Gleanings From
In Christian Fellowship
By Shirley Lindahl
Edited by Jerry Rutherford
Economy of Area Affects Church
Unemployment hit the greater Seattle area in 1970 as the Boeing Company started a widespread layoff. A domino action began which affected the general economy of the entire area as the buying power was reduced for a large segment of the population. Food Banks were set up to provide free food for those in need. The Congregational Church stepped forward to house the program.The room on the southeast corner of Fellowship Hall became a hub of activity as food came in from many churches, schools and civic organizations who conducted food drives. Volunteers from all the churches made this a truly ecumenical effort living up to the name of helping Neighbors in Need. Some food was sent from eastern Washington donors. Once a week the doors were open to anyone in need. There were no questions asked, the food was a gift of love to those who appeared. This program continued for five years until it was phased out in compliance with all the food programs in the Seattle area. It later began as the Emergency Feeding program in our church building and for well over 20 years Meredith Gaskifi has been its director and purchaser, putting in many hours of time to feed those in need. She works in cooperation with Hopelink.
In 1970 the church served the community by sponsoring dances for junior high students. Young people filled Fellowship Hall as they enjoyed these events. The newsletter became a monthly booklet edited by Chris Bell. (We call it "Good News" now.) Contributing members wrote on their special interests. Another change occurred when all the boards and committees met on the same night and were called the leadership team.
Jeanne Gardiner served as church clerk and Jerry Marsh as moderator. The following year Alice Erickson served in this capacity. Sid Hammond who had played such a large part in building the new sanctuary had retired from his position with the local school district and used his expertise to design a program to refinance the church's bonded indebtedness. He also analyzed the major repairs and needed maintenance for the building.
Since 1969 the budget had included an item for an associate minister but the funds never materialized. In 1973 it was decided to temporarily hire Donna Hjorth Nilson to assist with the Christian Education program. A staff selection committee was set up to screen candidates to fill the position permanently. After several months of interviewing the committee had to report that they were unable to find a suitable candidate.
As an alternate program the trustees voted to use the money to pay Barbara Thomas, a member with Christian Education training to plan the curriculum for the 1973-74 program and to hire Dave Johnson for a brief summer program for the children. He was later retained for the balance of the year. At his suggestion a school bus was purchased to be used by the church.
The Sunday school that fall became the Learning Community, abandoning a formal curriculum. Some families left the church as they felt their children were not receiving religious training in this unstructured program.
Church and Terry Hammond became the leaders of the Senior High Group. Randy and Linda Crowe lead the Junior High students and were assisted by Ryan and Joan Montgomery and Pam and Locke Reader.
The role of the minister was gradually changing to include more counseling. Reverend Hutchinson reported spending 240 hours in the year 1973 in that capacity. Later that year several other UCC churches in the area formed the United Counseling Ministry.
Small group meetings were held in 10 homes as a way of developing better
communications in the congregation. Discussion was open for all sorts of ideas,
needs, goals or even complaints. As a result, members became better acquainted.
There were monthly work parties at the church for indoor and outdoor
cleanups-another way to get to know their fellow church members.
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