Liberty Park Church Celebrates 90 Years Methodist Bishop Will Preach At Observance On Sunday
Ninety years ago, a small congregation of Methodists founded the Liberty Park Methodist Church at the corner of 11th and Helena.
Today, the same church still stands.
On Sunday, members of the Liberty Park United Methodist Church will hold a 90th anniversary celebration during its 11 a.m. service.
To mark the occasion, the Rev. Calvin McConnell, bishop of the Methodist Pacific Northwest Conference, will travel to Spokane to deliver the sermon. And previous pastors will also be present to help with the celebration.
“It’s a really special time,” said Sara Stevens, secretary and 64-year member of the church. “This is the first time I’ve actually been planning for an anniversary, so it’s quite exciting - plus a lot of work - which is OK.”
In the late 1890s a group of neighbors banded together to start the church.
Liberty Park Methodist was officially organized in 1905, though members didn’t have a building to call their own.
Worship services first were held in a tiny Episcopalian church on Newark Avenue. Then services were moved outdoors to a grove at 14th and Pittsburg.
Funding for a building came at the dawn of this century. The Rev. William S. Turner donated money from his life’s savings that allowed the purchase of the land.
The main church building was completed in 1912 and is still used to hold services.
A reception in the Fellowship Hall will immediately follow Sunday’s service. Finger foods and beverages will be served.
Children’s Sabbath
On Sunday, several churches will focus worship services on children, particularly children of poverty.
The multidenominational program is called the Children’s Sabbath and is sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund, an advocate for children’s concerns for many years.
According to the Children’s Defense Fund, one in five children in America lives in poverty.
“The idea is to get a national movement going to have a worship service that would focus on children, especially children with particular needs,” said the Rev. John Olson, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, 1827 E. Pacific.
His church will participate in the Children’s Sabbath at its 11 a.m. service.
Other participating churches include St. Stephen’s Episcopal, 5720 S. Perry; Deer Park United Methodist Church of Christ and Mennonite, 113 E. Second; Unitarian Universalist Church, 4340 W. Fort George Wright; and Cheney United Church of Christ, 423 N. Sixth.
More than 5,000 churches and synagogues joined in last year’s program, which dealt with children and violence.
“Churches buy into it at different levels,” said Olson.
“Some churches will have prayers said, some will take up offerings for agencies who work with kids, and some will involve children in the actual worship itself.”
At Grace Lutheran, children drew the bulletin covers. And children will lead the entire worship service - from the sermon to the music.
“It’s a variety of things that we’re doing,” Olson said. “The prayers and lessons will all fit in with the theme of children and poverty.
“Traditionally, whatever faith perspective you come out of, there has been a concern certainly for children, but for low-income persons, too.
“Certainly the Old Testament and the New Testament have a bias in that direction.”
On Sunday, Grace Lutheran will collect school supplies, including backpacks, notebooks and pens, for the YWCA Transition School for the Homeless.
Whitworth prayer breakfast
Whitworth College will host a prayer breakfast at 7 a.m. Tuesday for Spokane-area clergy and other church and ministerial professionals.
The breakfast is free and all denominations are welcome.
The event’s purpose is to facilitate fellowship, community and spiritual renewal.
Dale Bruner, religious studies professor at Whitworth, will lead a group devotional.
The next Whitworth prayer breakfast after Tuesday’s will be Nov. 28.
From more information, call 466-3275.
‘Valiant Papers’ performance
Chuck Neighbors, a veteran actor, will perform a one-man adaptation of Calvin Miller’s book “The Valiant Papers” at 6 p.m. next Saturday.
The drama is said to give “the other side of the story” to C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.”
Neighbors, who has been performing for more than 20 years, has appeared on television and radio and before live audiences around the globe. He is also known for his one-man adaptation of Charles Sheldon’s “In His Steps.”
Jesuit turns 100
The Rev. William Elliot of the Society of Jesus will celebrate his 100th birthday Tuesday.
To honor the landmark event, Elliot’s fellow Jesuit priests will celebrate a special Mass at Gonzaga University that day. A party will follow.
Elliot, the fourth-oldest Jesuit in the 23,000 member order, was ordained a priest in 1927 in Dublin, Ireland. He actively pursued his vocation through 1990, when he retired.
He lives at the Gonzaga University Jesuit House Infirmary.
Beautiful Savior is 40
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 43rd and Conklin, will celebrate its 40th anniversary with special services and a banquet Sunday.
The Rev. Paul Schmidt, a former pastor of 18 years, will preach the two morning sermons at 8 and 11.
The Rev. Lee Wendland, special assistant to the Northwest District of Missouri Synod Lutheran Church Body, will speak at the banquet, which will begin at 5:30 that night at Cavanaugh’s Fourth Avenue.
The church’s cornerstone was laid in October 1955.
In addition to offering church services and family counseling, Beautiful Savior, which now serves 150 families, has facilities for three preschool educational classes and a day-care center.
The Rev. Thomas Norris is Beautiful Savior’s current pastor.
For more information, call 747-6806.