The Seattle First Ward, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation in Magnolia will be celebrating its 70th year this weekend at its chapel at 2415 31st Ave. W. in the Magnolia Village.
The event starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 9. The event is expected to draw attendees from Queen Anne, Magnolia, Capitol Hill, partos of ballard and all of downtown Seattle.
The Magnolia branch of the church technically began in 1902 when five people met in Anna Green Grant's kitchen in 1902.
By 1909, the growing number of members moved into a poolroom where before starting services, picked up empty beer bottles and snuffed cigarette butts.
By 1912, the group moved to Newton Street Church. A second church location was started in 1919 in West Seattle and by 1958, the growing number of members required a new, larger facility. The 19,240-sqaure-foot, brick builing took 22 months to complete, most of the work done by volunteers.
Today in the Northwest, there are 249,000 LDS members, 436 wards, 53 branches, 5 mission offices and three LDS temples.
Worldwide, membership is more than 13 million with more than 27,000 congregations in 177 countries.
The church is actively involved in the civic affairs of the communities where its members live and it has an obligation to take stands on moral issues facing society, according to church literature. However, in partisan politics, it enforces a strict policy of neutrality.[[In-content Ad]]
