A Swedish Lutheran Sunday School was started in the Green Lake neighborhood with a small group of seven children in the fall of 1907. On January 2, 1908, fourteen charter members met in the home of the Charles Colson's for the purpose of organizing a congregation. The Swedish name was later changed to Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church. Student Otto R. Karlstrom was in chage for one year, returning as the first ordained pastor in 1911.
The first church was completed in 1910, with and addition and renovation occuring in 1927. The old church had special historic Art Windows, as does the present sanctuary, completed in May of 1955.
There was a steady growth in Sunday School and church members from the beginning. In the 1920's, as the Green Lake area grew, the Sunday School grew, reaching its greatest numbers from 1940 to 1960. When the I-5 Freeway divided the area, member families with children decreased. At present, the majority of the membership is of retirement age, but new efforts to redevelop the church school continue through prayer and recruitment.
The women of Bethany have always been a major support group of the church, the outreach and the needs of the community. Bethany Churchmen is one of the last groups of its kind to be meeting on a monthly basis. They, too, are visibly active in the parish and the community.
From the guide to the Bethany Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington, Records, 1908-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)
