MONROE – On Lewis Street, Monroe United Methodist and Morning Star Lutheran churches share the same brick building and the refrigerator downstairs.
Across the street, a small family house sits with a tiny cross on the roof that indicates another church, Church of Our Saviour Episcopal, meets inside.
Two blocks down the street, Monroe Congregational United Church of Christ operates in a building decorated with stained-glass windows.
“The proximity (among the four churches) is unusual,” said the Rev. Sarah France of Morning Star.
The four churches located within two blocks in the western part of the city are small. The number of those who attend a Sunday service at each of the four churches ranges from a few dozen to about 100.
The churches find it difficult to gain attention and recognition in Monroe, which has more than 15,000 people and 26 churches, according to the city.
The four churches are now marketing themselves as a group and reach out to the needy, using a $25,000 grant from the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
“This is not about banding together for survival. It’s about showing people common Christian faith,” said Jay Morgan, ministry director of Morning Star.
An Everett consultant hired by the four churches has created the slogan “Faith Choices” to promote the partnership among the churches. They plan to create a common Web site to feature what the four churches are doing as a group and to guide people to each church’s Web site.
“We just want to make sure people can find us,” Morgan said.
Like any neighbors, the churches follow different philosophies and disagree on things sometimes, France said. For instance, Monroe United Methodist doesn’t use wine in its communion service and serves decaffeinated coffee; Morning Star uses wine and serves regular coffee, she said.
A few years ago, Congregational United became a lightning rod among Monroe churches after resolving to publicly accept anyone who wanted to join, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Morning Star doesn’t share the same view on that topic, France said.
But the four churches have decided to set aside their philosophical differences and focus on what they have in common, France said. They are all Christian churches and share the same desire to help the needy.
In late February, volunteers from the churches started giving free brown-bag lunches to the homeless every Wednesday at Congregational United, France said. They have given away about 400 lunches, she said.
“Together we can do a lot more than any of us can do separately,” said Tom Sorenson, pastor of Congregational United.
The four churches also plan to begin a Sunday dinner service for the homeless, a knitting group and other activities to serve the community together, France said.
Compared with big churches with several hundred in the congregation, small churches may lack money to provide many activities for their members, said Mark Krause, the dean of Puget Sound Christian College in Everett. They often try to team up to help each other, Krause said.
“It’s a growing trend all over the country. Small churches are trying to not be isolated,” Krause said.
The Rock Church has one of the biggest congregations in Monroe, with about 800 people attending its Sunday service. Jeff Knight, the church’s senior pastor, said that people choose a church because of its character, not necessarily because of its size.
“Every church has to find its DNA,” he said.
Morning Star has come a long way to settle on Lewis Street. Since it started in the late 1990s, the church has moved from a grange to a warehouse to the brick building, which the church rents from Monroe United Methodist Church for $825 per month, France said.
Laura Baumgart said she has attended Morning Star for three years. She finds comfort in the small church in the growing city, she said.
“There is steadiness when everything else is changing,” she said.
Judy Lanfear of Woodinville has been a member of Monroe United Methodist Church for seven years. She is glad that the four churches are joining forces to serve the community. She attends a church to help others, not because of its size, she said.
“I don’t think size matters as much as commitment to serve others,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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