During the last three decades, Rev. Kirby Unti has offered his congregants and all of Renton thousands of words of hope, encouragement and solace.
He has blessed newlyweds, babies and the emergency room at Valley Medical Center. He has seen what makes Renton special, even sacred. He has led his congregants and the community in times of mourning.
Now, it’s time to say something to Kirby Unti:
Thank you.
Unti, pastor for 33 years of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in the Highlands, was elected in May as bishop of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
He indicated he hopes to remain a trustee of Renton Technical College.
Sunday, Renton can say goodbye to Unti and his wife Kim at a church reception, 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m., following the worship service at 10 a.m., and at a community reception, 1-4 p.m. at Luther’s Table, 419 S. Second St.
Remembering Unti’s service to Renton would take time. That service is vast and for which in 2007 he was honored as Renton’s Citizen of the Year.
Unti has helped build Renton and his church since the day he and Kim arrived in Renton – Sunday, May 18, 1980, the day that Mount St. Helens erupted. They’re no earthly rumblings expected this Sunday; but this being summer, the heavens may open with a few tears.
For sure, Unti was called upon when we wanted to celebrate and appreciate what made Renton a special place.
He gave the invocation when Valley Medical Center’s new Emergency Services Tower opened in January 2010, calling it a place of “great healing” and “compassion.”
“I want you to know we are standing on sacred ground,” he said.
And when disaster struck closer to home, Unti and his church opened their doors. As they often do, floods struck the Cedar River in January 2009. Thirty or so residents of the Cedar Grove Mobile Home Park took shelter there, one of just two Red Cross shelters open in the county.
It was difficult to say goodbye in June 2011 to Salvation Army Captains Terry and Rutendo Masango, who like the Untis made a difference in the lives of their church and their community.
Unti was there to help.
The Masangos got a standing ovation when he asked, “Do we love the Masangos?”
Sounds like a good question to ask on Sunday about the Untis.
