Vashon welcomed two new pastors to island churches this summer and fall — Patricia Longstroth at Vashon United Methodist Church and Meredith Harmon at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit.

Both came to the island to take on their new roles, and both expressed joy for the place – and community – they have found.

Across the street and just south of Snapdragon, the United Methodist Church has new leadership in Patricia Longstroth, who was appointed in July. She comes to the island from Auburn, Washington, where she served at a local church.

Longstroth, when she preaches, wears a rainbow stole to symbolize LGBTQ+ inclusion and pride. That reflects changes in the United Methodist conference overall: At the 2024 United Methodist Church General Conference, the denomination removed language from its Book of Discipline that had previously excluded and condemned gay individuals.

“God created us all in love,” Longstroth said. “Our focus is on love, not judgement.”

Longstroth transitioned to the ministry after working as an elementary school teacher. She’s also served as a hospice chaplain.

After her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and entered hospice care, Longstroth recalled meeting a hospice chaplain who brought immense care and comfort to their family.

“When he was there, we could just sense the loving presence of God,” Longstroth said. “Seeing how this hospice chaplain brought so much care, love and comfort to the family truly inspired me to go into the ministry.”

One of her favorite aspects of the Methodist Church, she said, is its balance of the “head and the heart.”

“We don’t want you to check your brain at the door when you come in for worship,” she said. “We want to engage the mind … be reflective as we study scripture, as we think about what it means to be a person of faith.”

One of her favorite parts of scripture is Proverbs 3:4, which reminds her to look beyond her own goals and expectations and to stop and listen for God’s guidance on what she should do, she said.

Longstroth joins the congregation in a time of evolution for Vashon’s Methodist church and for the Methodist congregation at large.

The Methodist Church has opened its space to Vashon Youth and Family Services and other local community groups over the years, as it finds itself with more space than its congregation is necessarily using.

“There’s a church like ours in every community in America,” senior pastor Mark Wagner told The Beachcomber in December. “A small church that’s dwindling in size, that has a multimillion-dollar property in the center of a community that (is) asking the same question: What do we do with this?”

Encouraging faith organizations to partner with social service organizations is mutually beneficial and means the church can fulfill its mission to support the community, Methodist Church leaders say.

The church also has installed an electric vehicle charging station and solar panels as part of its commitment to sustainability.

Longstroth moved to Vashon with her husband this summer and said that while she’s still exploring the island, she already loves it here.

“The beauty here is incredible and the people are so wonderful,” she said.

Longstroth has served at many churches, but she finds Vashon special because of the strong relationships between the island’s congregations. For Christmas Eve, all island churches will collaborate to stagger services, allowing islanders the opportunity to attend more than one.

“No matter who our elected officials are, we are here to care for and serve with persons who are vulnerable,” Longstroth said. “No matter who is in leadership in the world, we will be out there doing our part to love and serve our neighbors.”

Church of The Holy Spirit pastor Meredith Harmon. (Alex Bruell photo)

At the Church of the Holy Spirit, just north of SW 156th Street along Vashon Highway, the congregation gathers under soft natural light and the sight of the lush greenery of pine trees outside, cast over the pews from floor-to-ceiling glass. When Meredith Harmon first saw the church, she was struck by its beauty.

After the church’s two-year search process, Harmon began her role as pastor at the Church of the Holy Spirit in early September.

A mother of three, Harmon hails from the small town of Omro, Wisconsin, with a population of just a few thousand. She moved from Wisconsin with her family to take on her new role at the Church of the Holy Spirit — and she doesn’t miss the midwestern winters.

“I love gray,” Harmon said, referring to the seemingly-perpetual cloud cover that blankets Vashon and much of the Pacific Northwest this time of year. “I don’t shovel gray.”

This is Harmon’s first official role as pastor. She was raised in a household that was more spiritual than traditional, though her father was affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

“It was always a place that felt dependable,” she said, “(where) God is eternal and the rest of chaos can be chaos.”

Harmon distanced herself from organized religion as a teenager, troubled by people who identified as Christians but displayed judgmental attitudes and behaviors that she felt contradicted the faith with which she grew up.

But eventually, Harmon realized she had allowed others to define her understanding of Christianity.

“It’s about love, not judgement,” she said.

Harmon felt called to find purpose through seminary, and eventually earned a scholarship to Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, marking the beginning of her journey toward working in ministry.

Serving at the Episcopal church on the island, Harmon has sensed that the congregation is “earnestly engaged” and identifies more as “seekers” than “knowers.” This approach, she says, reflects her own upbringing in a family of seekers, a value she deeply cherishes.

Harmon said she values the “guardrails” and liturgy the Episcopal tradition provides. Its hierarchical structure, overseen by bishops and adhered to set doctrinal teachings, contributes to these safeguards, she said, offering a more consistent and structured approach to ministry.

“There are a lot of folks who find comfort in the structure of the Episcopal tradition, especially those who’ve been wounded by other religious spaces,” Harmon said.

One of her favorite Biblical passages is Matthew 23:37, which details Jesus’ last public ministry to the people of Jerusalem.

This section of the Bible, which Harmon said portrays God in a feminine light – guarding and guiding her “hens” – is a stark contrast to the traditional male-centric translations typical of Biblical interpretation, she said. Harmon said she appreciates that this verse emphasizes God’s protective care rather than authority.

“She sings to me,” Meredith said of that verse.

Alex Bruell photo