I drive past this church every day for the last 3.5 years. I never knew what a gem laid before me. While I will never post about religion or politics I am always happy to post beauty. And this building is both beautiful and carries with it a great story.
I spoke with Rev. Darla DeFrace about her second home here is what she said.
“Columbia City Church of Hope is a newly forming church community in an old building, and it is fun to discover the little quirks and mysteries of this beautiful space. The church’s “stained glass” windows are actually made of broken bottles and other bits of colored glass. The windows were designed by a pastor’s wife in the former congregation. In 1966, she led a group of church ladies in smashing bottles with hammers and gluing them into place. When we cleaned out the attic, we found boxes of old bottles: Rainier Beer (the rich amber that makes up most of the design) and Milk of Magnesia (a lovely deep blue).”
“Church of Hope has been meeting here for almost 3 years now, and the vast majority of us live within walking distance of the church. The beauty in this is that spirituality and ordinary life are woven together as we see each other out at the library, the bakery, the park, the pub. We don’t bring out our Sunday best to come together, but we are an honest and healing community where everyone participates: we bring our questions and our fears, we witness each other’s struggles, we sing as loud as we want and play our ukuleles with abandon, we bless our babies as they reach out their chubby little hands to receive the sacraments.”
“We are a community of grace, and everyone is welcome here: babies, curmudgeons, gay, straight, believers, doubters, fence-sitters, activists, scientists, poets, and slackers. Come as you are!”
If you have never been inside now is your chance to take a look without ever stepping a foot in.
