A small group of roughly one dozen islanders, some who belong to churches and others who don’t, have been meeting for months to brainstorm about issues facing the community and how island churches, collectively, can help.

The group is aptly named the Interfaith Brainstormers and is headed by islander Bev Skeffington. The group consists of members of a variety of faiths (Jewish, Buddhist, Quaker, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian and Methodist), as well as those from the community who do not align with any established religions. Skeffington said the brainstormers meet “for mutual support and cooperation on spiritual events on Vashon, and we strongly desire to make our presence known in our community.” Currently, they are working to bring back the community sunrise Easter service at Camp Burton that will feature pastors from multiple island churches.

“Why have three different services with only six people attending? We are trying not to exhaust ourselves and pool our resources,” she said.

This fact of dwindling numbers at churches not just on Vashon, but nationally, is a large part of the reason for the group’s formation. Indeed, many island churches have been in transition in the past year as pastors have left and interim ones have begun or replacements have not been found. Currently, there is an interim pastor at the Presbyterian church that will be replaced with a permanent pastor on April 9. The Episcopal church is also in transition.

“With all of this interim, we started to feel that pastors come and go, but the people in the congregation are always there,” Skeffington, who has been attending the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches for many years, said. “Attendance is dwindling, and we should pool resources so there’s less struggle.”

She stressed that the group is not trying to blend churches or religions together, but is uniting in an effort to collaborate for the betterment of the community.

Paul Mitchell, pastor at Vashon’s United Methodist Church, said the group collaborated to help shelter the homeless during freezing nights, offering up churches as warm places to stay and volunteers such as himself to look over those staying overnight.

“We’re building community,” Mitchell said. “My mission field is Vashon and I serve that through the Methodist Church, but not just through the congregation, also through the community.”

In addition to the shelters during the winter, the group also held gatherings on Election Night and Thanksgiving, as well as combined congregations for a Christmas Day service, similar to the one being planned for Easter. Skeffington said it’s all about interfaith cooperation.

Mitchell agrees, and said it’s in the island’s history.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve enjoyed going to the open services at the Havurat. There is a long history of interfaith cooperation,” he said.

Islander Erin Durrett, a member of the Zen Center and the Episcopal church, said she wants to bridge the gap between the Christian population and the larger community.

“I think there’s a slow revolution going on here in a spiritual sense, particularly for the Christian population,” she said. “We’re doing our best to cope with the realities that we’ve lost touch with the larger community and have to be more open and inclusive with each other.”

Ultimately, John Skeffington, Bev’s husband, said the cooperation may require change, which can be hard for churches, as they rely heavily on traditions and attitudes of the past.

“It’s our task to change and be involved in the future, not cling to the past,” he said.

Get involved

The Interfaith Brainstormers meet monthly. The group’s next meeting will be at noon Tuesday, April 25, at the Presbyterian church. All are welcome.

The Camp Burton community sunrise Easter service will take place at 6:30 a.m.