Saint James Lutheran Church (Seattle, Washington) Records

Saint James Lutheran Church’s history traces back to 1921, when Pastor Frederick Weisenborn founded a Lutheran Church and Sunday school in the White Center area of Seattle. At first, there was no actual church building, and services were held in local halls and the houses of members, such as Esther Hilborn’s, where the Church’s first Eucharist was held. The church struggled to eke out an existence during its nascent years, but was prospering by 1928, when the congregation was renewed under Pastor P.E. Blaiser. Full-time pastor Kolbein Simundsson arrived in 1928 and served until retiring in 1958.

In 1947, a new church building was finished and received a dedication service. At its peak, Saint James Lutheran Church grew to support 600 attendees in its church and 400 children in its Sunday school. The numbers dwindled with time, however, and eventually the Church serviced a moderately sized group, whose average age increased over the years. The Church increased outreach programs to the community, such as teaching English to immigrants and creating programs to find jobs for them. Projects such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the Girl Scouts and Nutrition Programs were also supported in this time. The church building was consistently renovated over time.

Saint James closed after Easter in 2005, because church attendance had dropped dramatically. The Easter service contained 50 attendees; on average it served 25, most of which were retirees.