Kennewick Church Celebrates 25 Years Imagine buying an organ before having a church to put it in! Would that be a ridiculous presumption or an act of faith? To the members of the Kennewick (Wash.) Church, it was faith wrapped in opportunity. Organized in 1978, the 90 charter members met for years in other churches. During that time, property was purchased and the members broke ground on July 7, 1983—and bought a Rodgers organ from a funeral home in Spokane. In February of 1985, they moved into their own place of worship…with their organ! Since then, the church in Kennewick has been a blessing where before there had been no Adventist presence. On Sabbath, October 18, the Kennewick Church celebrated its silver anniversary. More than 200 attended, including 16 charter members and all four pastors. A slide presentation showed a succession of baptisms and many church firsts, including various stages of the building project. Lloyd Perrin, the first official pastor, shared from his heart in the Sabbath morning sermon. He centered our thoughts on four words from the message to the church at Ephesus: remember, repent, return, and—“there’s one more 'R,'” Perrin said, “but it’s one I’d rather not even mention. ‘Unless you repent, I’ll have to remove your candlestick.’” The candlestick represents our place of ministry, the privilege of being a light to the community. A gospel group, Handpicked, from College Place, Wash., provided a sacred concert in the afternoon, continuing the “down home” atmosphere for the occasion. But the past is past. While the Kennewick Church enjoys its memories, the future is all we can do anything about. Grateful as we are for our all-purpose building and Sabbath School wing, we are looking toward building a new sanctuary—planning, drawing, saving. Maybe it’s time to buy another organ?
Kennewick Church Celebrates 25 Years
Imagine buying an organ before having a church to put it in! Would that be a ridiculous presumption or an act of faith? To the members of the Kennewick (Wash.) Church, it was faith wrapped in opportunity.
Organized in 1978, the 90 charter members met for years in other churches. During that time, property was purchased and the members broke ground on July 7, 1983—and bought a Rodgers organ from a funeral home in Spokane. In February of 1985, they moved into their own place of worship…with their organ! Since then, the church in Kennewick has been a blessing where before there had been no Adventist presence.
On Sabbath, October 18, the Kennewick Church celebrated its silver anniversary. More than 200 attended, including 16 charter members and all four pastors. A slide presentation showed a succession of baptisms and many church firsts, including various stages of the building project.
Lloyd Perrin, the first official pastor, shared from his heart in the Sabbath morning sermon. He centered our thoughts on four words from the message to the church at Ephesus: remember, repent, return, and—“there’s one more 'R,'” Perrin said, “but it’s one I’d rather not even mention. ‘Unless you repent, I’ll have to remove your candlestick.’” The candlestick represents our place of ministry, the privilege of being a light to the community.
A gospel group, Handpicked, from College Place, Wash., provided a sacred concert in the afternoon, continuing the “down home” atmosphere for the occasion.
But the past is past. While the Kennewick Church enjoys its memories, the future is all we can do anything about. Grateful as we are for our all-purpose building and Sabbath School wing, we are looking toward building a new sanctuary—planning, drawing, saving. Maybe it’s time to buy another organ?
Early morning light illuminates the Kennewick Church.
Eleven of these charter members are still members of the Kennewick Church.
The members of Handpicked not only handpick their musical instruments, but are individually handpicked by God.
