Northwest Portland Places of Worship

Northwest Portland is a well-trodden section of the city, with lots of attractions and lots of pedestrians. This walk looks at the neighborhood from the perspective of its religious institutions. This is not actually a "church" walk, because the route includes visits to three synagogues along with three churches, two cathedrals, two former churches (one of which is now a beer hall), three other religious sites, a site that has been the focus of religiously-themed protest, one public school that hosts a church on Sunday, and one beer hall that serves as a church on Sunday mornings!

The walk is three miles long, and is on flat terrain.

The Lucky Labrador Brew Pub provides a great starting and end point for this walk, with a chance to enjoy some fine libation before or after (or before and after) your exercise. However, the brew pub does have a tie to the theme of this walk. The Lucky Lab hosts Sunday meetings of the Evergreen Community, a non-traditional, non-denominational church. Although wine, not beer, is served at communion, parishioners have been known to have lunch with a fine Portland brew after the service.

From the Lucky Labrador, cross the street and go a little bit left, and you will see this new mid-block pedestrian path connecting Quimby and Pettygrove, built in association with the new DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital to the left. At Pettygrove, turn right and proceed to 20th Avenue, where you will turn left. Then turn right on Overton Street and left on 21st Avenue. 21st is a major thoroughfare in Northwest Portland. Between Lovejoy and Marshall Streets, on the left side, is the Parish of St. Mark.



The Parish of St. Mark is an Anglican parish, a member of a group called the Anglican Province of Christ the King. This is a breakaway group of Episcopal Parishes which left the Episcopal Church USA (of which Trinity Cathedral, later on the walk, is a member) in 1977. The reasons for the split had to do with 1) a change from and updating of the 1928 church prayer book, and 2) the approval of the ordination of women as Episcopal priests. Needless to say, the continued "progressive" movement of the Episcopal Church USA have not led this parish to think of returning to the fold, particularly recent changes regarding acceptance of homosexual priests and bishops, and same-sex blessings, by the Episcopal Church USA. As the church puts it on its website, "we do not dogmatically hold to the Traditional Anglican liturgy just because this is the way Anglicans have always worshipped, but because the Traditional Anglican liturgy buttresses and supports the clear and catholic teaching of Scripture."

St. Mark was built in the early 20th century. Unlike Episcopal Church USA parishes, it does not have red doors entering into the parish grounds. It does have this beautiful courtyard area, known as a Calvary Garden, with crucified Christ front and center. A mystery worshipper visited a service in 2006, and filed this report, generally positive.

At Lovejoy Street, turn right and proceed west. Between 21st and 23rd Avenues is the Good Samaritan Hospital complex of buildings. Good Samaritan opened its doors on this site in 1875, although the original buildings are long demolished. The hospital was founded by the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon. In 1989 it joined Emanuel Hospital in North Portland (founded by Oregon's Lutheran diocese) to form the Legacy Health System.


Continue on Lovejoy Street, crossing busy NW 23rd Avenue. The next two blocks have many beautiful old semi-mansions fronting the street, most built before World War I. At 25th Avenue, turn left. The Lovejoy Surgicenter, located at the southwest corner of 25th Avenue and Lovejoy Street, is an innocuous looking office building with an innocuous name. But this center has been the scene of vociferous protest from anti-abortion forces because it provides, among its many family planning and reproductive health services, surgical abortions. Activities by anti-abortion demonstrators at this site have led to a multi-million dollar civil judgment against the protesters and changes to state law protecting abortion clinics from overzealous protesters.



Go one block on 25th Avenue, and then turn left onto Kearney Street. On the left side of 25th (and then the left side of Kearney) is Shaarie Torah Synagogue. Shaarie Torah is a congregation founded in 1902. It's original home in South Portland was condemned for redevelopment in the 1950's, and a new synagogue built in 1960 was almost immediately condemned for construction of the I-405 freeway. This building, a stark modern structure, was opened for business in 1965. The congregation officially joined the Conservative Judaism movement in 2013. Conservative Judaism holds the middle ground theologically among the three main streams of American Jewish belief, between Orthodox and Reformed. This 2013 article provides information about the synagogue's declining membership (a problem for almost all of Portland's synagogues) and attempts to stem the tide.

Continue on Kearney Street. Between 24th and 23rd Avenues, you will come across this attractive Victorian style structure, home to the Portland chapter of the Theosophical Society. The website indicates that the Society hosts a weekly lecture series in the Spring and Fall. While Theosophy is a term that has been used for a couple of millennia, the Theosophical Society was founded in the U.S. in the late 19th century. While no particular religious beliefs are required, Theosophy requires adherence to what are called the Three Objects:
To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color.
To encourage the comparative study of religion, philosophy and science.

To investigate unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in humanity.

Continue on Kearney to 23rd Avenue, then turn right. Northwest 23rd is a very chi-chi commercial street, with numerous eateries, shops and other establishments. At the corner of 23rd and Kearney (left side of the street) is one of Portland's two Salt & Straw ice cream shops (the other is on NE Alberta). From its beginnings only 10 years ago in a food cart, Salt & Straw has become a favorite for its unique and delicious ice cream flavors, and always seems to have a line out the front of the store. Continue for three blocks on 23rd to Hoyt St. On the way you will pass another landmark Portland dessertery, Papa Haydn's, on the right.

At Hoyt Street, turn left. Two blocks later, at 21st Avenue, you will once again cross Northwest Portland's other major commercial thoroughfare. On your left is Cinema 21, the local theater, known for showing art house films. That may be changing, as "Jersey Boys" does not qualify as an art house film.



Continue across 21st Avenue on Hoyt to the corner of 20th Avenue. On the left is the William Temple House. The William Temple House was founded in 1965 by the Oregon Episcopal Diocese and the Parish of St. Mark to assist the disadvantaged and distressed in Portland with counseling and social service programs. It moved to this location in 1971. "This location" is the Mackenzie House, constructed in 1892 in the Richardson Romanesque style popular at the time, meant to be evocative of a romanticized medieval castle. It was the McKenzie family mansion until the 1920's, when it passed through different ownerships and was used for various purposes, including a speakeasy and boarding house. Then from 1946 to 1965 it served as the headquarters of Oregon's Jesuits (a Roman Catholic order of priests). William Temple was the Archbishop of Canterbury (leader of the Church of England) in the 1940's, and was known for promoting social justice in the world.

At 20th Avenue, turn right and proceed on the walkway between Couch Park to the left, and the Metropolitan Learning Center to the right. The Metropolitan Learning Center was constructed in 1913 as Couch Elementary School, and was converted into an alternative public K-12 school in 1965. It is also home on Sundays to the Agape Church of Christ. This church, which has two "branches" in Portland, was founded in 2007 with seed money from the Park Plaza Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is an openly evangelical church, with a mission to bring citizens of one of the most "unchurched" cities in the U.S. to Christianity.

The pathway between Couch Park and the Metropolitan Learning Center ends at Glisan Street. Across the street is Congregation Beth Israel. Beth Israel is a Reform Judaism Congregation, the most "liberal" of the three main branches of Judaism in the United States (but see discussion of the Havurah Shalom congregation later along the walk route). It is located in this beautiful neo-byzantine building, constructed in 1928, after the congregation's previous Moorish-style synagogue at SW 12th and Main Streets was destroyed by fire. The congregation's mission states "Beneath our dome is a spiritual home, a place of community and friendship, a place to be inspired through prayer, a place for lifelong learning, and a place where every person makes a difference." Cross Glisan Street, and go left 1/2 block to a stairway the leads up a slope into the Synagogue grounds. Walk through the open air plaza that separates the main Synagogue from ancillary buildings, and then go down the driveway to Flanders Street.

At Flanders Street, turn left and proceed down the street. The Beth Israel building is on your left. This beautiful doorway on the side of the building has an inscription in Hebrew above it, topped by impressive stained glass windows.



Turn right at NW 19th Avenue. Proceed one block to Everett Street. On your left is the Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center, home of the Northwest Children's Theater and School. However it began life in 1911 as a Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science), one of the first on the West Coast. The church was founded by Mary Baker Eddy in the late 19th century, and is best known for its belief that sickness can be cured by prayer alone. This was obviously a controversial doctrine, leading to quite a few prosecutions of parents for refusing medical assistance to their children. From 270,000 adherents in 1936, church membership has declined to about 100,000 today - leading to the dissolution of many congregations including this one. With another Christian Science Church located on the South Park Blocks about one mile away, there clearly was a surplus of Christian Science churches in the central area of Portland.

Cross Everett Street. To your right on the next block is Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The Cathedral was constructed in 1906, and is the largest Episcopal congregation in the Oregon diocese. The Episcopal church has a liturgy most like that of Roman Catholicism, and its "priests" are called "father." However, unlike the Roman church some of the priests could be called "mother," and Episcopal priests can marry (and as of June 2015 can now conduct same-sex weddings). Like the Roman Catholic organization, each Episcopal diocese has a bishop and most have a cathedral - this beautiful building was designated as the cathedral for Oregon in 1993. Note the red doors, which are found on all Episcopal churches and cathedrals in the United States. The main sanctuary is a spectacular interior space, and a beautiful courtyard is nestled between the buildings. The cathedral also boasts an excellent religious bookstore, open on Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 2 PM, and before and after Sunday services.

Continue on 19th to Couch Street, then turn left. Between 18th and 17th Avenues is St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The cathedral was constructed and opened in 1926. It is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, designed in an architectural style described as Twentieth Century Romanesque and Byzantine. The largest Christian denomination in the nation is well known to all. The adjoining Cathedral School, built in 1961, educates students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. The Portland archdiocese had a significant part in the ongoing scandal of priest sexual abuse over the past decade, actually filing for bankruptcy in 2004 in response to lawsuits for damages from victims of the abuse.

At 17th Avenue, turn left. Proceed four blocks to Glisan Street. On the corner of 17th and Glisan is our next stop. The McMenamin's Mission Theater and Pub has been showing movies and serving beer and food since 1987. It was the first of the McMenamin's movie/pub houses. But the building is much older - it was constructed in 1912 as the Swedish Tabernacle, a Protestant evangelical church. The congregation sold the tabernacle to the International Longshore Worker's Union, which used the building as a union hall until its sale in 1987 to the McMenamin brothers.

Continue north on 17th Avenue two more blocks to Irving Street. At the corner of 17th and Irving, on the right, is City Sanctuary, which has no clear identification of its purpose on the facade - in the fact the only way to tell it is a religious facility is a brochure stand with religious tracts visible in the window near the front door. City Sanctuary is a Mission of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The Sanctuary is not really a church with a congregation, it is an outreach mission to help those in Portland with both material and spiritual assistance. The Mission states, "our daily goal is to provide a place of safety; a refuge from life’s challenges and harsh realities. We believe that as followers of Christ we are called to love one another, to not judge, evaluate or criticize others. We value individuality and the freedom to live and express that individuality." The Seventh Day Adventist Church is a product of the Second Great Awakening in early 19th century America that produced the Millerite movement. The movement originally predicted the end of the world and the second coming of Christ in 1844, but when this didn't happen, the remaining members of the group (many left disappointed) revamped their theology to be less definite on a date for the second coming. Seventh Day Adventists are unique among Protestant sects for their celebration of the Sabbath on Saturday instead of Sunday. Seventh Day Adventists are encouraged to be vegetarians, and are also expected to follow dietary laws similar to those followed by Orthodox Jews. One of the most famous Adventists (and a major source of financial support for the church) was the founder of the Kellogg Cereal Company.

At Irving Street turn left and walk two blocks to 18th Avenue. At the corner of 18th and Irving, on your left, is the First Immanuel Lutheran Church. The church has been at this location, in this building, since 1906. The church began its life in 1879 at a downtown Portland location as a Swedish Lutheran Church, but is now a member of the ELCA, the largest and "mainline" Lutheran organization in the U.S. Lutherans, like Episcopalians, have a service that is most similar to the Roman Catholic liturgy among Protestant sects, emphasizing traditional communion. The ELCA Synod in Oregon has as its head a bishop, similar in form to Roman Catholic and Episcopal bishops. The Synod was the founder of Emanuel Hospital in North Portland, and has its main offices on the hospital grounds. The congregation is a Reconciling in Christ church, and states that "we welcome people of every race, ethnic background, social status, physical limitation, sexual orientation and gender identity."

Turn right on 18th Avenue and go one block to Johnson Street, where you will turn right again. After one block on Johnson turn left on 17th Street. On your left will be the Havurah Shalom synagogue, located in two old warehouses that were tastefully renovated in 1998 for the congregation's use. Havurah Shalom is a Portland branch of Reconstructionist Judaism. This branch of the faith was founded in the mid-20th century in the United States, and has a very "progressive" approach to religious belief, asserting that traditional Jewish theology must be modified to reflect humankind's advances in philosophy, science, and history. There are over 100 reconstructionist congregations in the United States. Havurah Shalom was founded in 1978. Here is how the congregation's culture is described on its website: "Our overall community is progressive, intellectual, honest, egalitarian, and embracing of diversity. We include many interfaith families and people of various ethnic backgrounds and income groups. We are queer-friendly, and the congregation includes members in a wide range of professions."

Proceed north along 17th Avenue, past the Portland streetcar tracks on Lovejoy and Northrup Streets, all the way to Raleigh Street. Turn left on Raleigh, and then right on 18th Avenue. At the corner of 18th and Savier Street is St. Patrick Catholic Church. This beautiful building is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Portland, founded in 1889, although the interior was not completed until 1914. The church is affiliated with the St. John Society, a new (established in 2001) order of evangelical priests which began in Argentina. An interesting affiliation in light of the ascension to the Holy See of the Argentinian Pope Francis. The building itself is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Backtrack one block on 18th Avenue back to Raleigh, and then continue south one block to Quimby Street. Turn right, and you will return to your starting point at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub.