MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — For Mount Zion Lutheran Church in Mountlake Terrace, Palm Sunday marked a celebration of restoration.
The church was rededicated that day, March 20, with a special Sunday service. The work to repair the building after a fire in May 2014 is nearly completed, said the Rev. Franklin Paine.
He’s been at the church since 1984, and its believed to be its fourth-ever pastor.
The wing of the building that burned had housed a meeting hall often used by community groups. The sanctuary also sustained smoke and water damage, and a hole in the roof from the firefighting efforts.
The Sunday service for the rededication focused on loss and trials, finding good in the bad, and a message of, “in this we see God’s love, this church stands here restored,” Paine said.
The new beginning also is a reminder to the congregation to reach out to others about the Gospel, he said. For a while after the fire, the church met at a local martial arts studio. They are now sharing their building with an Ethiopian congregation.
About 20 people attend Sunday services at Mount Zion.
“We’re a small group,” Paine said.
The fire nearly two years ago was traced to a cigarette butt. The repairs cost about $700,000 — twice the estimated damage — with some of the materials and labor donated.
A rummage sale is going to be scheduled later this spring, said LaVerne Gemar, a parishioner who helped coordinate the rededication. There are many church projects that could use additional volunteers, including landscaping work, she said. For more information, contact the front office at 425-778-3577.
“We welcome the community,” she said. “We’re awfully thankful for the help we’ve had from them over the past few years.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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