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Diocese of Olympia Rocks and Rolls thru Ash Wednesday Earthquake

Episcopal News Service. March 7, 2001 [2001-52]

Dede Dunn, Editor of the Episcopal Voice, the diocesan newspaper in the Diocese of Olympia

(ENS) "We're having an earthquake," said my sister, who lives about 60 miles southwest of Seattle. A split second later my office in Seattle began to rock and roll and I could hear an ominous rumbling. "So are we." Click, the line went dead. Stories such as this are being shared all across western Washington as people talk about the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 28. "Where were you when the quake hit," has become a familiar conversation starter.

The quake was centered 11 miles northeast of Olympia, the capital of the state of Washington. It was caused by a shift in the Juan de Fuca plate, located 30 miles beneath the earth's surface. The quake was felt as far away as Salt Lake City and Alaska. The western part of the state has been declared a disaster area, with damage estimates running into the billions of dollars.

Episcopal congregations in the Diocese of Olympia, which encompasses all of western Washington (from the British Columbia border in the north to the Oregon border in the south, and from the Cascade mountains in the east to the Pacific ocean in the west), have also been affected by the quake.

The diocesan office has been in contact with most of its 104 congregations. Sixteen congregations have reported some minor to moderate damage, from fallen masonry and bricks to cracks in walls and stained glass windows, to broken processional crosses or paschal candles. Whether or not the cracks are in load-bearing walls is yet to be determined.

The diocesan offices, located in Seattle, suffered slight damage with some cracked plaster and apparently superficial cracks in walls and ceilings. One chimney on the historic house has a large crack where the top third of the chimney separated from the building.

Trinity Church, Seattle, one of the oldest parishes in the diocese, suffered significant damage to the sanctuary. According to rector Paul Collins, "the extent of the damage is not yet known but daylight can be seen through several cracks in the walls and ceiling." The sanctuary has been closed, Ash Wednesday afternoon and evening services were cancelled, and the congregation is in the process of moving needed items into the parish house so that services can resume on Sunday.

At St. Mark's Cathedral, three doors south of Diocesan House, the building itself was not damaged but the world-famous Flentrop organ suffered considerable damage. "The main organ case holding hundreds of pipes was pulled several inches from the wall," said the Very Rev. Robert V. Taylor, dean of St. Mark's. "Several parts of the organ had broken loose within the case and crushed many pipes." The costs associated with repairing the instrument are estimated at $150,000 to $250,000, and repairs may continue through the end of the year. Ash Wednesday services did go on as planned, but without the organ; hymns were sung a cappella. Across the parking lot at the Cathedral Shop, nothing was damaged or even fell off the shelves.

[Click here for a list of churches damaged by the earthquake]

[thumbnail: Diocesan House exterior:...] [thumbnail: Trinity Church, Seattle,...]