Pastor works to meet the needs of the whole community

Published 7:23 pm Friday, March 18, 2016

MARYSVILLE — Instead of focusing on filling pews in his church, a pastor here encourages the congregation to serve outside the sanctuary walls.

John Mason got his first call to be a Presbyterian pastor two decades ago. Now, the congregation at Mountain View Presbyterian Church is celebrating his 20-year effort to help people in his community and abroad.

Mason, 59, volunteers as a chaplain for Marysville schools and the police and fire departments. After a death or trauma, he’s there to provide comfort.

Mason was the on-call chaplain on Oct. 24, 2014, when a freshman shot five of his friends at Marysville Pilchuck High School. The shooter killed four of the teens and himself. One survived.

In the aftermath of the murders, Mason supported parents, students, school staff and first-responders who were reeling from the loss.

“It was devastating,” he said. “The shooting and the Oso mudslide spurred us to establish better services for the whole area.”

Marysville Area Crisis Support Services recently received a state grant to pay a full-time coordinator for the next 18 months.

“It makes it possible for us to care for people who are dealing with trauma and tragedy,” said Mason, the nonprofit’s board president.

The Seattle native worked at Bethany Community Church in the Green Lake neighborhood before he was ordained as a Presbyterian pastor. The Christian denomination is run democratically.

The Marysville congregation of about 280 voted Mason in as pastor in 1996. Under his leadership, Mountain View built a sanctuary, opened a preschool, started a Stanwood church, and hired several full-time staff to focus on youth, music and worship. Associate pastor Dan Jones said he came to the church largely because he wanted to work with Mason.

“He is a respected leader in the community who has spent years caring for people in Snohomish County,” Jones wrote in an email.

Mason works to meet the needs of the whole community — not just his church.

His congregation partners with the Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship to feed people. Community meals are served at 1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1607 Fourth St.

Mason keeps a stocked Jelly Belly dispenser in his office. That way kids can come in anytime for a handful of candy.

He volunteers in a kindergarten class at Cascade Elementary School.

“I’ve always felt like kids are a big part of my calling,” said Mason, who has three daughters and four grandchildren.

His wife, Kris, is the founding director of the Seattle Children’s Chorus.

Mason is a musician too. He sings and plays piano and Irish accordion. On Monday evenings, the pastor can be found at the Irishman pub in Everett, playing his accordion.

The Walking in Warmth benefit concert is held at his church every fall. Coats and shoes are collected to keep elementary students from the cold.

Mason has expanded Mountain View’s mission far beyond Marysville.

The youth group travels abroad to work in Mexico and Central America.

The congregation adopted a village of about 650 in the West African nation of Senegal. Since 2002, Mason has made seven trips to help the people of Diagle.

“When we do something, we do it with them,” he said.“It’s not a handout.”

His church provided food during a famine and did projects to improve buildings, sanitation and schools for villagers. Now, the Marysville congregation is working in small groups to come up with new missions.

“We’re wanting to do a better job of responding to God’s call in our lives and the world,” Mason said.

Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.