St. Elizabeth’s is located 170 miles east of Salt Lake City on the Ouray and Uintah Indian Reservation. Two women from the Episcopal Church in Virginia established it as a hospital in 1897. A church building was completed eight years later.

Although the congregation thrived during the period in which the adjacent government Indian School was open, it has been a rollercoaster ride over the years. Our ministry seesawed between support and abandonment based on the ability of the diocese to sustain clergy leadership. The church building deteriorated and was deconsecrated for over a decade during the 1970s and 1980s. Then, after a restoration project, the church was rededicated in 1989. Today St. Elizabeth’s has a small but committed congregation and full-time clergy.

The interior of our church reflects the culture of the Ute people with a ceremonial drum as its altar and smoked buckskin tipi as the aumbry. Our ministry focus is hospitality, advocacy, and reconciliation. Programs to support and encourage youth to achieve and complete school take center stage.