STANWOOD — It was a day to wear tennis shoes, sunscreen and gardening gloves to church.
Tidelands Church, a Presbyterian congregation in Stanwood, gathered briefly for a worship song, Bible verse and prayer. Then the group of about 20 dispersed to service projects in Stanwood and on Camano Island. On June 11, small groups cleaned trails and parks in Stanwood. The rest headed to Freedom Park on Camano Island, where they joined volunteers from Stanwood Foursquare Church to weed, mow and prune.
Once a quarter, Tidelands does a Service Sunday, where church-goers spend their weekly worship time on projects.
“It’s the idea that the church has been blessed in order to be a blessing to the community,” Pastor Brandon Bailey said. “A question a lot of churches are asking right now is, ‘If we left, would people miss us?’ ”
The goal at Tidelands is no longer to get people seated in a building. It’s to get them out into the world, helping where they can, he said.
Tidelands started in October 2012 as small groups gathered in their neighborhoods for meals and service projects. Regular Sunday worship started in 2013 at the local senior center.
About a year ago, the church moved into its own building at 10101 271st St. NW, the former First Presbyterian Church.
Bailey would like to do more Service Sundays. Tidelands has committed to keeping Stanwood trails and parks clean, he said. Church volunteers also have helped at the Stanwood Senior Center, a nearby preschool and the Stanwood-Camano Food Bank and Thrift Store.
Mike Nestor, part of the Freedom Park Association that runs the park on Camano Island, has been hard-pressed to keep up with maintenance and landscaping. He couldn’t stop smiling June 11, as he directed volunteers from Tidelands and Stanwood Foursquare.
“It just warms my heart, especially to see all the little kids helping,” he said.
There were 11-year-olds with long-handled hedge clippers, along with weed-pulling tools that stood to their shoulders.
Brandon Bailey’s wife, Kristina, and their 11-year-old son, Calvin, worked around a hill near the sculpture of an elephant, tugging weeds from the beauty bark and trimming low-hanging tree branches.
Colin Coburn started attending Tidelands about four months ago. His family previously went to Lake Forest Park Presbyterian, where they also did service projects.
“The kids just love it because we get to go out as a family,” he said.
Two of his four children joined him at Freedom Park, 11-year-old twins Sawyer and Gavin.
Sawyer wrestled weeds from the ground. Yard work is something he knows how to do, though he doesn’t do it all the time, he said. The fifth-grader was counting down the days until summer break even as he worked in the weekend sunshine.
He’s figured out the best way to get stuff done during these projects, he said. He, his dad, Kristina Bailey and fellow volunteer TJ Rowley quickly filled a blue wheelbarrow with long weeds, some blooming with dandelions.
“Just team up and work together,” Sawyer said.
Brandon Bailey reminded volunteers to put people first during every project. He encouraged them to stop and chat and get to know their neighbors.
“What we’re doing is an act of worship,” he told them. “Today, you’ll all be the sermon.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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