Thursday, July 28, 2022
‘Spiritual refugees’ feel the loss of closed Catholic churches in Seattle. Some are appealing to the Vatican
NINA SHAPIRO THE SEATTLE TIMES JULY 28, 2022 4:00 AM SEATTLE — For the past three Sundays, a couple of dozen people gathering to pray in Mount Baker have met outside a locked church door. As far as the Seattle Archdiocese is concerned, Our Lady of Mount Virgin Catholic Church was one of two churches that closed July 1 as part of a wrenching consolidation effort from Tacoma to Everett that has also slated a third Seattle church to close Sept. 1.
But a group keeps coming to Our Lady of Mount Virgin, standing on the porch or sidewalk to recite prayers, sing and keep the spirit of the 1918 church alive.
Through the Weekend × "We don't want to go anywhere," said Mansak Douangdala, who started attending the church soon after arriving in the Seattle area from Laos in 1981. He said his daughter was married there, he and others turned to the church for many funerals, and some had their names on a wall because of money contributed to building improvements.
Read more at:
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article263908732.html#storylink=cpy
