Art and Image at Bethany Lutheran Church
written by Megan Cipolla and Anton Soder with Pastor Dennis Andersen
How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. (Psalm 84:1-2)
Lutheran Christians in this country have usually been modest in their embrace of art and image in liturgy and worship. Coming from a rich architectural and cultural legacy, and likely raised in church buildings that contained features inherited from pre-Reformation times, immigrant Lutherans from Northern Europe created and furnished buildings generally reflecting modest and understated artistic expression.
Bethany Lutheran Church was founded in 1908 by working class Swedish immigrants who struggled to erect a building suitable for worship, Christian education, and fellowship. Theirs was a “no-frills” aesthetic, driven by the fluctuating economy in the early twentieth century and by a mission-oriented ethic which set priority on the establishment of outreach and charitable institutions, such as the Lutheran Compass Center and Columbia Lutheran Home.
The original church building, designed and constructed by congregants over a four year period from 1908 to 1912, was expanded in 1928. It was a vernacular wood frame gothic revival-style structure of simple and functional character. When the sanctuary became too small to contain the large Sunday School of the early “Baby Boom” period in the 1950s, the congregation chose to remain in the Green Lake neighborhood and erect a new sanctuary on the site of the old one. While the architect of record was veteran Seattle architect J. Lister Holmes, the designers were in reality students of the University of Washington’s School of Engineering, directed by Bethany congregational President Cliff Carlson. Congregants again performed much of the construction and were compelled to retain the still-stable 1928 addition as an office and chapel wing, due to city planning codes. The new building was dedicated in 1954 and gradually embellished with stained and etched glass, furnishings and important musical instruments. Paraments, fabric art pieces and liturgical banners are regularly designed and hand-sewn by church members Lynn Ogle and Laurie Clark to highlight seasonal celebrations and important moments in the life of the congregation.