Northlake was founded in 1961, when Lola Reynolds, Betty Jirucha, and Ellen Hanly, members of Eastshore UU in Bellevue, began thinking and talking to each other about having a church closer to where they lived. They envisioned a liberal fellowship to serve Kirkland and the northern shore of Lake Washington.

Twelve couples met and drafted the first bylaws. Northlake’s first home was rented space at the Cadle Theatre at Lake Washington High School. The first service was on April 21, 1961. The official charter for Northlake Unitarian Fellowship was issued by the Unitarian Universalist Association on May 15, 1961. It was the very first charter issued after the merger of the Unitarian and Universalist denominations.

Northlake purchased its first building on First Street in downtown Kirkland in November, 1962. It was a former mortuary. From the beginning, Northlake has had a knack for a spirit of renewal, breathing new life into an unexpected space with a touch of humor. We also acquired a parcel of land in Juanita. The church community included 27 adults and 43 children, quickly becoming a trusted place for religious education and intergenerational connection.

In 1965 we hired our first minister, Rev. Ralph Mero, who was part time. Under his leadership Northlake took on social justice causes, such as remodeling houses for minority families.

By 1971, Northlake’s membership grew enough for the church to purchase a rental property and its passion for education reform continued to take shape. Northlakers supported creating two child-centered schools, the Community School and Northstar Middle School, to help youth develop a strong sense of inherent worth.

While the congregation was energized by investing in children’s futures, finding consensus on social justice causes was challenging amid rapid social change. The sexual revolution sparked painful family struggles as traditional views on relationships were questioned, and the church’s religious education program began to wane. Financial difficulties, worsened by layoffs at a major local employer (Boeing), led to the resignation of the minister at the start of the decade.

During the 70s, Northlake became a lay-led fellowship once again and eventually sold its Juanita property to fund an upgrade to its sanctuary. In a time of cultural restlessness and a questioning of traditional authority, the congregation found unity as members rallied together to remodel the building. The community bonded over numerous do-it-yourself projects during this “ministry-vacant” period, and its leadership became actively involved in the denomination’s national and regional initiatives. A renewal also took place among adults who attended the denomination’s Leadership School, strengthening the church’s collective vision and commitment to learn how to adapt to change. 

In the late 1970s, Rev. Patrick Thomas Aquinas O’Neill gave a memorable sermon as a guest speaker. The congregation loved it and hired Patrick to return for guest speaking. Then in the fall of 1979, the congregation hired Patrick as our second minister, also on a part-time basis. His ministry energized the community, adding more spirituality and more music. His preaching “packed the house.” Membership grew from 80 to 120 in one year. He encouraged work for social justice, and we housed a Vietnamese refugee family in a church rental house. We also  supported a nearby UU church providing sanctuary for other refugee families. For several years, Northlake also hosted the Kirkland Food Bank until the space became too small to accommodate it. Religious education once again became important, and we hired our first paid religious education director.  The first Northlake choir formed, and enthusiastically took on musical challenges and its growing music ministry helped the church find its singing voice.

Rev. O’Neill resigned in 1985, and we hired Rev. Mary Scriver as an interim minister. In 1986 we asked Rev. Michael Hennon to be minister, but he proved not a good fit and resigned a year later. After another lay-led period, in 1989 or 1990, we invited Rev. Barbara Morgan to be minister. Membership increased from the low 80s to 130, the church school was full, and two services were held weekly. During Rev. Morgan’s tenure, we changed our name to Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church.

During 1993 and 1994, the church sold its First Street property to the city of Kirkland, and bought the current building on State Street from the Lutherans. While the congregation thrived through building projects to renovate their new home, the church struggled to sustain its membership, and its large mortgage became a burden. Due to financial constraints, the church was unable to continue supporting a minister’s full-time position, leading to their resignation. As a result, the church transitioned to a lay-led ministry as it embraced the changes of the 21st century.

We became lay-led again and hired Rev. Roger Smith as a quarter-time minister. We created a task force to move us toward strengthening the liberal religious presence in the city. This group’s work established clear values and goals, with priorities and a timeline to achieve them. After completing this process, Rev. Amanda Aikman was contracted quarter-time for the next four years.

In 2005, we acquired what is now the Northlake chapel, a structure with a complicated history. The chapel was built in 1938 by the Lutheran church then on the property. Then in 1964 the Lutherans built a larger church, and sold the chapel building to a funeral home a few blocks south. But then in 1996 that site was sold to a developer. 

In 2005, the developer offered the chapel building to Northlake. The building was free, but we had to pay to physically move it to our site, and we had to construct a new foundation. It would have been cost prohibitive to bring the chapel building up to current codes, but the building was deemed eligible for historic landmark status, which made the project viable. 

Many of our current members have stories about the chapel project. Members devoted thousands of volunteer hours to it, and the church community was strengthened in the process. Today we rent the chapel building to several tenant organizations, and we use it for our religious education program on Sundays.

In 2008, the congregation invited Rev. Marian Stewart to serve as full-time minister. During her tenure membership increased from 92 to 161, and the number of children in RE grew from 25 to 60. We prioritized a strong religious education program, including adding “Lifespan” religious education when hiring our current religious education director, Margaret Rogers. 

In the 2010s, Northlake strengthened its social justice heart. The church deepened its connections with interfaith groups in the Kirkland area and became actively engaged in activism. Northlake members worked alongside the state of Washington to legalize same-sex marriage and secure equal rights for LGBTQIA+ individuals. They also organized vigils to protest U.S. immigration policy and show support for families at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.

Rev. Jim VanderWeele was hired as interim minister in the summer of 2017, and served until the summer of 2019. He was an invaluable guide, who steered the congregation through a reflective journey, helping us create our congregational covenant, which defines our common values and priorities. Northlake returning to its long standing passion for supporting affordable housing. The church constructed a tiny house for an unhoused family and provided a safe overnight shelter for families facing housing insecurity.

In August, 2019, Reverend Nancy Reid-McKee came to Northlake. She joined us with a goal to grow our social justice programs.

Six months later, the first cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. were diagnosed in Kirkland. We quickly moved Northlake activities online, figuring out how to offer all of our programs remotely. While this was a traumatic event, the strong relationships within Northlake helped keep the church steady. During the building’s closure, Northlake made improvements to its facilities and, upon resuming in-person activities, prioritized accessibility by offering multi-platform gatherings. We continue to offer hybrid services, and offer meetings and activities both in-person and online.

Under Rev. Nancy’s leadership Northlake restructured our governance to prioritize transparency and widen participation. We voted to adopt the 8th principle, which addresses racism and other systemic oppressions.

The church also led vision circles to explore the future of its ministry and deepened its commitment to racial justice, joining a grassroots movement to honor the Duwamish Tribe for their stewardship of the land.

In the 2023 – 24 church year, we were also joined by Rev. Kimberly Quinn-Johnson, who offered monthly sermons remotely from New York. Part of Rev. Kimberly Quinn-Johnson‘s mission with us is to help us understand the 8th principle and revisions of Article 2 of our Unitarian Universalist Association bylaws. These address our shared values, and place love at the center of our faith.

In spring of 2024, Rev. Nancy chose to retire, and a search team was formed for an interim minister. Rev. Brigitta Vieyra, MDiv, MA, joined Northlake in August of 2024 to serve as an interim minister.

This article draws from input from Ellen Hanly, Kim Convertino, Laurence Fennema, and many others.