In the heart of Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood, Magnolia Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, known for its candid welcome, participatory worship, pipe organ and choirs. It offers spoken and sung Sunday liturgies and free community concerts. Its simple refrain captures the congregation's spirit: There is a place for you here.
A Spoken Liturgy and a Sung Liturgy
Sunday worship begins at 8:15 a.m. with a spoken liturgy and continues at 10:00 a.m. with a sung liturgy. Both take place in the sanctuary. Magnolia describes itself as liturgical but not uptight, with a gracious welcome that is not smothering in its love. Worship is participatory rather than a concert: people sing and speak, using a bulletin and hymnal for the liturgical parts. At 10:00, organ and piano accompany the gathered song, and the Chancel Choir often adds an anthem.
Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday. Magnolia calls it God's Table of Grace and does not turn away anyone who wishes to receive. The congregation describes itself as a mix of ages, backgrounds and professions, including singles and families. Some members have lived in Magnolia their whole lives, while others are new to the neighborhood. Most did not grow up in the Lutheran tradition.
Clothing is deliberately left to the individual. The church says visitors may wear suits and ties, golf shirts and shorts or anything in between, and that no one will roll their eyes at another person's choice. The church does not expect perfect people, only an honest welcome.
Joining the 10:00 Service From Home
The 10:00 a.m. service is livestreamed each Sunday on Facebook and YouTube. A collection of recorded worship services begins in March 2020 and continues through the years, allowing people to revisit Christmas, Easter and ordinary Sunday worship. The church's music is also central to that shared service: a bulletin and hymnal guide the parts to speak and sing, while organ, piano and choir support congregational participation.
Children in the Sanctuary, Atrium and Confirmation
Children are always welcome in the sanctuary. Activity bags near the doors contain coloring books, crayons, age appropriate books and activities. Parents are invited to sit toward the front so children can see what is happening, and a rocking chair gives parents and children closeness during worship.
A staffed nursery is available every Sunday on the lower level at the north end of the building. Children are also welcome at the Communion table; they may receive Communion or a blessing, with parents determining when a child is ready and Pastor Kevin available to talk with families.
For children ages 3 to 10, The Atrium is a no cost faith development program based on Montessori methods. It meets Sundays from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. during November through May. Children use hands on materials in a quiet atmosphere designed to invite wonder. The program follows the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd approach.
Confirmation continues that formation for youth in grades 6 through 8. Meeting Sundays at 11:45 a.m. in Pastor Kevin's office, the group studies core parts of following Jesus, reads the Bible, learns about prayer, considers issues in the world, explores Communion and baptism, and ends with an Affirmation of Baptism.
Grace at the Center
Magnolia's beliefs begin with three words: Grace. Grace. Grace. It describes grace as God's love for creation, including the earth, sea and sky, for wild and domesticated creatures, and for all people without exception. God gives Jesus as the embodiment of grace, and the church invites people to live as Jesus lived, to forgive and to be renewed. Grace is why the congregation gathers, and forgiveness, love and new life shape its life together.
That grace moves outward. The congregation is called to care for a neighbor's needs, feed those who are hungry, stand beside those who are alone, speak up for justice and care for the earth. Magnolia names the city, the forest and the Salish Sea as places to enjoy and care for. The church also states that it commits to racial equity and meaningful inclusion.
Its Reconciling in Christ welcome extends to all people regardless of ability, race, family or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, economic condition or background. The affirmation is direct: all are beautiful as they are, all are part of God's masterpiece, all are loved as they are and all are welcome here.
A Pipe Organ and Choirs for the Whole Congregation
The Balcom and Vaughan Opus 872 pipe organ stands 25 feet high in a case of Honduras mahogany. Its form is an enlargement and rebuild of a former Moller organ, completed in 1988 to a design by John Moir. The work expanded six registers to 22 registers and 25 ranks of pipes, with a slider wind chest sounding 1,419 pipes. Most new pipes were crafted by the Jacques Stinkens firm in Holland. Moir called the instrument deliberately eclectic. It is fashioned to play varied repertoire, while its primary work is accompanying choral and congregational singing. Its facade pipes make it a visual centerpiece of the sanctuary.
The Chancel Choir includes adults of all ages. It provides an anthem for most Sunday services and helps lead the hymns, moving from Mozart to contemporary song and sometimes singing in German, Latin and Swedish. No ability to read music is required, and rehearsals occur weekly on weekday nights. The Bell Choir uses Malmark handbells to accompany hymns and provide anthems and introductions, especially during Advent, Christmas and Easter, with periodic weekday night rehearsals. Director of Music Ministries Mary Douglas plays organ and piano for Sunday services and leads both choirs. Everyone is invited to share musical gifts even without formal training. The church quotes St. Augustine's words, 'When we sing we pray twice.'
The sanctuary is also a concert venue. Community concerts are free, and some carry a suggested donation; donations go toward future concerts. The music ministry's reach thus extends beyond worship to performances that bring people into the church for chamber music and organ concerts.
Baptism as God's Embrace
Baptism is described as God's embrace and is offered for infants and adults. Magnolia uses ordinary water from a faucet and baptizes in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. A person need not be baptized again, and membership in the church is not required. The church asks every baptized person to be actively involved in growing in faith. There is no charge for the baptism or the pastor. The church also describes baptism as a dying and a rising, a beginning of new life that continues in community.
Weddings for the Whole Community
Weddings are open to people who are not church members. The sanctuary provides the ceremony setting, and the building has ample space for receptions. As a Reconciling in Christ congregation, Magnolia welcomes same sex weddings. Premarital counseling is encouraged and expected, and Pastor Kevin can officiate at other venues as well. The church frames marriage as a call into community to love and serve one another as Christ loves and serves.
Recovery Meetings and Neighborhood Giving
Magnolia hosts an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and an AA Speakers Meeting takes place in Luther Hall. Its community role also reaches beyond the congregation through giving that can be directed to Westside Baby, Compass Housing Alliance and Ballard Food Bank. Online giving accepts credit cards, bank account information and PayPal. Giving by bank account saves the transaction fee charged by credit card companies.
Rooted in the ELCA
Magnolia identifies itself as a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It traces its denominational home to the body formed in 1988 through a merger of Swedish, Norwegian and German Lutheran bodies. Within the ELCA, women can become pastors and bishops; science is embraced, including climate change and evolution; and the LGBTQ community is received as full partners in ministry. Magnolia describes the church as having two functions: to gather and to send. Its members gather most visibly on Sunday morning and are sent out to make a difference in the world God loves.
The nine member Congregation Council provides general oversight of the congregation's life and activities, sets goals, oversees administration and supervises the annual budget. Members are elected by the congregation for three year terms, with no more than two consecutive terms. The council normally meets monthly for 90 minutes. Meetings are open to congregants except when the council enters executive session, and each regular meeting reserves ten minutes for comments from the congregation. The council emphasizes partnership with the synod, churchwide units and other Lutheran and non Lutheran congregations.
Pastor Kevin Bates and Music Director Mary Douglas
Rev. Dr. Kevin Bates grew up in the Northwest, graduated from high school in Puyallup and from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. He studied seminary on Chicago's South Side and completed postgraduate work in the San Francisco Bay Area. His background includes youth ministry and work as a dishwasher, waiter, construction worker, frame shop worker and museum guide. He serves as pastor and enjoys reading, listening to and telling stories.
Mary Douglas grew up in Mukilteo and South Everett and earned a degree in music and biology from Bard College. An organist and pianist, she serves as Director of Music Ministries and Director of Music and Organist, runs the Chancel and Bell choirs and plays for Sunday services.
A Place for Everyone in Magnolia
Across two Sunday liturgies, children's formation, sacramental life, music and neighborhood service, Magnolia Lutheran Church remains centered on grace and participation. Its sanctuary at 2414 31st Ave W is home to spoken and sung worship at 8:15 and 10:00 a.m., with the 10:00 service shared each week on Facebook and YouTube. Magnolia Lutheran Church continues to gather as a welcoming, caring and friendly home for people of many ages, backgrounds and paths of faith.