A Welcoming Home on 185th Street
Northlake Lutheran Church sits on a quiet stretch of NE 185th Street in Kenmore, Washington, just north of Lake Washington. Founded in the 1960s, it has spent more than half a century rooted in the rhythms of this neighborhood while keeping one eye on the wider world. The congregation describes itself with a sentence that doubles as a theology: "Rooted in God's grace and shaped by the teachings of Christ, we are a place of welcome, justice, healing, and belonging."
That sentence is not decoration. Northlake carries it through its practices. It is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, meaning it publicly welcomes, supports, and celebrates LGBTQIA+ people, hosts LGBTQIA+ weddings and blessings, and has signed onto the Washington Solidarity Statement for Peace and Justice in Israel and Palestine. Visitors arrive to a community that wants to know their story, not their resume of belief.
Reconciling in Christ
Northlake's stance on welcome is one of the clearest things about it. The congregation has adopted the Reconciling in Christ statement from ReconcilingWorks and uses it as a working document, not a plaque on the wall. The church's own words: "While we are aware that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons are excluded by some congregations, we welcome, support, and celebrate people of all genders, gender expressions, and sexual orientations, as well as black, indigenous, all people of color, and all who suffer discrimination in any form."
Pastor Jill Nichols-Hicks is open about being a parent of a transgender child and names that experience as part of what drew her into ministry focused on belonging and dignity. The church extends the same welcome to people carrying past church hurt, honest doubt, or no church background at all. "You do not have to prove worthiness to belong here."
Sunday Morning at 10:00
Worship is the center of the week. Services gather at 10:00 AM Pacific every Sunday in the sanctuary at 6620 NE 185th Street. The order follows Lutheran liturgy, with Scripture, music, prayer, and Holy Communion. A bulletin is posted online each week so visitors can follow along, and a sermon archive on YouTube stretches back through recent months for anyone catching up.
Music is shaped by Organist and Pianist Wendy DeLong and the Director of Worship and Community Engagement, Tom Frodsham, who brings a background in music, theater, and audio-visual production to the role. The church is currently hiring a dedicated organist or pianist to work alongside the pastor, director, choir, and other musicians, with applications accepted until the position is filled.
Worship From Anywhere
Northlake is unusually committed to making Sunday morning available beyond the sanctuary. The service streams live on YouTube, with a full archive of past weeks available anytime. Anyone who cannot use a computer can join by phone at (408) 638-0968 with Meeting ID 836-0646-0589. Zoom is also an option, with the password "love" if prompted.
For those who want to linger, Coffee and Community follows worship each Sunday around 11:00 AM with coffee, treats, and a low-pressure way to meet the people in the pews.
From the 1960s to Today
Northlake was founded in the 1960s and grew with Kenmore as the area developed. Long before the current name on the sign, families were being baptized, confirmed, married, and buried within these walls. Church Council President Judy Elbert was confirmed here as a young person and later married at Northlake; four of her children were baptized in the same font. Her story is one of many that stitch the congregation to its place.
What has changed is the church's openness to the questions the surrounding culture is asking. "This is a church where no one is expected to have everything figured out. It is a place for faith, questions, healing, belonging, and action." Liturgical tradition remains, but so does a commitment to justice, inclusion, and the present moment. Northlake calls this posture rooted, but not rigid.
The People Who Lead It
Pastor Jill Nichols-Hicks carries the pulpit. Her call to ministry first took root in childhood in Walla Walla, Washington. She studied Speech Communications at Western Washington University, where she met her husband, then went on to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary after years of lay leadership and founding a women's organization. An internship in Massachusetts preceded her call to Northlake, where she now keeps office hours Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Tom Frodsham serves as Director of Worship and Community Engagement. Born in Seattle and raised Lutheran, he began leading worship young and has blended music, theater, and audio-visual production across his career. Before Northlake, he led Luther's Table in Renton, an inclusive, arts-centered community that earned him a reputation for cultivating the "Beloved Community" language the congregation now borrows. He and Pastor Jill both keep Monday as a Sabbath.
Wendy DeLong continues as Organist and Pianist while the search for additional musical leadership proceeds. Judy Elbert serves as Church Council President and volunteers with Larchaven, a local camping ministry, and The Arts of Kenmore, which began at Northlake Lutheran. Jen Cumbo keeps the office running Monday and Friday mornings from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM.
Care in Motion
Northlake takes seriously the part of faith that shows up on the sidewalk. The Free Little Pantry on NE 185th Street, stocked through donations from neighbors, offers non-perishable food to anyone who needs it, no questions asked. The congregation partners with Compass Housing Alliance to support people experiencing homelessness in the area and supports Hopelink, a regional organization serving families in need. It also partners with Cedar Park Food Bank and tends a community garden on or near the property.
These efforts are framed by a Social Justice commitment that the church describes in plain terms: "Social justice here is not abstract - it is the daily work of honoring dignity, expanding belonging, and refusing to let anyone be cast aside." The same posture carried the church to the Washington Solidarity Statement for Peace and Justice in Israel and Palestine, which it has formally endorsed.
Arts, Learning, and Laughter
Northlake runs a longer table than Sunday morning. Bible Study gathers every Thursday at 10:00 AM to read Scripture together, share questions, and listen across differences. The Book Club meets on Wednesday afternoons at The Hangar Cafe in Kenmore, currently working through Richard Rohr's The Tears of Things, with copies available through Pastor Jill. IMAGINE Karaoke brings a more raucous crowd on Friday evenings several times a year.
The Imagine Arts Community is the umbrella for much of this creative work, and the church also hosts occasional programs such as a Blessing of the Animals around the Feast of St. Francis, Lunch and Learn sessions on practical topics like Medicare, and seasonal evenings like "Finding Anchors in Chaotic Times," a dinner-and-program on spiritual practices for mental health. Coffee and Community after Sunday worship remains the easiest on-ramp for visitors who simply want to see who is here.
What Northlake Believes
Theology at Northlake is Lutheran, but the language is wide. The congregation belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and visitors are pointed to the ELCA's statements on beliefs. In its own words, Northlake teaches that all people, though they "miss the mark," are held fully in God's grace; that grace is a gift rather than an achievement; that in Jesus, God drew near to share in human life, suffering, and resurrection; and that the Spirit is at work guiding, restoring, and renewing.
From that grace the congregation says it is freed to live with gratitude, act with love, and participate in the healing of the world. Giving is described in the same key. Generous response is described as a way of answering God's invitation, and online donations are routed through Zeffy for those who want to participate from a distance.