It’s Sunday, so I figured it’s a good time to visit the film location for the church seen in The Missing Pieces of Twin Peaks – Fire Walk With Me. It’s a brief scene but one that appears in the script for Lynch’s feature film.
CHURCH LOCATION
The Church is located at 4326 337th Place SE in Fall City, Washington and the approximate coordinates are 47°33’58.7″N 121°53’27.6″W.
The building is located near to other Twin Peaks film location such as The Roadhouse, The Bookhouse, or Hap’s Diner.
THE MISSING PIECES
As mentioned, this establishing shot appears in , which is placed after the scene at The Pink Room / The Power and the Glory bar in Canada.
137.    EXT. TWIN PEAKS CHURCH – SUNDAY MORNING
On the screen it reads:
“SUNDAY – FOUR DAYS BEFORE”
FOLKS filing out of church. A COUPLE strolling down the sidewalk.
A happy dog bounds about.
Of course, the shot and the “X Days Before” titles don’t appear in the final film.
CHURCHES IN TWIN PEAKS
It’s also interesting to note that there isn’t United Methodist Church in Twin Peaks according to the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town” (pages 100-101):
- Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (attended by Palmers, Briggs and Jennings’ families)
- Catholic Christ the King Church (attended by Hurleys, Polaskis and Packards)
- The Third Baptist Church of Black Lake
- Twin Peaks Episcopal where Reverend Clarence Brocklehurst leads Sunday Service (and attended by the Hurleys and Hornes). Â Reverend Brocklehurst was the one who baptized Laura Palmer and presided over her funeral in Episode 1003.
The script mentions that a happy dog bounds about. There is a dog but I don’t believe he is “bounding” anywhere while attached to his owner’s leash.
Here is a look at the church during my brief visit on September 14, 2019.
HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
According to the Fall City United Methodist Church website, the community now known as Fall City United Methodist Church, “began in August 1885 when Andrew J. McNamee (a.k.a. Brother Mac) came to the area to serve as minister. At the time, there were only 12 families living in Fall City!”
Thanks to the Fall City Historical Society, which is located adjacent to the church, we have a look at Brother Mac. I love the Historical Societies in the Washington State region as they are wonderful resources for my research.
The Fall City Historical Society had two additional photos of the church before it was moved to its current location. The top image is the church in the 1920s.
The bottom image is Gertrude Satterlee and children: Georgia May, Julia Jane, Charles, and Emma Jean from May 1926. The photograph was taken looking west on Third St. The group is pictured standing next to the FC Methodist Church before it was moved to its current location.
CHURCH SIGN
Notice that church sign is in a different spot today.
Most likely the crew covered the words “Fall City” as the sign appears to be similar to the actual sign.
Another look at the sign from my visit on September 14, 2019.
The church posted this lovely photo of their Facebook page.
Since 2007, the Fall City Community Food Pantry has operated out of the church and has helped to “promote and advocate solutions to address poverty and hunger in the Snoqualmie Valley.” The work they do is incredibly important to the region and they have an ongoing need for food, donations and volunteers.
