On April 3rd, 1960, Fr. Dennis Bennett, the Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California, preached on the Pentecostal Movement and told how he himself spoke in tongues. It made Time and Newsweek as well as national TV news, creating such controversy in his parish that within three weeks he had submitted his resignation.
In his book Nine O’clock in the Morning Dennis shared the scripture reading for the feast of St. Mark, Ecclesiastes 51:13-22: My heart was troubled in seeking her (wisdom): therefore have I gotten a good possession. The Lord hath given me a tongue for my reward, and I will praise Him therewith.
At the urging of a priest friend, Dennis wrote to the Episcopal Bishops in Portland and Seattle and each said they would be happy to talk with him. In June he told his story to Bishop William Lewis who responded as written in Nine O’clock in the Morning (p 67):
“Look, Dennis, what about coming to this diocese? Bring the fire with you! I have a mission out in the Ballard area, St. Luke’s. It’s never gotten off the ground in the last sixty years. I’ve got to do something or close it up. Would you like to go out and look over the situation?”
If you are not familiar with the story of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ballard, do yourself a favor and read Nine O’clock in the Morning. During the next seven years many Seattle Catholics slipped into the Friday night meetings at St. Luke’s to hear about Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Some Catholics (including nuns, priests, and seminarians) received the release of the Holy Spirit on a Friday night in Ballard. Fr. Dennis Bennett’s efforts to integrate the Pentecostal experience into the Episcopal Church mark the beginnings of the Pentecostal movement in mainline Protestant denominations.
Catholic Pentecostals 1967
The beginning of the Catholic Pentecostal movement started at Duquesne University with a small group of students. Patti Gallagher Mansfield’s book, As by a New Pentecost, tells the story of the Renewal’s earliest years. After spreading to the Notre Dame campus, it wasn’t long before things really started to happen in Seattle. Some of the youth from Blessed Sacrament Parish, where Fr. Joseph Fulton was pastor, attended the Friday night gathering at St. Luke’s. So Fr. Fulton had heard something about St. Luke’s when a mutual friend brought him and Fr. Dennis Bennett together. In his book, Dennis shares his meeting with Fr. Fulton:
“Early in 1968 we met Fr. Fulton. He heard with great interest our experience of the Holy Spirit and His gifts, but that was as far as the matter went at that time. Then, a month or two later, I received a call from Fr. Fulton. “Dennis, can you come over to St. Thomas Seminary tomorrow? Fr. McNutt, a Dominican monk, claims to have the same experience that you have. He wants to meet you!” “You bet I could!” I met Fr. McNutt and found he had been praying with some local clergy, and several had received the Holy Spirit. Fr. Fulton had been sitting in a corner listening to all that was going on and he too, quietly began to speak in tongues.” (p. 185)
After Fr. McNutt and Fr. Bennett’s ministering at St. Thomas Seminary, a weekly prayer meeting of about twenty priests started.
The First Prayer Meeting in a Catholic Church
In March of 1969, Fr. Fulton started the Blessed Sacrament Prayer Meeting in the church basement. Meetings of over one hundred people from all walks of life—hippies from the University District and professional people from Laurelhurst—became the bright lights in the area, drawing many people to the new experience of the Holy Spirit. We owe much to the faithfulness of these leaders, and others throughout our area, who have continued to provide a place to participate in dynamic “praise and worship” and to discern and develop various charisms of the Holy Spirit.
Resurrection Community
In 1970, Gerard Frederick, a graduate of St. Martin’s in Olympia, became involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR). In 1972, he was a co-founder of the Resurrection Covenant Community. The community started a prayer meeting at St. Joseph’s in Seattle where they provided Introduction Nights of CCR, Life in the Spirit Seminars, and Growth Seminars. By 1974, the meeting was moved to St. Patrick’s where Resurrection Community became the focal point for Catholic Charismatic Renewal in western Washington.
As a member of the National Advisory Committee, Gerard saw the need for support for the leadership of the many prayer groups. He called the leaders together and helped form the Area Service Committee. During this time, Fr. Leo Thomas, another Dominican who impacted the Renewal in the Northwest, moved to Seattle from the San Francisco area and became a member of the Area Service Committee. Fr. Leo also served as the Bishop’s Liaison to Charismatic Renewal. His gentle ways, sound teaching, pastor’s heart and continuous support brought much needed credibility to the Renewal.
Gerard died March 31, 1975, leaving the Resurrection Community in the hands of Colin LaVergne and Chuck Johnston. Shortly after this, after much prayer and discernment, Colin announced that he and some of the members of Resurrection would move to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and join a larger covenant community. Resurrection Community eventually was disbanded here.
WWCCR Office Opens
At a leaders meeting in 1977, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen suggested that the prayer groups develop an organization to provide structure and resources to the growing movement. In the summer of 1977, Fr. Leo Thomas asked Larry Monuteaux if he would be willing to set up an office for charismatic renewal as Archbishop Hunthausen had suggested. Larry agreed and was joined by Pat Corwin in a search for affordable office space. In September 1977 they rented a storeroom and one of the music rooms in the basement of St. Thomas Seminary.
Months of hard work by the Area Service Committee were needed to write up the Corporate Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. (Subsequently we applied for and received non-profit status from the IRS.) Finally, on November 4, 1977, all the proper documents were filed with the State of Washington and we officially became Western Washington Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Written by Pat Corwin. Pat has been involved in Charismatic Renewal since the early meetings at Resurrection Community. For more than twenty years, she ran the WWCCR bookstore. Pat was also a member of the National Advisory Committee for many years. Pat is a parishioner at St. Brendan’s Parish in Bothell, WA.