New pastor took the long, winding path to find his place in Maltby
Published 7:11 pm Friday, August 7, 2015
MALTBY — He took a long road to find his calling.
The Rev. Thomas C. Sorenson was installed as pastor of the historic First Congregational Church of Maltby in July.
Before becoming a minister, Sorenson, 68, earned a doctorate in imperial Russian history from the University of Washington. Since jobs in that field were few and far between, he then got a law degree from the University of Oregon.
Sorenson made his living practicing law for many years in Seattle, and later opened his own practice in Edmonds.
“But there was something else God was calling me to do,” he said.
In 1997, Sorenson started studying theology in a master’s degree program at Seattle University. He was ordained as a United Church of Christ minister in 2002, just before his wife died of breast cancer.
“She said to me, ‘I’m so glad you finally found who you are,’” he said. “That was the turning point in my life when I figured out who I am and what God wants me to be doing.”
Sorenson took a job in ministry at the Monroe Congregational Church in 2003. Eventually, he married Jane, one of his classmates from Seattle University who is now pastor at the Monroe church.
During his time in Monroe, Sorenson saw attendance at Sunday services swell from about 40 to 70.
“People will come and stay when they find something they aren’t finding anywhere else,” he said.
Sorenson published his book, “Liberating Christianity: Overcoming Obstacles to Faith in the New Millennium,” in 2008. He plans to publish another book in the future.
He also wants to grow the small congregation of fewer than two dozen in Maltby.
The church belongs to the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, which allows decisions to be made by congregations instead of an institutional hierarchy. The group’s roots can be traced back to the Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620.
“We’re the church of the Pilgrims and the Puritans,” Sorenson said.
The white church and steeple was built in Maltby in 1903. It stands next to the popular Maltby Cafe.
Sorenson invites questions and different ideas about Christianity into the church.
“We have a very broad range of opinions about the faith, from people who are very conservative to those who are very progressive,” he said. “That’s part of the tradition.”
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com.
