A Progressive Disciples Church in Yakima's West Valley
Englewood Christian Church stands at 511 N. 44th Avenue in Yakima, Washington, on the south side of Englewood Avenue in a quiet residential pocket of the West Valley. The congregation describes itself as "an open and affirming, trauma-informed, social justice-oriented, progressive faith community committed to following Jesus." It is a member congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), affiliated with the Northern Lights region of that tradition, and has a long history of community engagement throughout the Yakima Valley.
Sunday Mornings at 10:45
Weekly worship begins at 10:45 AM on Sunday mornings and runs about an hour. The service is best described as "liturgical, theologically progressive, and informally formal." Visitors are invited to come as they are and dress as they would like; some congregants wear their Sunday best, others arrive in jeans. The sanctuary still has pews, and a pipe organ fills the space as the congregation most often sings progressive hymns.
Following each Sunday service, the community gathers in the Fellowship Hall for coffee time, an informal opportunity to catch up with friends and welcome newcomers. On the first Sunday of every month, this becomes the First Sunday Potluck, when members and guests bring a favorite main dish, side, or dessert and share a meal together.
Communion Every Sunday, Open to All
Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday at Englewood, and the table is fully open. No one is required to be a member of Englewood, or of any church, to participate. The elements are prepared and served by the Diaconate, a lay liturgical team led by Chair Kay Hartshorn. The Diaconate continues the Disciples of Christ tradition of lay leadership at the Table.
Kids' Connection for Ages 3 to 11
Children ages 3 through 11 are invited to Kids' Connection, which meets during the Sunday worship hour. Each week includes an age-appropriate lesson, an art activity, and time to build friendships with other children. The lessons often focus on justice, compassion, kindness, and service, and they coordinate with the broader Sunday theme. Children are also welcome to stay with their families in the sanctuary or help volunteer during the service. Adults interested in helping with Kids' Connection can sign up to assist on single Sundays or for a longer stretch through the church office.
The Wide Welcome Initiative
In January 2025, Senior Pastor Christie Love formally launched the Wide Welcome Initiative, a five-year focus on widening Englewood's welcome. The initiative commits the congregation to becoming an Open and Affirming congregation through the Disciples of Christ, confronting internal biases and areas of privilege, having honest conversations about racism, becoming more bilingual in communications and activities, and deepening involvement with neighbors and the wider community.
The congregation adopted an official Wide Welcome Statement on June 8, 2025. Among other things, the statement declares that every age group is welcomed, that questions and doubts are welcome, that all races and ethnicities are respected, that married and single people are welcome, that LGBTQIA+ people are welcome, that people of all gender expressions can be their authentic selves, that varying abilities are acknowledged with intentional accommodations, that all economic situations are welcome, that immigrants and refugees are welcome, that emotions are welcome, and that people healing from religious trauma are welcome. The full text is available for anyone who wants to read it in full.
Healing from Religious Trauma
One of Englewood's most distinctive offerings is the Religious Trauma Support Group, which meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the church library. The group is open to anyone in the Yakima Valley who has been harmed by faith-based systems, relationships, teachings, or experiences. No registration is required, and attendees enter through the glass side doors facing Englewood Avenue, go up the staircase, and find the library on the left.
The work grew out of Pastor Christie's doctoral research at Eden Theological Seminary, where she focused her studies on religious trauma and developed resources for processing and growing from these unique wounds. She has published on trauma-informed ministry practices and continues to shape the church's wider welcome around the realities of people who have been hurt by faith communities.
Mental Health and NAMI FaithNet
Englewood hosts the NAMI FaithNet meeting on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:30 AM in the Fireside Room. The gathering explores the intersections of faith and mental health in the Yakima community, and anyone is welcome to attend. Pastor Christie Love serves as the chair of FaithNet for NAMI Yakima and as the Second Vice-Chair of the NAMI National FaithNet Council. NAMI Yakima offers additional mental health services in the region.
Feeding the Valley: Camp Hope Meals, Sandwich Ministry, and Englewood Cares
Three ongoing ministries address hunger and need in the Yakima Valley.
Camp Hope Meals. On the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 PM, a team from Englewood serves a meal at Camp Hope for unsheltered neighbors. Volunteers help by bringing ingredients, preparing food in the church kitchen, or serving at 5:30 PM at Camp Hope.
The Sandwich Ministry. Every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM, one of the church's three Connection Groups gathers to make 200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are delivered to Camp Hope and distributed to those who need them. Donations of bread, peanut butter, jelly, and sandwich bags are always welcomed, as are financial gifts toward supplies.
The Englewood Cares Fund. The Englewood Cares Fund is a discretionary benevolence ministry that responds to community needs. One hundred percent of donations go directly to meeting needs; no administrative or salary costs are deducted. Past gifts have purchased welcome kits for new residents of Justice Housing of Yakima, provided new men's socks and underwear for residents at the Union Gospel Mission, and helped mothers at the YWCA celebrate Mother's Day. An application form allows community members to request assistance.
Music, Pews, and the Pipe Organ
Music is central to Englewood's identity. Music Director Kaeren Steele Fouts is a classical pianist and pipe organist who grew up in Yakima and began organ studies in seventh grade at St. Paul Cathedral under the coaching of one of the nuns and Monseigneur John Ecker. She received a music scholarship to Washington State University as a double performance major in piano and pipe organ, and later spent more than twenty years performing classical music in formal dining rooms in Hawaii and the Puget Sound region.
In 2008 she took up the violin and has played with the Thalia Symphony Orchestra for sixteen years, including a U.S. premiere of an Erzsebet Szonyi organ concerto with the symphony in 2019. After returning to Yakima in early 2023, she joined Englewood Christian Church as Music Director, where she now directs the music program and plays the pipe organ most Sundays as the congregation sings progressive hymns.
The Preaching Team and Staff
The church's preaching team is led by Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Christie Love, who holds a Master of Practical Theology from Regent Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Eden Theological Seminary. She is an ordained minister through the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is the author of God of the Gaps, published by Morgan James Publishing in 2021. She relocated to the Yakima Valley from southwest Missouri with her husband Bob in 2024 to serve Englewood.
Three additional pastors share the pulpit:
- Doyle Hardy, a Disciples of Christ minister with a Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary. After fourteen years in parish ministry, he became a licensed mental health therapist specializing in adult, geriatric, and couples counseling. A Yakima resident since 1976 and an avid reader, he became a pilot before retirement and enjoys flying a 1946 Ercoupe. He leads the Wednesday morning Bible study in the Fireside Room.
- Rev. Jeff Davis, a longtime member of the congregation who preaches from time to time.
- Karissa Fischer, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Seattle Pacific University and a certificate in the Art of Spiritual Direction from Stillpoint at Ghost Ranch. A Yakima native who has lived in Seattle, Ann Arbor, and New York, she spent more than ten years in the tech industry at Google and Airbnb as a user experience researcher and also owned a small cafe and retail business in Tieton, Washington. She is passionate about supporting young families in cultivating thriving spiritual lives.
Music Director Kaeren Steele Fouts and Church Administrator Dawn Gaulke complete the staff. Dawn, whose administrative experience spans more than thirty years in Yakima nonprofits and churches, manages the office, supports the ministries, and keeps the building running.
Connection Groups and Recurring Fellowship Meals
Three Connection Groups meet throughout the year, providing smaller communities of friendship, study, and shared activity. Each Connection Group rotates responsibility for the Sunday Sandwich Ministry, and the groups organize their own gatherings, potlucks, and outings throughout the year. Newcomers may request to be added to a group through the church office.
Other recurring community gatherings include the Camaraderie Breakfast on the third Saturday of each month at 8:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall, the 3rd Friday Connection Night, and the Ladie's Fellowship, which meets for lunch on the fourth Thursday of each month at The Terraces Cafe on 40th Avenue. White Swan Workdays send volunteers out into the broader Yakima Valley a few times a year to help with home repair, ramps, and other practical projects.
Wednesdays in the Fireside Room
Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM, Doyle Hardy leads a Bible study in the Fireside Room. The current series is a fifteen-session walk through the Gospel of John, paced by the group's questions and conversation. Doyle provides study guides and recommends The People's Commentary of the New Testament by M. Eugene Boring and Fred B. Craddock as a supplemental text for those who want to dig deeper between sessions.
Concerts, Documentaries, Hikes, and Qi Gong
The Finch Family Monthly Concert Series hosts free Sunday afternoon concerts in the sanctuary, featuring award-winning regional performers. Donations support the series. A Documentary and Discussion series meets periodically to screen and discuss films on social justice themes such as immigration, homelessness, and Native land issues, often in conversation with local nonprofit partners like the Yakima Immigrant Response Network. A community-wide Community Grief Vigil is held several times a year.
For those who prefer outdoors, the Hiking with Herb program organizes excursions into the surrounding area. Qi Gong classes combine breathing, movement, and meditation, with in-person sessions on summer break and Zoom options available throughout the year. The Prayer Shawl Ministry invites volunteers to knit or crochet shawls that are blessed by the congregation and given to people in need of prayer; yarn and patterns are available near the church office. Hospitality Teams, the Landscaping Taskforce, the ECC Book Club, the ECC Library, the Quarterly Book Study, the Enneagram Class taught by Pastor Christie, and Citizenship Classes round out the year-round offerings.
The Building, Accessibility, and Online Worship
The church building sits at 511 N. 44th Avenue. Most visitors park in the North parking lot, parallel with Englewood Avenue, though a South parking lot is accessible from 44th Avenue and Douglas Street. Several accessible parking spaces are located near the main entrance on 44th Avenue. The sanctuary is at the far south end of the building, and the Fellowship Hall sits just off the main entrance for coffee time and potlucks. The ECC Community Center Task Force is currently planning future building projects scheduled to begin in the fall of 2028, with the aim of expanding how the building can serve the wider Yakima community.
For those unable to attend in person, Englewood livestreams its Sunday service at 10:45 AM on YouTube and Facebook, recognizing that for some, being in a faith space is triggering, that transportation can be a barrier, that illness or work schedules can prevent attendance, and that sensory struggles may make the building itself difficult. Past services remain available on the church's YouTube channel for viewing on a personal schedule. Giving is available through the church's giving portal, with options to direct gifts to general ministry, the Sandwich Ministry, the Englewood Cares Fund, or other specific funds. The office is open from 9 AM to 1 PM Monday through Thursday, or by appointment, and can be reached at 509-966-6550.