GRANITE FALLS — An historic chapel that has been vacant for two years is being turned into a new bilingual church.
The chapel is freshly painted — robin’s egg blue — and a new cross is on its way to crown the building, located at the corner of Wallace Street and Cascade Avenue.
Ministerios Monte Sinai is bringing new life to the old church, and there’s been more than a few coats of paint involved. The structure looks a lot different than it did several months ago.
“Everywhere, garbage,” pastor Daniel Barraza recalled as he walked around the side of the church on a crisp November evening. “The windows, broken.”
Out of the six original arched windows, four had been shattered by vandals. The once-white walls had turned green in places, and weeds crept up the side of the building.
Now, the weeds are cut back, the garbage has been bagged up and hauled out, and new windows have been fitted into their frames.
It’s a fresh start for the 111-year-old church in downtown Granite Falls.
Built in 1903, the building was formerly the home of the Holy Cross Catholic Church. A small community hall was built next to the church in 1986 to handle the growing congregation. In 2004, a new building was finished on Highway 92 between Granite Falls and Lake Stevens. Holy Cross continued to host services and events at the original Granite Falls church for several years before relocating completely, according to the church’s website.
Barraza plans to open a new ministry there as soon as possible. Ministerios Monte Sinai is a bilingual Christian church based out of Marysville, with a second location in Arlington. Granite Falls is the latest branch.
“I would like to open tomorrow,” Barraza said.
But first, he needs to gain final approval from the city to put in a 20-car parking lot, and the building must pass safety inspections. The city council has approved a conditional use permit for the church, which is in a residential area.
“The old building we will leave as it is,” Barraza said. “It’s a monument of the town. We don’t want to lose the style.”
Aside from replacing the broken windows, painting the exterior and cleaning the interior, no changes are planned to the church. The hall next door is getting a remodeled kitchen and some fresh paint and flooring inside.
Barraza plans to host two services Sundays, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, in Spanish and in English.
Children and teens can meet in the historic church building during the sermons, to worship through songs and activities. The adults get the newer building.
Barraza also plans to host drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and serve free breakfast several times a week in the hall.
“We want God to come to this place to work with children, youth, adults, marriages and the people who need him, with the homeless and the drug addicts,” Barraza said.
Ken Williams, a senior project manager with Group Four, Inc., is working with Barraza to finalize all the necessary paperwork for the church to open. He believes restoring the chapel is good news for the town, especially for people who live near the building.
“I’ve found Pastor Daniel to be a great client, and I’ve really enjoyed working for him,” Williams said. “He is so passionate about this project, and he’s just a nice man.”
Barraza worked at a church in Mexico for 10 years before moving to the U.S. He spent time in Texas, Arizona and California before settling in Washington 15 years ago.
He plans to give a formal announcement when the church has an opening date. A celebration is in the works, and he hopes hundreds of guests can attend.
Until the chapel reopens, 25 churchgoers continue to meet at 7 p.m. every Wednesday in the Father’s House Foursquare Church, 402 S. Granite Ave. New guests are always welcome, Barraza said.
“We want to invite the community to support us,” he said. “We don’t want to only work with Hispanic people. We want to work with everyone.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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