This describes the land purchase by congregants of Church of the Redeemer in 1949 where the church campus is today. The purchase allowed moving from Sunday-only use at the clubhouse of the Lake Forest Park Civic Club to a facility dedicated for church use. The text and picture were taken from “A decade of beginnings” by Scott Daniel, found in Redeemer: The First Fifty Years.

This is one of several posts celebrating the 75th anniversary of Church of the Redeemer.

Land purchase for Redeemer

The church began to mature a little in 1949. By the Annual Meeting of January 9, 1949, the church had selected the property on which it was to build its facilities. All that was left to do was to approve and perform the official purchase. There was a large problem with this: acquiring the land and building on would entail a large amount of fundraising, which still needed to be done. Though the church had overcome the major hurdle of property selection, it was by no means out of the woods.

To address this problem, the church established a Building Fund Campaign. Members were asked to pledge gifts of money towards the purchase of the church land from the Squires Investment Company. People were to be contacted during the services and, for those absent on the given days, by canvassers over the phones. The Bishop’s Committee set a goal of $800 for this project.

By February 20 another major obstacle had been cleared. First Lutheran Church, located nearby, had recently finished using its church hall, and Redeemer seized this opportunity to buy the building. The plan was to purchase and move the hall in one piece onto the land they were about to acquire. This deal was agreeable to both the Lutheran church and the Church of the Redeemer. The purchase of the hall was finalized in March of 1949 and announced in the joint newsletter of Church of the Redeemer and St. John’s, Kirkland. These missions had been joined by the Bishop due to their small size, so they shared many things, including priests and newsletters. Seemingly, the only thing separate about them was locale. However, once each gained enough of a following, it was assured chat they both would be granted their autonomy.

Later that year, the property for the church was purchased from the Squires Investment Company. The property consisted of five lots and was the perfect place on which to erect the purchased hall. The only major job that remained was to move the recently purchased Lutheran church hall to the even-more-recently-purchased property. In late 1949, the Lutheran parish hall was trucked through the streets of Kenmore and unloaded on the present property. Although this endeavor provided the church with a place of its own, it was not the solution the mission was looking for.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6210 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.