Gleanings From
In Christian Fellowship
By Shirley Lindahl
Edited by Jerry Rutherford
Pastors in the Pulpit
The men serving as ministers of this church came from a variety of backgrounds, a few 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 of state to accept the call from the Kirkland church.Times were often very difficult in the early years when the minister needed other employment to supplement the meager salary he was offered--and some times not even paid.
For the first 85 years the parsonages were either provided or rented for the minister's family. Today it is more consistent with the times to have the minister be an independent homeowner. Both a housing allowance and auto expenses were added to the minister's income. Later an annuity was also added.
During the first 25 years the pastors served outlying mission churches or Sunday Schools in Redmond, Juanita, Bothell, Woodinville and Bellevue. Often they preached both the morning and evening service in Kirkland and held still a third afternoon service elsewhere. A few served a joint pastorate by preaching on alternate Sundays.
Congregational ministers are not assigned by the conference but are called by the local congregation. A pulpit committee was formed and was responsible for selecting the new pastor. The term usually was open with provisions or either the minister or the congregation to terminate it.
Each minister perceived his role in the community in a different manner. Some entered politics, some served on civic or school boards, others joined service clubs. A few made the decision to remain out of secular activities. While the request for an assistant pastor was often heard only twice for brief periods did this church provide for a second minister. Today there is a paid Christian Education director on the staff.
Following is a list of minister servicing the church from 1880 - Present:This is the last page of Shirley's Book 'In Christian Fellowship' which was published in 1979.
Samuel Greene March 1880 - July 1887 Dennis Bicknell July 1887 - December 1890 W.F. Rose Dec. December 1890 - March 1893 Horatio Ailing August 1893 - August 1895 Dennis Bicknell November 1895 - November 1896 Jasper Hard December 1896 - May 1897 Harry Painter June 1897 - September 1897 James M. Brown October 1897 - April 1898 O. B. Whitmore September 1898 - January 1900 Joseph C. Young June 1900 - May 1901 A.G. Boyd June 1901 - July 1902 J. Morgan Lewis October 1902 - April 1904 John W. Holway December 1904 - October 1905 David R. Tomlin January 1906 - June 1908 Charles E. Newberry October 1908 - August 1921 R. M. Temple August 1921 - September 1922 Charles A. Bowen September 1922 - September 1924 Charles E. Newberry September 1924 - September 1929 Dwight Bennett October 1929 - June 1931 KR. Bellingham October 1931 - April 1933 Vacant April 1933 - October 1933 Charles E. Newberry October 1933 - January 1937 Vacant February 1937 - November 1937 Robert Pruitt November 1937 - November 1942 Frank Bush February 1943 - January 1948 Donald Mills February 1948 - August 1951 Ivan Smith September 1951 - April 1955 Charles Wiliams April 1955 - September 1955 George Helliwell September 1955 - July 1968 Paul Van Horn September 1968 - February 1969 Ronald Hutchinson February 1969 - February 1993 Max Oliphant Fall 1993 - September 1994 Walter John Boris September 1994 - Present
What would you like to do? Start over at the beginning?
Or use this space to hear from our members
and friends?
We all know you all have stories to tell. Do you want to do it here?
Let us know.
...Jerry Rutherford...
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