Snoqualmie United Methodist Church ready to celebrate 125 years of faith, heritage

“There’s age here,” says Marcia Reinert. “There’s wonder in these walls.”

Reinert, a congregation member at Snoqualmie United Methodist Church, is right. The walls of the old downtown church do tell a tale.

In the dining hall, Reinert points up to a ceiling beam that dates from the original 1926 structure, surviving a catastrophic fire. Upstairs, the bride’s room has launched uncounted weddings.

In the tower above us hangs the Methodists’ 116-year-old, 400-pound bell, which still rings every Sunday. In the sanctuary, 1960s pews mingle with a 1940s organ in a space with walls from the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘60s.

It’s a bit of a hodgepodge, but it’s also “living history,” in pastor Paul Mitchell’s phrase. Like the Methodist faith itself, “it’s a history that has taken what works and added what’s needed,” he said.

This weekend, Snoqualmie’s Methodist congregation marks its 125th anniversary. Local Methodists are bringing the community inside these walls, both for a celebration and for a new community service project that welcomes all for fellowship and food.

The 125th anniversary celebration is Sunday, Sept. 21. Pat Simpson, the United Methodist Church’s district superintendent, head clergywoman for King County, will be the guest preacher at the morning’s service, at 10:30 a.m.

Following the service, the church will open its doors for a birthday party with ice cream, cake, balloons and tours.

It may be a more modest party than the church’s 1989 centennial, which saw community concerts, parades and photos in costume.

But, “in some ways, it may be a greater achievement,” said Mitchell. “Here we are, still, 125 years later.”

“Instead of having a huge celebration, we’re looking at what we can do here to honor those 125 years,” Reinert said. One way is the new community dinner.

When founding pastor A.E. Curtis came to this Valley 125 years ago, “he didn’t build a building,” Reiniert said. “He gathered people out of the hops fields, took them under a maple tree and started this church. So, to honor where we came from, we’re really making a concerted effort to come together and go outside the walls again.”

The dinners are a 12-week pilot program. Every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., Methodists will serve an open dinner.

“We’re hoping it will be law enforcement officers, homeless people, parents who didn’t have time to cook, and people who just don’t want to stare at a television and eat alone one more time,” Reinert said. “Anyone and everyone, just coming in, sitting down and having dinner—a real church dinner.”

She points out that all diners will come inside, be seated and served—“a proper Methodist church dinner. We do food!”

“It’s not just about people that somebody might call less fortunate,” said Mitchell. “It’s more about our need to be giving, to be generous. We’re seeking generosity.”

There are many kinds of need, Reinert said, and they aren’t just to do with money or food. There’s loneliness, and lack of time.

“I hope that folks that are hungry and don’t have another way to have a meal find their way here. But it’s not just for them. It’s for anybody,” Mitchell said.

Methodist spirit

When Mitchell arrived at this church two years ago, he found “people who have a big heart, and care about people in their community.

“And a lot of the ways they’ve been doing that over the years have fallen by the wayside—because people were getting older, and having a harder time figuring out how to do that. It’s demographic changes in the community.”

So, over the years, there’s been talk about how the church can be more engaged.

The movement’s founder, John Wesley, 200 years ago preached a balance between personal piety and social holiness.

“You need both of those,” said Mitchell. “Each is one of your feet in the world, and they propel each other.”

Another aspect of their faith is coming together across differences.

“If our heart is in the same place, let’s work together,” Mitchell said. “You might have individuals in a single congregation who are diametrically opposed about any topic, but… we are still here together, respect each other’s differences of opinion about things, and are still one faith family.”

For several years, Methodists have been involved in the CROP Hunger Walk, marching with three other congregations—Mount Si Lutheran, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Clare’s Episcopal Church—to fight global hunger. A lot of things they do aren’t visible, but are still helpful. Members of the congregation help gather food every month for Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank. They clean up trails at Little Si, support an orphanage in Congo. Reinert says the dinner is the next step.

The future

The church has gone in new directions before. Just ask Mary Brown.

As a woman pastor in Snoqualmie from 1990 to 2000, Brown inspired Reinert to join.

“There had been women pastors around for some time,” mostly in the urban areas, Reinert said. But, “for this size of congregation, in a smaller community, this was really groundbreaking.”

“I thought, what a wonderful thing it would be to tell people about the love of God,” Brown said. “But I didn’t see any role models. So, years later, having a Methodist woman as my pastor rekindled my desire.”

After a lot of life experience, Brown went to seminary at age 51. When she was ordained, Snoqualmie was her church, for 10 years, until she retired, in 2000.

“This was it, my one and only,” Brown said. After her, the next two pastors were also women.

For Brown, “the church building is just a place to be nurtured on Sundays, so you can go out into the world and offer ministry in the community.”

“This moment means a time of reflection on the things they’ve done in the past. And to not be fearful in the future,” she added.

The centennial is for “anyone who, in their memories, this church was part of their growing up,” Reiniert said. “We’re constantly running into people who say, ‘I went to Sunday School there!’”

The historic church has long attracted curiosity from passersby, says Mitchell. At the anniversary party, besides meeting members, “we want to show people around the building,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for people who have been driving by for years, to come inside and see.”