Pullman church victim of vandalism, theft

PULLMAN -- A Pullman church with a history of advocating for progressive causes has been the target of several vandalism and theft incidents during the past year.

“There’s like a pattern here to me that this is maybe kind of a harassment effort to stifle our voices,” said Steve Van Kuiken, the pastor of Community Congregational United Church of Christ. “I think that’s kind of what’s going on, or it wouldn’t surprise me if it is.”

Last Monday, Community Congregational United Church of Christ reported to the police that a banner it hung on the building with the message “Every Vote Must Count” had been stolen. Van Kuiken said that banner was meant to be an affirmation of democracy and the value of each person’s vote.

In August, the church reported to the police that someone damaged an outdoor box that contained free books and food items available to anyone in the community. That box was painted with rainbow colors in solidarity with the LGTBQ community, Van Kuiken said. It has since been rebuilt.

Also during that month, someone took food out of an outdoor food pantry and threw them on the ground and broke glass jars.

Pullman Police Sgt. Aaron Breshears said the banner theft is still an active investigation and there were no suspects in the August incidents.

Van Kuiken said there have also been incidents of people stealing Black Lives Matter signs and pro-transgender signs from the church grounds.

Van Kuiken said Community Congregational United Church of Christ does not have a surveillance system, but that may have to change. Breshears pointed to the lack of cameras as one of the reasons these cases are difficult to solve.

“That’s just another expense that we’d have to incur,” Van Kuiken said about adding cameras. “We want it (that money) to go to other places, right? We want it to go to help people, but if we’ve got to do that I guess we’ve got to do it.”

Van Kuiken said the congregation has always been focused on promoting social progress and justice. He said that nationally there is “reactionary spirit” from those opposed to these causes, including on the Palouse.

“I think that we like to think that we’re immune to that here in Pullman and maybe the university, but I don’t think we are,” he said.

Despite these incidents, Van Kuiken said the church does not plan to change its ways.

“For us, it kind of makes it clearer that that’s a really important message, right?” he said. “If someone is willing to vandalize the church or steal stuff because of that, that’s kind of, to me, an indication that there’s a real backlash there and that there’s a need to share that message.”

The church is located on College Hill next to the Washington State University campus. He is hoping the community can help them find the perpetrators.

“My hunch is that there’s other people who know about it,” he said. “We’d like to know who it is.”

Anybody with information regarding vandalism at Community Congregational United Church of Christ should contact the Pullman Police Department at (509) 334-0802.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.