Gleanings From
In Christian Fellowship
By Shirley Lindahl
Edited by Jerry Rutherford
Concluding a Century of Fellowships
The first 100 years have seen the Congregational Church of Kirkland grow steadily from the small band of settlers who met to form a Christian Church. From its pioneer beginnings this church, like the town in which it is located, has gone thru periods of rapid growth and unexpected decline. It has survived the booms and the depressions of the areas.The name has been changed six times. The church has occupied four different buildings, the last three on the same site. Members have always been active in the leadership of the community while serving their church. One of the ministers was once the town mayor. For many years it was the main Protestant church in the area. It was the first church on the Eastside and in 1980 was one of nearly 30 churches surrounding Kirkland. (There have been 30 ministers since the day Reverend Samuel Greene became the first pastor.)
The men serving as ministers of this church came from a variety of backgrounds, some were not even Congregationalists. Several were ordained in this church as their first pastorate. There were some Methodists ministers during the period of the Community Church. More than half came from out o state to accept the call from the Kirkland Church.
Times were often difficult in the early years when the minister needed other employment to supplement the meager salary he was offered, but not always paid!
Parsonages were either provided or rented for the minister's family for the first 85 years of our history. (Today it is more consistent with the times to have the minister be an independent homeowner. A housing allowance and auto expenses have been added.
Music has always played a dominant role in the church since the days when a pump organ pumped out "Blest be the Tide that Binds." Vocal Choirs of all ages existed at different times as well as rhythm (dance) choirs and Bell Choir.
Service to others has ranged from donations of money, food, clothing and time by the members to offering the use of the building to groups within the community.
The budget adopted in 1978 for 18 months was set at $75,000. Unforeseen circumstances created a problem for the Finance Committee when the winter of 1978-79 was extremely cold using much more than the allotted fuel budget. Inflation was at an all-time high and gasoline was also in short supply. (As our building ages, it is always a "guesstimate" on figuring the budget for any building needs.)
Many of those who served on committees our Centennial year are still giving of their time and talents to the church. Some of those include Helen Dahl, Ryan and Joan Montgomery, Dick Englebrecht, Pam & Ken Wagner, Meredith Gaskill, Dorothy Blair. Many other longtime members are still actively participating in the life of the church.
In 1980 our church one of 7000 local churches across the nation attached to
the United Church of Christ. Only six of the 94 UCC churches in the state of
Washington are older than ours. This is also the 100th year for Westminster
in Spokane, Yakima and Chewelah.
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