Committee to Preserve Christ the King Church

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This parish was formed as a mission of St John the Baptist parish in 

1958, operating out of a vacated public school building a quarter of a 

mile from the site of today’s church. 

A plan was developed, and funding was secured to build a church and 

school which opened in 1960. Because this was being funded by lower 

to middle class area parishioners, the parish was to be built over many 

years and phases, in adaptable buildings; for instance, the church was 

designed to be able to be transformed into a school hall and gymnasium 

in future years. 

In the late 1970’s, the parish was in the position financially to be able to 

build a forever church on land adjacent to the school. The architect 

chosen, Pietro Belluschi, was a well-known architect of many churches 

across the United States. He designed a church that not only fit into our 

Northwest environment, but one befitting our community of worshipers. 

You may be familiar with some of Belluschi’s many churches, including 

St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. His works are categorized as that 

of a Master architect from a historical perspective. In fact, across 

America, he is known as the “Frank Lloyd Wright of the Northwest”. 

Parish members, some still living, along with subsequent generations of 

founding members, not only contributed financially to the building of 

the parish but also performed actual work on the structure. From 

carpentry to wood staining to painstakingly placing hundreds of colored 

glass pieces on the Altar Cross designed by the late artist, Gyorgy 

Kepes, who was a visionary combining light and art in sacred spaces.

When we learned the current parish leadership launched a $6+ million 

renovation of the church, (deemed a church beautification project), we 

were astonished, grieved, and concerned about the destruction of the 

church that has served the parish well. Our historical Belluschi church 

would be turned into a “NW Romanesque style” church, complete with 

paint covering much of the wood interior, creation of arches and art 

befitting of a Roman Cathedral. Plans also call for the removal of the 

Kepes Cross which lights the wall behind the Altar and provides focus 

and calm to all who enter the church (reference attached renderings). It 

is a travesty that our church is not deemed “beautiful” by current 

leadership. Such changes are disrespectful to the history and people who 

built this parish.  (Link to Christ the King's Parish Site, that shows pictures

of the changes Christ the King - FAQ's - Milwaukie, OR     https://files.ecatholic.com/11723/documents/2025/12/Christ%20the%20King%20Renderings%201.pdf?t=1764604227000)

Christ the King parish is surrounded by low income, subsidized 

apartments, along with modest homes of middle-class individuals and 

families. Just a couple blocks north of our parish is Lot Whitcomb 

Elementary School which is the poorest school across all of Clackamas 

County. While the parish’s St Vincent de Paul Society and the adjacent 

La Salle Catholic College Prep school provide food to this grade school, 

resources are limited. How can we willingly spend millions of dollars 

on an unnecessary renovation when neighborhood children are going 

hungry?

Support this initiative by making your concerns known; you can sign the 

petition, you can communicate with church leadership and you can also 

choose not to financially support renovations.