Lessons in resilience

In its 100-year history, Manito Presbyterian Church has seen thousands of members come and go and was threatened with closure twice. Now it is among two dozen churches that have reached the century mark in Spokane.

The church at 29th Avenue and Latawah Street will celebrate the milestone with a series of services this weekend and a community event in June.

“I think this is a testament to the congregation’s resilience, but also God’s faith in us,” said the Rev. Scott Starbuck, who took over the congregation in 2001 after a well-publicized split in the church earlier that year.

Starbuck, an adjunct professor at Whitworth University, implemented a newer style of service that blends traditional hymns and worship with more contemporary elements, including praise music.

He credits music director and organist John Bodinger, who holds a degree from the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., for creating a seamless feel for the single service. Bodinger taps the talent of the congregation, including several teen musicians who play during services.

Starbuck said the resurrected church is seeking to meet the needs of its neighborhood and has been reaching out in a mission to help the poor, lonely and disabled residents of Spokane. It has formed partnerships with nonprofit organizations, including Meals on Wheels and Mothers of Preschool Children. The church continues to operate Manito Garden Apartments, which has 60 units for low-income seniors or persons with disabilities.

A Wednesday evening event involving both youth and adults reaches out to neighborhood children. About 78 kids are signed up for it.

“Our primary mission is here in Spokane,” Starbuck said.

In June 2001, the Presbyterian Church (USA) released a statement saying Jesus is the only way to salvation for Christians, leaving open the possibility for other means of salvation for non-Christians.

A few months later, 85 percent of the congregation voted to join the Rev. Doug Waggoner in a break with the Presbyterian Church over a series of theological issues, including differences over interpretation of biblical passages.

When the split occurred in September 2001, about 460 members voted to become an independent congregation. They moved to a former movie theater at Lincoln Heights and established Southside Christian Church.

Starbuck said 152 members stayed behind. Today, the church has 250 members. Starbuck said his goal is to eventually have 500 members.

The 2001 split wasn’t the only threat the Manito Presbyterian faced. The church nearly closed in 1937 because of financial problems stemming from the Great Depression, according to research on the history of the church by Jim Price and Eunice Snyder.

Among the guests invited to this weekend’s services are members of the family of Burton Belknap, who was a church member for 73 years and was known for erecting the building that houses the Chalet Restaurant adjacent to the church. Belknap operated an ice cream plant and used the Chalet building as an outlet shop.

In all, the church has had 5,300 members in its history.

The first 1908 church building was expanded in 1914, but both were torn down in 1956 when the church erected its present-day structure.