Jedi Alliance started as a passion for collecting, which became an arcade that is now a nationally recognized legal church.
It started with store owner Tyler Arnold, who developed a hobby for collecting.
“It was a natural progression into ‘what is the craziest thing you can collect that you’re not supposed to have…because who can’t collect an action figure?’,” Arnold said.
When Arnold decided to move his belongings into a physical location, he encountered issues with the building.
“When we bought [this] building, it just happened to be stuck in this zoning conundrum,” Arnold said. “The city wouldn’t allow it to be used as a commercial building because it was used as a church and the zoning changed for the neighborhood. So we accidentally started one of the only physical star wars churches on the planet.”
According to Washington law, WAC 458-16-190, churches have the right to charge a fee to enter, as long as everything inside is free, and the building is operated as any other church would.
Arnold explains that the Jedi religion was created before the establishment even opened, solidifying his church as a legal church.
“It was either Australia or the United Kingdom,” Arnold said. “They did a census, and asked what your religion was? People didn’t know what to put, so hundreds of thousands of people were putting ‘Jedi’.” In 2017 the US government released an executive order to protect religious freedom, this bolstered the power of the largest churches, but also provided protections for religions like Jediism. Arnold has faced criticism from skeptics, questioning whether the Jedi name can be branded to a church building, or whether it even classifies at all. Despite this, Arnold has plenty of arguments proving the legitimacy of the Jedi religion.
“People put me on the spot all the time, asking how this is a church,” Arnold said. “Well for one, we congregate. We have a positive message, and we use what we do for good.” Jedi alliance is less of an arcade and more of a church that is dedicated to providing a safe space for members of the community to come together, which just so happens to be a massive collection that doubles as an arcade.
“We have been getting together every Sunday for 10 years,” Arnold said. “The difference between my church and most churches is that we do not require you to denounce your other religions to join our church. You can be Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, flying spaghetti monster. You can be a super genius, you can be whatever you want, but you can also be a Jedi.”
Ashton Arnold, a store manager and Tyler Arnold’s son, explains how Jedi Alliance can impact others in the community.
“I really like that we’ve been able to foster a community here,” Arnold says. “We’ve got a good set of people that come here regularly, and it’s been nice seeing that by having this place here, we’ve changed people’s lives.”
Arnold also talks about how long regulars have been supporting the arcade and what that means to them.
“We’ve got guys that have been coming in here for upwards of a decade now, like almost since it opened… for some of those people, this is their place to come to. We hang out, we have fun, and for those people this place means a lot.”
Jedi Alliance opens its doors to faces new and old, as Mike and Michael Mininger share their first time experience at Jedi Alliance.
“I’m old enough that I remember playing all kinds of pinball and these kinds of games,” Mininger says. “I feel like [his son’s] generation can just use a playstation, like arcades aren’t too much of a thing anymore.”
Mininger’s son, Mike, also shares his experience with the establishment.
“It’s pretty fun,” Mike said. “A good time. It’s not boring.”
Tyler Arnold shares the accomplishments Jedi Alliance has been able to achieve, including national and global recognition.
“We were nominated as the second best arcade in the nation, so that was a major compliment and we’ll take that, because that is incredible,” Arnold said. “it’s amazing that we are being mentioned on a national scale, because it’s just something I started as a hobby, and if it can entertain others and offer a safe space, then I will die a happy man if that is what I have done.”
If you have any questions regarding this story, contact Quinlan Frei at sfcc.quinlan.frei@gmail.com or Oisin Neeson at sfcc.oisin.neeson@gmail.com.
