Everett church raising funds to install lift for disabled
Published 1:30 am Saturday, November 12, 2016
EVERETT — The distinctive white pillared building on Colby Avenue, home to the Everett Unity Center for Positive Living, has a 106-year history.
It originally was built as the home of a Christian Science Church. The Unity Center moved into the building 15 years ago, following a 1999 fire that destroyed its previous building on Pacific Avenue.
“It’s a big, beautiful, white structure,” church administrator Cindi Pedersen said.
There’s just one problem — there’s no easy access to the building’s several floors for those who are disabled or recovering from surgery or an injury.
So the church has launched a drive to raise $65,000 to construct a lift on the building’s exterior so that members and visitors can easily reach various parts of the building.
“The ground level brings you into the sanctuary,” Pedersen said. “The social hall, where Sunday morning coffee is held, is in the basement and requires another set of stairs.”
The project includes plans to renovate one of the building’s three recreational rooms to make it accessible for those with disabilities, she said.
As part of its fundraising efforts, the church organized an Art Attack auction and Jumble sale last weekend. A Jumble sale is the British version of a garage sale, Pedersen explained.
It was a first for the church, with donations from artists who are church members. They provided glass art, wood and hand-painted objects as well as some jewelry and hand-knotted or woven textiles.
The items in the Jumble sale included housewares, small appliances and musical equipment. Most of the items found new homes. Some $3,100 was raised from about 50 people who attended the event.
The item bringing in the most cash — $100 — went home with Pedersen. It was a finial, a decorative sphere at the top of a cupola that once was once part of the building. It was added to the church in the 1930s and removed when the building needed a new roof.
“The minute I saw that I thought, ‘That’s going on my greenhouse,’ ” Pedersen said. “A little piece of history, you know?”
The church recently received a $20,000 donation for the lift project but an additional $40,000 is still needed.
Unity has launched a gofundme account to help meet the goal.
Pedersen describes Unity churches as striving to return to first century Christianity, “open-minded about beliefs, but definite about the power of prayer.”
The teachings are “positive, practical and Christian,” she said.
The church’s social action committee helps support the family shelter in Everett operated by the Interfaith Association of Northwest Washington, Cocoon House, an organization that assists homeless teens, and the Everett Recovery Cafe, which seeks to break the cycle of addiction and assist with mental health issues and homelessness.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
Help out
The Everett Unity Center for Positive Living has a gofundme account to pay for installation of a lift to allow people with disabilities full access to the building. More information is available at: www.gofundme.com/uts28pj8.
