STAFF

Pastor:  Rev.  Doug Basler

Pastor Doug has been here since 2021. He has served congregations in Washington, Montana and Illinois. He grew up in the Chicago area and attended Westmont College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is married to Katie and they have three children – Addie, Jackson and Isaac. Pastor Doug loves to read, write, and watch sports (mostly his kids, but the Chicago Cubs and the Hawkeyes too). He is currently a Doctor of Ministry student in the Sacred Art of Writing Program at Western Theological Seminary.  You can follow his writing at www.douglasbasler.com. 

Office Assistant:        Karen Simpson             515-266-4700

Clerk of Session:        Sarah Mapes                

Pianist/Choir Director:  Betty Reed  

Session

Class of 2023

Joan Mahaffey    Sandy Nay    Mike Simpson

Class of 2024

Bill Newton   Helen Mapes   Joyce Rash

Class of 2025

Andy Anderson    Mara Swanson    Lois Williams

 

Committees

Administration and Property
Worship and Nurture
Evangelism and Outreach

Personnel
Memorials and Gifts
Nominating

church history

Union Park Presbyterian Church Chapel was dedicated on Sunday, May 20, 1917. “The Bungalow” as the building came to be known, served as the worship space for UPPC for many years. On October 2, 1938, a groundbreaking was held for the new church building. Our Christian Education wing was added in 1962. Throughout the years, UPPC has been faithful in supporting the mission needs of our community and world with its support of denominational offerings, the DMARC Food Pantry, toys for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, and our annual Mitten Tree for neighborhood school children, to name a few. Our congregation is “small, but mighty.” We also have Men’s Coffee Group, Bible Study, Choir Rehearsal and Presbyterian Women, among other opportunities for fellowship and spiritual growth. We invite you to join us! 

Denomination

Union Park Presbyterian Church is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a mainline Protestant denomination of 1.5 million members and almost 10,000 congregations. We are part of the Presbytery of Des Moines, together, we are able to do a lot more in mission than we could ever do on our own.

  • Establish a faith-based, non-profit continuing care retirement center — Calvin Community — here in Des Moines.
  • Create a mission partnership with Our Sister Parish in Berlin, El Salvador, supporting a mission co-worker there.
  • Resettle refugees from Sudan here in Iowa, and continue to support an Arabic-speaking Presbyterian Church.

Beliefs

As Presbyterians, our faith is rooted in the Reformed tradition, and grounded in Scripture. We share most of our core beliefs in common with other Christian churches. At the center of our faith is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ—in his life, and death, and resurrection.

Presbyterians have always found it useful to put our beliefs down in writing, and we often stand up and say what we believe as a part of worship. We are guided by the creeds and confessions of faith that our ancestors have used to articulate their beliefs over the centuries, from the Apostles’ Creed in the early church, to the Brief Confession of Faith in more recent times.

We believe that it is important to love God not only with the heart, but also with the mind. So we take a thoughtful approach to the Christian faith that is always open to new insights and leaves room for asking questions.