by Kirby Lindsay Laney
An edited version of this column originally appeared in The North Seattle Herald-Outlook on December 28, 2007.
This past fall, in 2007, much needed remodeling began at the former St. Paul’s Lutheran Church building, at the corner of 43rd and Fremont Avenue. One tenant, the Church of the Apostles (COTA), needed worship space to use during the first phase and the Fremont Baptist Church (FBC) opened their doors.
At ‘Street Level’
FBC’s pastor, Reverend Judy Gay, has noticed some people know FBC solely by the large painted signs visible from great distances across Seattle, and in nearly every photo taken of Fremont going back through the decades. For many, she explained, “signs on the building don’t translate to the street level.” Gay has met people who don’t know the church still gathers and worships at Linden Avenue and 36th Street. “We need to be at the doors of the church,” she said.
Within Fremont, FBC has an open door reputation. The large brick church building has served as polling place, convenient meeting space, and home to the offices of R.O.A.R. of Washington, an agency assisting the homeless and disadvantaged. The only surprise is that FBC would go so far as to share its core, its worship space, with COTA.
‘In A Neighborhood Like Fremont’
Begun five years ago by Reverend Karen Ward, COTA is associated with the Episcopalian and Lutheran churches, as a joint mission of both. Ward speaks of an emerging, post-denominational era for churches, neither anti- nor non-, encouraging community among believers by “sharing our flavors rather than blending them.”
With a total of three churches here, including the Emmanuel Bible Church, plus the Buddhist Temple NalandaWest, Fremont is still seriously un-churched. Ward is undaunted by the challenge of establishing a faith community here in such an environment. “I think it’s great,” she said, “God is so active in a neighborhood like Fremont.”
Unconventional Communities?
“I absolutely love it here!” Gay said about her enjoyment of Fremont, and her continuous search for ways to get more involved. Neither pastor speaks with trepidation about their unique roles in our unconventional community. Roles made unique by their callings, and even more so by their gender; that two churches here would have female pastors “fits the character of Fremont,” according to Ward.
“The reason I’m the pastor at COTA is because I started it,” Pastor Ward explained. Young, female and black, people have asked Ward, “’How can you be qualified?’” She doesn’t concern herself about acceptance from her congregation. “It’s self-selecting,” she explained. One man attended COTA apparently just to debate Karen about the advisability of women in leadership. However, most chose worship at COTA out of a desire for something slightly unconventional.
‘Someone Who Can Serve Them’
Pastor Gay admitted, “I have one family that doesn’t come,” to FBC because of her gender. When Gay first applied to serve as pastor, the hiring committee didn’t want to consider her application. Their Bishop urged them to at least interview her.
Gay arrived in 2004 when “the church was a hurting church.” They’d had rough years, with a lot of upheaval. To honor the congregation’s uneasiness, Gay agreed to start as an interim pastor. She recalled a turning point when, at a church gathering, someone mentioned they needed more meatballs. Without hesitating, Pastor Gay went into the kitchen, and returned to set out the food. Finally, she explained, “the congregation saw someone who can serve them,” literally and figuratively.
Supporting Fremont
As to gender, neither woman believes it directly affects the way they do their jobs. Ward believes the younger congregation at COTA doesn’t see race or gender the same way the generations that precede it do. “That’s refreshing to me,” Ward admitted. “As a person,” she explained, “I bring myself. Every person brings unique gifts that are not necessarily gender based.” Ultimately, Gay said, being a woman is “not the defining thing,” about her role as pastor.
“Supporting the arts in Fremont is supporting the spirituality of Fremont,” Ward stated. The mission of COTA is to support and encourage arts and culture, and they generously give the majority of their building to the Fremont Abbey Arts Center. COTA doesn’t advertise their presence in the worship space upstairs because, as Pastor Ward has observed, “if we identify [the building] as a church, we lose 90% of the people who think this place isn’t for them.”
Since 1892, FBC has served the neighborhood, but sometimes its greatest gift is simply being available. Dozens of 12-step meetings meet in their basement rooms and for some attendees, FBC “is the only church they know,” Gay observed. When asked, Pastor Gay holds memorial services for strangers who found salvation at FBC, without ever attending a single service. “It’s a ministry of space,” Gay explained.
Time Spent Together
On December 22nd, COTA returned to their space at the top of Fremont Avenue for services, and a CD release party. As both churches settle back into normal routines, the time spent together has strengthened both, according to their pastors. “I hope we can work together more,” Ward said. They’ve discovered commonalities and, as Pastor Gay pointed out, even the steep climb up Fremont Avenue need not form a barrier. By walking up Linden Avenue, Gay noted, they avoid most of the incline and the six blocks that separate them become a quick walk.
Both churches are open to anyone looking for a faith community. Fremont Baptist Church (717 North 36th) holds services every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. while Church of the Apostles (4272 Fremont Avenue North, www.apostleschurch.org) gathers on Sundays at 5 p.m.
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