New Church in York

        A new church has moved into the building on the corner of Gladstone and Cornwall in the York neighborhood.

The church “Gathering the Harvest Tabernacle” has held a service every night last month in dedication to its new home in the York neighborhood. The official grand opening of the church was last Feb. 1.

            Pastor, Anthony Westbrook, has been running the church in Bellingham for the past five years. The church has been in a constant state of uprooting and location changes. Throughout the years and many moves a congregation of roughly 40 members has grown dedicated to the Gathering the Harvest Tabernacle.

The 50-year-old Pastor prides his church on being diverse and inclusive. He has hopes that the building could be used for Alcohol Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. “God has a place for everyone, and so do we. I want everyone to feel welcome here and we encourage people of any race, any faith, and people of any sexual orientation to come in.”

The new church serves hot meals every night. Attending church is not a requirement.

Some recovered drug abusers and alcoholics find refuge under the Tabernacles ceiling as well. “Some people may be dismayed from coming to a church if they see homeless people or know recovering drug addicts are in my congregation, but I would never turn any one away from this door. People come to church to feel love, respect, dignity and honor. On the other hand I do not want to upset any one in the neighborhood either,” Westbrook said.

Although the building on Gladstone and Franklin has been a location for churches for many years now, the neighborhood seems to have little to no recollection of what goes on there.

 “I don’t know the name of the church, but everyone calls it the purple church,” Jen McNew said. She said the ‘purple church’ has a reputation of being quite alternative.

Westbrook admits he has not targeted the college student demographic yet, but he is in the progress of finding the best approach.

Another college student, Andrea Pitz vaguely acknowledges their being a church in York but it does not ring many bells, “I think there is a church in York. I think it’s in a blue building or something. I don’t really know.”

According to Westbrook, the majority of people making up the congregation in the churches new location are the churches dedicated patrons. He does not think the York neighborhood is aware of his church yet, but it will be.

Westbrook wants anyone and everyone to feel comfortable attending church, he also wants to offer the building to anyone or any group to use at their will. “I want to put it (the building) to good use,” he said.

The church does not qualify for state grants. Donations are vital for the church. Many donations are made from the Lummi Nation, including all chairs and tables. Westbrook is hopeful the church will soon get a state grant.

When more people start coming to services, Westbrook plans on asking Planned Parenthood if the congregation may use its parking lot. “They are our neighbors, and their parking lot is always empty on Sundays.”

The congregation is a very close nice group. During a service the Pastor will often speak directly to an individual, addressing him or her by a first name and maybe even slip in an inside joke. The mood in the church is light and informal. There are many jokes and laughs during the sermon and there is no dress code. After last Sunday’s sermon, the congregation, including Westbrook, began socializing with one another. The topic of discussion was the type of beer to be brought to the Super Bowl party they were all attending.

Bicycle Theft in York

Locking your bike up to the porch is not going to cut it in this neighborhood anymore. The York neighborhood is seeing a rise in theft, and bicycles are the main targets.

Erin Bennett, a senior at Western Washington University, lives in a house of six in the York neighborhood. So far this year, four of them have had their bikes stolen. 
Each theft came as a surprise to Bennett, “We always lock our bikes to secure posts on our porch,” Bennett said. “But when a bike goes missing, so does the lock.” Simply locking your bike up does not make it as safe as you think in the York district.

According to the City of Bellingham police Department theft and burglary in York has gone up in the last two years

Bicycles are not the only things being taken from people’s homes in the York neighborhood. Many Mac computers and other devices like the iPod touch have been reported stolen this year from York. 

“Any lock can be broken,” Colin Pribe, an employee at Kulshan Cycles, said. “Bolt cutters, lock cutters, these things can get through the best locks,” Pribe said. The solid ‘U-lock’ is a strong bike lock compared to the cable lock, which is easiest to break. “At least one person a week comes in here looking to replace a stolen bike. This year and last summer have been really bad in terms of people coming in looking to replace a stolen bike. I have seen a drastic change from the previous years I worked here.”

            According to the Bellingham Police Department, keeping your bike inside is the best way to prevent bike theft. Keeping your bike in a garage is also a good idea, but garages are often broken into so it is a good idea to keep your bike securely locked while in the garage. 
            Alex Tilley knows the benefits of storing a bike in a garage first hand “I’ve never had my bike stolen, I usually keep it in the garage,” he said. “My roommate isn’t so lucky, he figured his bike would be safe in the backyard just because we live next door to a preschool. It wasn’t.”

            It is also common for residents to find their bikes still at home, but missing the front tire. The front tire on a bicycle is easily removed. This is considered to be an act of vandalism instead of theft, considering the uselessness of a single tire. This is an easy problem to fix. Make sure the front tire is also locked with the rest of your bike or take the tire off yourself and bring it inside with you.

Using a bike to get around is very popular in this neighborhood. Due to the distance from Western Washington University, many students bike to school. It is not unlikely to see three or four bikes locked up on front porches of many houses in this neighborhood. Just as it is effortless for students to walk out their front door in the morning and hop on their bike, it is also just as effortless for them to be stolen.

University students are not the only ones falling victim to theft. Family households in the York neighborhood are just as likely to leave a child’s bike unattended.

 Many stolen bikes go unreported due to a lack of confidence in seeing it returned. “I never told the police,” Bennett said. “Maybe I should have but it seemed like a waste of time. It’s not like they would be scouring the streets with a picture of my green bike in their hand, questioning people riding similar looking bikes.”  Bennett did however check bicycles posted on Craigslist and eBay to see if someone would put his up for sale. He has now given up hope of ever finding his stolen bike, but whenever he sees a green bike ride by, he gets suspicious.

About this News Site

This news site has the sole purpose of informing any and all interested in the happenings of the York district in Bellingham, Wa. I will post on a regular basis and will address neighborhood news, concerns of local residents, information on district meetings and future plans for the neighborhood.