A Historic Peace Church

Seattle First Baptist has a long history of thought, preaching and action focused on making peace in our world. Here are a few examples of the people who have made SFBC a “peace church.”

Dr. Elmer Fridell served as pastor from 1929-1937. After service in the army in World War I, he became a pacifist, determined to preach peace and justice forever. Often branded as a Communist by outside groups (and even by some in our own Baptist denomination), SFBC stood by him and his leadership in efforts to achieve world peace.

Pastor Harold Jensen served SFBC from 1938-1954. Jensen identified as a pacifist during World War II, but did not recommend it to others because he said it was “too uncomfortable these days.” With Jensen’s guidance, members of SFBC reached out to our Japanese-American neighbors, who were removed from Seattle and moved to internment camps. His courageous stand was not popular, and some in the church wanted to send him away. The matter was settled when one of the deacons stood up and said quietly, “This is a Baptist church. If Harold believes it, then he can preach it.”

Alice Franklin Bryant, a woman whose concern for peace began in a Japanese prison camp, actually challenged popular Senator Henry M. Jackson for his seat, campaigning with the slogan, “Military strength will not win world peace.” Although she lost, she continued her work, saying, “Wild horses couldn’t stop me working for peace.” Charles Z. Smith, president of the congregation at the time, said,”Mrs. Bryant is our dormant conscience speaking out for justice and peace.”

The Honorable Charles Z. Smith lived a full life centered on peacemaking. He served as a justice on the Washington State Supreme Court and former associate dean of the University of Washington Law School, and received the 2005 Dahlberg Peace Award–an award given to an outstanding American Baptist who has shown a deep commitment to peace and justice. Smith’s story of his journey from soldier to peacemaker moved the crowd to tears when he received the award in Denver. He told of the profound influence that Alice Franklin Bryant and the peacemaking tradition of Seattle First Baptist Church had on him, including the transforming experience of taking his grandchild to Hiroshima to see the memorials to the atomic bomb’s destruction and the memorials to peace. He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and also assisted Vietnamese lawyers who fled to the United States. He and his wife Eleanor were awarded the 2013 Janet G. Newell Award for Community Service from Companis.