EVERETT — Come September, members of the First Presbyterian Church of Everett will have a good reason to celebrate: The church has been on the corner of Wall and Rockefeller for 100 years.
The church first opened its doors even earlier at another location in north Everett. According to church records, the congregation is almost 120 years old.
The building as it’s known today wasn’t all built in one go, church elder Jay Kuhnhenn said. First came the sanctuary, then, in the 1950s, the part where community meals are served and the famous steeple. The wing that houses offices was built in the 1960s.
To mark the centennial, a celebration is planned for Sept. 11, but details haven’t been worked out.
The church was one of eight buildings shown in July as part of Everett’s Historic Church Tour.
With its stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings, the 100-year-old sanctuary has an Old-World feel.
Repairs are planned to fix the leaky ceilings, and work has been done in other parts of the building.
Some families have been attending since the church’s first days, Kuhnhenn said. The congregation has about 350 members, about 200 attending regularly. Kuhnhenn said he had been raised Methodist, but his wife was born into the First Presbyterian Church. The couple were married there more than 25 years ago.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, people lingered after the weekly community dinner, something the church has been hosting for seven years. Some lined up to get toothpaste or a bar of soap, available for free once a month, thanks to community donations.
Members began to give out toiletries about three years ago, after they noticed that people were stealing toilet paper out of the bathrooms, Kuhnhenn said.
The church tries to continue its legacy, being an important part of the community, said the Rev. Alan Dorway, who started there as pastor earlier this year. He hopes people from the community will turn out for the party next month to celebrate the big anniversary.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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