It is unfortunate that so many of our neighborhood's church communities are dwindling or up-and-moving. I like the idea of church, but I don't intend to go, so I guess I'm part of that problem.
At work I get to pore over chapter and verse of another Good Book. Thumbing through Seattle's Land Use Code, my most common question is, "What's the use?" Sometimes it's exasperation, but usually it's a necessary exercise — to figure out how best to characterize what somebody wants to do with their property.
In this case, NWFCO is correctly identified as an institutional use. And as an institution, they're accurately described as a community center. They may not operate exactly like RVCC or the RCC, but the definition fits. Read it for yourself.
This is change — I imagine fewer people will be going through the church doors. But I don't understand the concern that this might significantly change the historic district.