Starting Nov 1 2009 Church of the Beloved will be meeting at our regular time (Sundays at 5pm) but at a new place – Rosewood Manor (8104 220th st. SW Edmonds WA 98026)!

~ BRIEF HISTORY ~

Rosewood Manor is a 100 year old historic landmark in Edmonds with a fascinating story.  It was built in 1905 as a private residence.  Of course there was nothing else around it except forest and the lake at the time.  In 1907 the manor traded hands to JB Otto who started a hunting lodge and in 1912 President Teddy Roosevelt spent two weeks at the lodge while on a business trip.  Before this time Edmonds had not had long distance telephone service, so Teddy had the lines strung up to accommodate his stay.  During the Prohibition era the hunting lodge found it more profitable to operate as an illegal bar and brothel.  J.B. Otto’s brother just so happened to be the local sheriff, so while all the other speak easys around town were getting shut down, the White Horse Tavern (it was named for the lone white stallion that grazed in the adjacent pasture) was making buckets of money with their bathtub gin.  In 1932, the last year of the Prohibition, the local “drys” of Edmonds rallied together, made the long trek down to the Seattle Police Department, got deputized and returned to Edmonds to raid the White Horse Tavern and throw J.B. in his brother’s jail.

The manor next went into the hands of the Sanderlin Family, who raised German Shepherds.  It is even rumored that Rin Tin Tin, the old WWII movie dog lived his last days at the manor and is likely buried somewhere in the yard.  Rosewood changed hands between a number of nursing homes in the years that followed and it eventually fell into disrepair.

In 2002, Ryan Marsh and some friends had a dream of living together in intentional Christian community.  One day they drove past Rosewood Manor.  It was vacant, falling apart, and perfect!  Ryan scribbled out a quick note and stuck it in the mail box, “Some friends and I have been praying about a vision for your house and we’d like to share it with you?”  Miraculously, the owner listened to them and said, “Sure, that sounds great.  But it needs a lot of work.”  So Ryan, friends, and a hundred or so volunteers started working to restore the interior of the house.  The Rosewood community grew to 10 people and the began welcoming guests to stay with them who were in need of some help.  The “Rosies”, as they came to call themselves, took year long commitments to living at Rosewood.  They prayed together, made meals together, threw parties together… basically, shared life together.  Seven years later the community has seen over 40 guests and over 50 resident “Rosies”.

And now, in Rosewood’s 104th year it also becomes home to Church of the Beloved.  It’s our dream to purchase the manor in 2011 and begin remodeling it to suite new needs for neighborhood outreach and hospitality, to make a space for children and families, to create a rhythm of prayer, to grow into a sustainable community that teaches others how to live simply on the earth, to become something like a “Holden Village” outpost on the west side of the mountains.  This dream is constantly developing and evolving and you’re invited to dream and work with us!

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:

Q: Why move again?

A: I know, three moves in three years is pretty rough.  But this will be our last one for a long time because we believe that Rosewood Manor is an amazing fit for our community now and has the potential for an innovative future of ministry.  Beloved exists to serve people who are cautious of Churchiosity and Rosewood is able to live in that paradox of historic yet homey, sacred yet secular… a welcoming space for people who feel squeamish under a steeple.  Essentially, we believe that this place compliments the mission that Jesus is placing in our hearts.

Q: What’s Beloved’s status at the house?

A: There’s a lot of moving pieces, so this can get confusing, but currently Church of the Beloved is just one of ten ‘room mates’ at Rosewood Manor.  This means that we need to be respectful of private bedrooms and treat the manor like a home, as well as on the Sunday nights that Beloved is not having dinner at Rosewood we need to clean up and clear out by 6:30 so that the Rosies can have dinner.  As Beloved gets closer to purchasing the manor the two communities will eventually merge together.

Q: What kind of future is being envisioned at Rosewood?

A: This is the really exciting part.  We are taking baby steps toward making Rosewood a greener, more sustainable space that can inspire others to do the same.  This could include starting an organic garden in the back yard, erecting a green house, developing a compost system, planting an orchard, weatherproofing the house, reducing waste production, and collecting rainwater.  The sustainable effort could continue to include collecting solar energy from the massive roof and recycling grey water… really the possibilities are endless.  This would also give us a platform from which to serve our neighborhood with family friendly classes, workshops, events and pea-patch space.

We will also continue to have a residential community living at Rosewood Manor that could help with some of the hospitality needs of the manor as we receive pilgrims, interns, and volunteers.  At the core would be a “Nu Monasticism” that takes the spirituality of the monastic traditions, like a rhythm of prayer, living simply, and commitment to a community, and then interprets them for ‘life in the real world’ for those who have ’secular’ careers and family.

And, of course, we will continue to be a really, really big house church – worshiping together, serving together, learning together, and playing together.  All of this happening under one roof – the outreach, the community, the Church of the Beloved at Rosewood Manor – where earth and heaven meet and mingle.  This gospel grace is the seed from which everything else grows.

Now all we need is you.  Who’s up for an adventure?