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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Oldest church


Westminster Congregational Church is the oldest  church in town and is turning 125  this month. Westminster Congregational Church is the oldest  church in town and is turning 125  this month. 
 (Colin Mulvany/Colin Mulvany/ / The Spokesman-Review)
Virginia de Leon / Staff writer

When Spokane was still a frontier town in 1879, 10 Christians gathered at the home of Henry and Lucy Cowley with the hope of establishing a church.

The Cowleys and their daughter, along with the families of R.G. Williamson and Enoch Selquawia, a Spokane Indian, became the charter members of First Congregational Church in May that year.

It was the first Christian congregation in Spokane.

Today, it remains the city’s oldest.

Now known as Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ, the church will celebrate its 125th anniversary this weekend. Hundreds are expected from throughout the area and beyond to attend a special service and luncheon on Sunday, as well as tour the historic gray-stone building that has long graced downtown Spokane.

To commemorate its history, a yellow banner hanging from the church’s bell tower heralds the message, “God is still speaking.”

Faith is a journey, explained the Rev. Andy CastroLang, who became the pastor two years ago. “Our foundation is in Jesus Christ and in the Scriptures — that’s where we begin,” she said. “At the same time, we will also be radically inclusive, politically upsetting and wildly welcoming.”

For Janet Ruehl, who became a member in the 1950s, the banner is a reminder of the need to remain open to God’s word.

“God is always speaking to us,” she said. “I like to think that God is alive with us and hoping the best for us… . The world is always changing, and we need to change with it.”

Like the spiritual journey of the individuals who belong to the church, Westminster as a congregation has undergone a multitude of change since it was born more than a century ago.

Before the historic building at Fourth Avenue and Washington Street was erected, the founding members of First Congregational Church worshipped in a wooden, boxlike structure complete with steeple and bell that once stood at First Avenue and Bernard Street. According to a historical account of the church, written 50 years ago by Charles R. Stark Jr., the building with its wooden benches was heated by a potbellied stove in the middle of the room. The church didn’t move to its present location until 1890.

It also didn’t get its current name, “Westminster,” until 1893, when First Congregational merged with Westminster Presbyterian Church, according to the 100-year overview written by James W. Montgomery. A second name change occurred nearly 70 years later, when the congregation voted to become part of the United Church of Christ.

During its heyday in the ‘30s and ‘40s, Westminster Church boasted a membership of more than 2,000. It was a downtown flagship, a powerful congregation that included many influential people in Spokane.

Dorothy Bock, 92, recalls a time in her youth when Westminster was hopping with young people who gathered at the church every Sunday night. She joined the church in the 1930s, shortly after graduating from North Central High School.

Membership tapered off over the years, but it shrunk even more abruptly in 1961, when Westminster was divided into two groups — those who wanted to remain Congregational and the rest whose heart led them to the United Church of Christ.

By only 22 votes, the congregation voted to join the 5,000 other Congregational churches that chose to form the new United Church of Christ, which began four years earlier. Those who didn’t want to be part of the UCC joined Plymouth Congregational Church, located on Spokane’s lower South Hill.

The split within Westminster divided families and friends, Bock recalled.

“It was painful, it hurt and it diminished the church,” she said, “but I think most of us are over that now.”

Now, with slightly fewer than 200 members, Westminster has persevered, said Bock, who has remained active in her church.

“This is a church that wants to be more than just a historical footnote in Spokane,” said CastroLang, who was Roman Catholic before joining the UCC. “We cannot close our doors and hearts. We have a vocation to the city.”

Today, Westminster has become the spiritual home of an entire cross section of Spokane — college professors, leaders in the local arts community, homemakers, people from all walks of life. Because of its inclusiveness, the church has drawn people who have experienced much pain in the past, people who once thought that the Christian church had no room for them, said CastroLang.

Throughout the years and today, the church has sponsored the Tree of Sharing, a food and clothing bank and countless projects to help those in need. The church also has provided space for several community groups, including 12-step programs, the Children’s Chorus, and On Stage for developmentally disabled adults.

And because of its downtown location, it’s not all that unusual to come to church and encounter a homeless person sleeping in the window well, CastroLang said. Every Sunday before the service, the church custodian offers the man a cup of coffee, she said.

The presence of mentally ill or homeless people occasionally asking for a handout doesn’t faze the congregation much.

Westminster United Church of Christ opens its doors to everyone, CastroLang said.

“Come now, come as you are,” she said. “We welcome you.”

As the church celebrates its 125th anniversary, there is an excitement and a sense of renewal among the congregation.

“I feel like it’s been part of my spiritual journey,” said Ruehl, whose cherished memories at the church include the day she married her husband, Gordon, in the sanctuary 46 years ago. This was where she grew up, where she raised her three children, where she met her lifelong friends.

“It’s important that I continue to grow and to be accepting and to expand my own spiritual life.”