Following the closure of Winlock's Sacred Heart Catholic Church in March 2014, the building has sat largely vacant. At the time, the Archdiocese of Seattle said the church could no longer financially …
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Following the closure of Winlock's Sacred Heart Catholic Church in March 2014, the building has sat largely vacant. At the time, the Archdiocese of Seattle said the church could no longer financially support itself despite a regular attendance of roughly 100 people.
Built in 1908, the building has been sold three times in the past six years, according to county records. In February 2018, the Archbishop of Seattle sold the building to the Winlock School District, which sold it three years later to The Fosbre School of Universal Enlightenment.
This summer, the building, located at 216 NW Arden Ave. in Winlock, was once again put on the market for $425,000, according to an online listing, with an ultimate sales price of $360,000.
“It’s a new opportunity to preserve this historic fixture in our community,” said Emma Turrentine, who helped lead efforts to purchase the church this fall.
Through donations of 64 Winlock residents, the Sacred Heart Preservation Foundation purchased the church, and the primary tenants will be Saint Kateri Byzantine Outreach of the St. George Byzantine Parish and the Holy Family-In-Exile Homeschool Resource Center. Most of the families, Turrentine said, are in their 30s.
“We felt like as local Catholics, if anybody was using that building, it should be the Catholics since they built it,” Turrentine said. “We had an extremely successful fundraising campaign.”
According to Turrentine, the Sacred Heart Preservation Foundation is in the process of obtaining nonprofit status. Beginning Sunday at 1 p.m., priests from the St. George Byzantine Parish in Lacey will celebrate holy mass at the building.
“Everyone is welcome,” Turrentine said. “Any Catholic is welcome to receive communion, but everyone is welcome to attend.”
Mass in the outreach will last approximately an hour and a half, and Turrentine said the service will have a similar order to a Roman Catholic mass.
“It’s all the same order. It’s just very elaborate, much more beautiful language, longer prayers, more invocations,” Turrentine said.
Sunday’s service will also include a tour of the church, a chili potluck and a question and answer session with foundation members. To learn more about the outreach, go to winlockbyzantine.com.
Local interest in the building dates back to its last sale in 2021, though a lack of funds meant new community members “had to let go of the idea,” Turrentine said. According to county records, the property was last sold for $200,000 at the time.
“We didn’t get really optimistic about it happening this time since the price was so much higher, but we said if God has a plan for this building, it will happen,” Turrentine said. “We’re happy to be instruments of his making that happen.”
According to Turrentine, the previous owner put more than $100,000 into improvements, including new floors and paint. The building currently needs a new roof, and fundraising efforts to raise enough money for the project continue.
Turrentine said the church will resemble more of a traditional orthodox cathedral, rather than the previous Latin mass aesthetic. The church's exterior will remain largely unchanged, though a cupola with windows will eventually be erected to allow for natural light.
“Typically, on the inside, when you look up at it, you’ll see the light, but you’ll also see a huge icon of the face of Christ,” Turrentine said. “So that’s really only the thing outside. When we get the funds to do the roof, we will work on that addition to the roof.”
The foundation is also seeking the donation of “sturdy, antique, beautiful ” furniture for the basement to “have it be like a living room or a dining room for the community.”
“We’re really just about building community, forging friendships,” Turrentine said.
Turrentine said she plans to compile and publish a book detailing the history of the church and catholicism in the area and is looking for stories and photographs to include. Information can be emailed to history@winlock.church.
“Even if it’s just a silly little story about Easter one year, we’d love to hear it,” she said.
Learn more at https://winlock.church/.