MILL CREEK — The Rev. Paul Strawn led his last church service on Sunday.
The retiring pastor, 64, was packing and clearing out his office this week after 30 years at North Creek Presbyterian Church.
Strawn looked back on his very first service h
ere: He preached to about 30 people that Sunday in November 1981, when the church was just starting out.
Before coming to Snohomish County, Strawn had worked in ministries for 10 years in Montana and California. The pastor and his wife, Kathy, expected to make their home in the Pacific Northwest.
“We felt this was the place God wanted us to be for a long time,” he said.
However, it’s unusual for Presbyterian pastors to stay in one place this long.
Strawn attributes his tenure to being able to grow with the congregation.
“They’ve seemed to tolerate me,” he said.
The church has close to 700 members and Sunday services are 400 strong. A dozen of the founding church members are still around.
Strawn started several ministries and led the congregation to focus on serving others at home and abroad.
After Hurricane Katrina, the church sent five teams to Bay St. Louis, Miss., and New Orleans. They worked in neighborhoods rebuilding homes. People asked over and over: “Why did you come all this way?”
“The standard answer was: ‘Because Jesus asked us to,’ ” Strawn said.
Volunteers over the years also have worked at local parks, shelters and schools.
North Creek has several sister churches — Greater Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in south Everett and congregations in Mexico and Russia.
North Creek was one of the first Protestant churches to start a relationship with a Russian Orthodox congregation.
Strawn has visited St. Petersburg, Russia, several times. He and his wife also led pilgrimages to the holy land through Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Greece.
They live a half-mile from the church and have three children and three grandchildren.
Now that he’ll have more time, Strawn plans to travel more, including a road trip through the South. He also looks forward to fly-fishing on the Stillaguamish and Yakima rivers and local lakes.
The pastor hasn’t looked back on his decision to retire. It won’t be easy, though. He’ll need to stay away from the congregation for at least two years — so new pastors can take over and bond with parishioners.
He’ll need to find a new church, too. He plans to lay low.
“I’ll go as a worshipper, but it will be hard,” he admitted. “Sooner or later they’ll figure out that I have a little bit of experience.”
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com
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