Our History
Anderson Island Community Church – A Short History
Beginnings
It is hard to believe our little brown church on the corner next to the community club hasn’t always been a part of the island with its lovely setting under the trees. It is actually a comparatively new building and will celebrate its 50th year in 2019. Prior to that there were no churches on the island at all.
In 1896 the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church Sunne Congregation met with members who lived on both Anderson and McNeil Island. Edward Iverson donated some of his property on McNeil Island to the church, land northwest of the south dock. The church was used until the forced closure of McNeil Island by the federal government in 1936. Many islanders attended this church and remember clearly the long dusty hill they had to walk up to reach the church. Betsey Cammon recalled in Island Memoirs, “With no regular pastor the church members had to content themselves with preaching services on a weekday about once a month when the pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in Tacoma could arrange to break away from his duties in the city to spend a day with the Sunne Congregation. “
After the closure of the McNeil Island Church, Anderson Islanders formed a Sunday School which met in the old schoolhouse every Sunday at 10:30 am to study the Word of God. From this came the leaders of the Committee to organize the Anderson Island Community Church & Sunday School, who first met on Jan. 23, 1964 with the goal of building a “non-denominational institution conducted by those will devote their time to the study of the Word of God”
After some deliberation a spot was chosen, the lot to the west of the Community Club and construction was begun in in 1967. Plans were drawn by Lowell Johnson who took the lead on the construction. By 1968 the Articles of Incorporation were registered with the state, and construction by volunteers was continuing. December 31, 1968 was the date of the first official event at the church, a teen dance hosting 14 island teenagers with adult supervision (of course) held in the basement. A note in the minutes that preceded this event stated that the bathrooms had been outfitted just the week before.
The church was dedicated on Jan 23, 1969, exactly five years after the first meeting to discuss the possibility of an Anderson Island Church. It has been interesting to read the old minutes from this period.
In 1997 the church suffered a fire in the basement, necessitating the total cleanup and remodeling of the basement. The church was then re-dedicated on April 5, 1998. The church continues to be a place of worship and study for the island.