister of the First Congregational Church if Greeley, CO. During his seventeen years as a pastor the church prospered growing both in spirit and numbers. The church completed a million and a half dollar building program and renovation while he was the pastor. He was known as a strong preacher with a good sense of humor whose sermons provoked much thought and challenged listeners to apply their faith to daily living.

Throughout his ministry Dr. Slighter was active in serving on various boards of the Conferences in which his parishes were located. He also served for six years from 1961 to 1967 on the Council for Lay Life and Work of the United Church of Christ. He served as a member of the Church and Ministry Committee of the Association or Conference in each of the Conference in which he served churches.

Following his retirement in 1992, the Stillwater Parish (which he had served forty years earlier), was without a pastor and invited Dr. Slighter to come back as interim Minister. He did this and also served as pastor at Zion Congregational Church in Cheyenne, WY, Christ Church in Longmont, CO and First Congregational Church in Loveland, CO. During his retirement Dr. Slight did a lot of supply preaching in various churches of Northern Colorado. He also volunteered as the Chaplin for Hospice of Northern Colorado.

In addition to serving on church and conference boards, he was active in Greeley and Weld County. He was a past president of the Greeley Kiwanis Club and a member if their Board of Directors, a member if the Weld Information and Referral Board of Directors, a member of the Volunteer Resource Board of United Way, The Transitional House Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity Fund Raising, Dream Team and Weld County AIDS Coalition. He was one of the founders of the Greeley Interfaith Association and a past chairperson of that organization, a member of the Advisory Committee for the Gerontology Department of the University of Northern Colorado, a member of the Colorado Commission for United Ministries in Higher Education, a member and past president of the Social Science Circle, a member if the Senior Golf Association and other committees associated with various boards.

Dr. Slighter enjoyed golf, tennis, physical fitness, gardening, traveling, reading helping others and spending time with his wife, Kay, and visiting his children, grandchildren and friends.

Services will be held at the First Congregational Church, Sunday, June 10th at 2:00 P.M.