Dedication: A Centennial Story

Mrs. Helen Furness Worthing makes a motion to appoint some women to the usher committee at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, immediately before the downtown church's long-anticipated dedication services. The motion coincided with noticeable progress for women through appointments to prominent positions at The Mother Church, with recognition of the fulfillment of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy's d...

Mr. Roy Olmstead, notorious locally as "King of the Bootleggers" and nationally for his wiretapping case in the US Supreme Court, applies for membership at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle in the Spring of 1936, after years of effort by the Christian Science church to support laws prohibiting sale of alcohol including the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution and prison ministry work by...

Mrs. Agnes Healy Anderson hosts a tea party on July 17, 1935, at the Sunset Club in Seattle for Eleanor Thomason, a Principia College sophomore who lives in Anderson Hall on the new Principia College campus in Elsah, Illinois, one of many Christian Science schools with campuses by 1935, including one in Seattle, Open Vista School, near Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Photo: Anderson Ha...

Board members from Seventh Church do their own private investigation of the Fort Lewis Christian Science Activity after a statewide conference of Christian Science churches on May 29, 1934, was held to decide whether to renovate the building or shut it down. Meanwhile, events in Germany under its new Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, raised concerns about the oppression of Christian Science in Germany and...

Mr. Orison "O.J.C" Dutton, board chair, with a united board, proposes inspirational meetings for the members of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, after another request for financial support for the Christian Science Publishing House in Boston was published March 24, 1934, in the Christian Science Sentinel.  Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishin...

Miss Eileen Ruth Gormley writes a historical sketch for Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in 1933. Mrs. Harriett M. Armstrong writes the history of First Church, Ms. Adela S. Hawley for Fourth Church, and a committee of three for the newly formed Eleventh Church. Judge Clifford P. Smith expands the archival collections at The Mother Church in Boston. Rev. Dr. Lyman P. Powell uses the arc...

Mr. William Rathvon shares how important music was to Mary Baker Eddy. The workers at Kingsport Press hum and sing while manufacturing the new Christian Science hymnals in 1932. Church members hold hymns sings. Mr. Bicknell Young is guest soloist at Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Mr. Elbert LeRoy Bellows is hired as the new soloist at Fourth Church. Mr. Arch N. Torbitt hires an unsk...

Mrs. Elizabeth H. Ferree proposes hanging an American flag behind the readers on February 22, 1932, George Washington's 200th birthday, at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. The Christian Science Board of Directors announce a special church service and lesson sermon for the Washington Centennial: "Love for God and Man, The Universal Ideal." President Herbert Hoover urges Americans to com...

Mr. Ross Perry Williams, head usher at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, orchestrates the Sunday collections in 1931 to help pay for construction of the new Publishing House building for the Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston. Mr. Byron B. Haviland, Washington Committee on Publication, presides over a mass meeting of Seattle church members at First Church to discuss the lates...

Mrs. Rice, Secretary of the Joint Dedication Committee, sends the standing rules to the local Boards of Directors for their approval in early 1931. The board at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, considers a statement from the Christian Science Board of Directors in Boston in the Christian Science Sentinel about joint dedication. Includes mention of joint dedication in New York and Los A...

Mr. Herbert T. Condon, Dean of Students at University of Washington, invites the college student Christian Scientists to move their meetings off campus to Eagleson Hall, the University YMCA in the U-District at 15th Ave NE and NE 42nd Street in Seattle in the fall of 1930. Image: Eagleson Hall (in 2022). Photo by Cindy Safronoff. Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior...

Mr. Edwin Kirk Piper hears a K.O.M.O. radio broadcast of the Sunday evening service of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. US President Herbert Hoover gives a state of the union address to Congress on December 2, 1930. Season 2 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story" is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Buildin...

Mrs. Ruth Marthaler announces the dedication of Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in Seahurst Park, on Sunday, December 8, 1929, after Mrs. Laura E. Ellis reads a telegram sent to the Board of Directors of The Mother Church in Boston. Image: Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle (original), around 1929. Used with permission from First Church of Christ, Scientist, Burien, WA. Season...

A mass meeting, called by the new joint dedication committee, is held at Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, downtown. Area Christian Scientists contribute to the building fund for the newly completed Sixth church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in West Seattle at SW Lander Street and 42nd Avenue SW, which was designed by Mr. Gerald C. Field and built by Mr. Neil McDonald.  Image: Sixth Ch...

Mrs. Bessie Haviland makes plans for dedication services at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Mrs. Florence Foster, Second Reader, makes the official dedication announcement at the three special services on Sunday, November 24, 1929. Image: Stained glass window in Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Photo by Cindy Safronoff. Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book...

Mr. Walter G. Stanley sends a telegram to the Board of Directors of The Mother Church in Boston about the conference of Christian Science churches in Seattle scheduled for Nov. 7, 1929, to discuss a proposal for a joint dedication committee. Takes place in the board room at Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in Lake Forest Park, and in the auditorium of Third Church of Christ, Scientist,...

Mr. Walter G. Stanley floats a proposal for joint dedication, and the Board of Directors at Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, makes a resolution. Image: Empire Building. Paul Dorpat collection. Season 2 is a review draft prior to publishing the book for Part 2: 1929 to 1979. The book of Part 1: 1889 to 1929 of Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Cente...

Church members discuss the terms of their mortgage bonds as financial markets show signs of instability, at Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Includes a 50-year overview of the history of the Christian Science movement as presented in Season 1 (Part 1) of Dedication: A Centennial Story. Image courtesy of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, Washington. Season 2 is a review draft p...

Mr. Orison “O.J.C.” Dutton, Board Chair and President of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, prepares for church building and operates a Christian Science Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Hospitality Club in the midst of world war and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Takes place at a rented hall in the University National Bank Building at NE 45th Street and University Way NE and at Dutton’s hospitalit...

In 1970, Mr. Milton Simons and Mrs. Martha W. Smith establish a Christian Science Reading Room in Seattle’s traditionally Afro-American district, the Central Area, with the support of the area Churches of Christ, Scientist. Takes place at 1134 34th Avenue East in Seattle, with inciting events at The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. Special mention of branch churches...

Author Cindy Safronoff reflects on Part 1 of "Dedication: A Centennial Story." The book Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon , through Powell's Books , or by special order through your favorite local book store. Please support this project: Rate and review the book and podcast! Help crowd-fund thi...

Mr. Allen H. Armstrong's support of the Christian Science movement in Seattle ends. Includes discussion of the three downtown Christian Science professional centers: the Empire Building on Second Avenue, the Shafer Building at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street, and the Joshua Green Building at Fourth Avenue and Pike Street. Also, the three joint downtown reading rooms: the Empire Building, the Shafer B...

Mr. Oscar Marcus "O.M." Kulien becomes the new Building Committee chair for Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Mr. Harlan Thomas, architect, gets involved. Mr. Charles W. Carkeek wins the construction contract. The book Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon , through Powell's Books , or...

The members of Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle, in Queen Anne, reconsider the location for their church. The book Dedication: Building the Seattle Branches of Mary Baker Eddy's Church, A Centennial Story by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon , through Powell's Books , or by special order through your favorite local book store. Please support this project: Rate and review th...

Mr. Justice M. Matthews recommends budget cuts for Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. Mr. John S. Gibson leads the design considerations for a new edifice for the Queen Anne congregation with architect Daniel Riggs Huntington. Seventh Church members consider whether they are ready to build. Takes place at Queen Anne Hall and Bethany Presbyterian Church at First Avenue West and West Roy...