History of George: Center for Community:
St. George’s Episcopal Church originally opened its doors in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle in 1959. After 52 years of operation, the church officially closed in May 2011. When this happened, Bishop Greg Rickel, of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia (EDO), tasked St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (STA) in Seattle with maintaining the building and grounds
and creating a vision for the future of the site. In doing so, the Bishop emphasized ministry to young adults and marginalized populations while maintaining a hospitable and comfortable space for our existing partners. A design team was formed in October 2011, in order to create a vision of partnership with the surrounding community. Design team members went out into the community and talked with residents, business owners and various institutional members of the Lake City Community using an informal interview process. The goal of these discussions was to discern the the neighbors’ dreams for their community, their concerns, and how they could see themselves living into those dreams through George. After more than 100 interviews, several themes started to emerge. From these themes, the design team made a commitment to seed 5 new programs and projects. In addition to those new ministries, a variety a new partners were invited to share space in partnership with our existing partners here at George. In November of 2015, the EDO decided to discontinue operations at George at the close of June 2016. STA and George staff worked closely together throughout the partnership. No plans for the property have been made at the time of close. George was an open space for community, expression, justice, and hope in Lake City. The former staff and clergy of George will miss the neighborhood, its partner organizations, and everyone who took part in the life of George.
