Everett (WA) Church to Mark 100 Years of Ministry

Mark Novak, superintendent of the North Pacific Conference, will speak at a Saturday evening banquet on June 7 and a ministry and mission breakfast will occur that morning at First Covenant, hosted by the nearby South Lake Stevens Covenant Church.

Goodwin will preach at a special centennial worship service on June 8. The church will host an open house from 4 to 8 p.m. on June 6. The congregation is also compiling a 100th anniversary cookbook to have available for the weekend event.

According to a 50th anniversary booklet from the church, First Covenant of Everett began ministry in 1 902 when a group of older women and young people from the area began meeting in homes for worship. They rented the Odd Fellows Hall for worship services and a former pastor in Sweden, Ben Swanson, was the key preacher and lay leader. On June 3, 1903, the church was officially organized as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Church of Everett with 11 charter members. The church's first full-time pastor, J.J. Huleen, began ministry in 1904.

On June 20, 1908, the church dedicated its first building. After Huleen left, Axel Samuelson (1909-12), Per Lindh (1912-16), C.J. Larson (1916-20), Rudolph Peterson (1920-23) and Arvid Johnson (1924-32) served in ministry as the congregation grew and matured spiritually.

Walter W. Johnson (1936-1950) helped the church move from worship services in Swedish to English and led the congregation to become a Covenant congregation in 1947. He also helped them complete an extensive building project that was dedicated December 26, 1948. By 1953, at the church's golden anniversary, the church was thriving (159 members) and 15 in the congregation were performing or preparing to perform some type of full-time ministry work in various parts of the world.

After 70 years of ministry, First Covenant began a new building program - assisted by National Covenant Properties - that helped them to construct a 12,400-square-foot facility.

First Covenant Church began the ministry of the South Lake Stevens Covenant Church in Everett with an extensive Sunday school program. The church also assisted in the startup of both Monroe Covenant Church and Martha Lake Covenant Church during its early years. First Covenant currently has an average worship attendance of about 120, said Goodwin.

For more information about First Covenant and its anniversary celebration, call 425-252-9191.

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