TACOMA, Wash. -- Many years ago a handful of big, classic churches were built on the same block in downtown Tacoma, but one by one those churches have been picked off by the wrecking ball.

Now there's another church in the crosshairs, and a tiny congregation is facing the immense responsibility of deciding the fate of one of Tacoma's oldest houses of worship.

Phil Blackledge has been coming to First Congregational Church since he was a child. Now he's the guy who has to sell it.

"I am. That's an irony in my life. I never dreamed I would be the person who would eventually sign the paperwork," Blackledge said.

The church has stood in the same spot for 104 years, hosting countless weddings, baptisms and funerals. The asking price is $1.9 million.

"I think this is a fantastic building in a great location," said Michael Armanious.

These days, there just aren't enough people coming to the church.

"When I first started preaching here there were nine people in attendance, including me, my wife, and the organist," said Pastor Bill Greaver.

Pastor Bill has those numbers on the rise, but the congregation is still small.

Drivers on S. "G" St. got an eyeful this Saturday, when four graduates from Lincoln High School's class of 1972 decided to recreate an old class picture.

Cindy Walton, Brian Baldassin, Vincent "Stretch" Stewart and Karen Franklin Cochrane assembled Saturday afternoon, with rags, brushes and sponges, determined to give "Abe" a bath and in the process rustle up some class of 1972 alumni.

Walton, who's been doing much of the planning for their upcoming 40th reunion, says she got the idea after stumbling back across an old photo of their sophomore class cleaning the statue of Abe.

"This is a tradition in our sophomore class," she said, "[and now] we're trying to unearth more people for our upcoming 40-year reunion Sept. 29."

The reunion committee has already been working since 2010 to find alumni, but says it still has many people left to find.

Cochrane, who was known as Karen Franklin during her Lincoln days, says the further out the reunion, the better it is to reconnect with old classmates. 

"All that other crap is away," she said Saturday with a laugh, after dismounting from her perch at Abe's side.

TACOMA, Wash. - A husband and wife in their 60s were held hostage for three hours during a terrifying home invasion robbery as thieves ransacked and trashed their home and made off with thousands of dollars in cash and valuables.

At one point, the thieves stuffed the barrel of a gun into the husband's mouth, and he later said he thought he was going to die.

The drama unfolded in the middle of the afternoon Thursday at a home in the 7500 block of South Ainsworth Avenue in Tacoma.

The couple was watching TV when they heard shattering glass and were confronted by two men with blue bandannas over their faces who had smashed their way through a sliding glass door. One of them was armed with a handgun.

Once inside the home, the intruders confronted the husband and wife and held them hostage while they ransacked the home, looking for cash and valuables, said Lt. Jerry Lerum of the Tacoma police.

The robbers smashed picture frames throughout the house, pulled out drawers and scrawled gang signs inside one room.

Throughout the incident, they used a two-way radio to talk to a woman who was outside in a getaway vehicle.