Clearview Gospel Hall, WA

Clearview Gospel Hall is an open brethren assembly in Snohomish, Washington which is part of the Seattle metro.

Pre

As early as 1890, there have been Brethren in the Seattle area, starting with an exclusive meeting downtown affiliated with the TW-Lowe brethren, which branched into the suburbs by 1905. There was also an open brethren meeting room by 1897, that by 1904 was meeting in the home of D. Larson, at 126 N. 6th Ave., which may have been the origin for the subject assembly of this article. See Larson Gospel Hall.

Founding

William Ammands is currently regarded as the founder of the assembly, and was known to have been in fellowship with the first open assembly in Seattle as early as 1899. The group met in various (unidentified) rentals throughout the city until 1912 as per an 1899-2000 history.

In 1908, brethren Harcus and Arnold held tent meetings in nearby Seattle. A year later, the assembly provided gospel testimony thru open air meetings and tract distribution at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition which publicized the development of the Pacific Northwest, held at the University of Washington, attended by over four million people.

1912-1920

From 1912-1920, the assembly was renting an unused church building at E. Cherry & 22nd Ave. See note under Locations about its subsequent community usage. During the first world war, a number of brethren from New England relocated to nearby Puget Sound to assist the ship building industry as caulkers, frequenting the Seattle and Tacoma assemblies.

1920-1950

Bro. McNicol purchased property adjacent to his home located at 4th St. N & Roy St., which is three blocks north of the Space Needle and constructed what became known as Roy Street Gospel Hall in 1920. Some rural brethren from Arlington have recollected traveling to Seattle to attend conferences at this hall, and staying in a hotel across the street. Upon settling there, the assembly reported "We are quite encouraged among the children in our new neighborhood. Goodly numbers are coming and our hearts are rejoiced."

In 1923, meetings were held in the county hospital, which served as one of the first teaching hospitals for the University of Washington. Meetings also commenced that year at Seattle's main prison, possibly McNeil Island. In 1926, the assembly sponsored meetings on Sunday evenings in a nearby school, and in 1927 on Tuesday evenings in a children's home.

1950-2006

In 1950, the assembly relocated to 516 N.W. 56th in Ballard, partly out of a growing burden towards young families moving into that neighborhood after WWII, and also due to noisy conditions related to construction of a civic auditorium nearby. It rebranded as Woodland Gospel Hall, and became West Woodland Gospel Hall in 1964. Local brethren performed the construction, supervised by Walter Gratias who was a general contractor credited with building Norse Home. His son Gordon installed the electrical wiring.

In addition to Sunday School, children's meetings were held on Friday nights with as many as a hundred in attendance, continuing the next half century on various evenings, which has resulted in a number of strong professions. An additional children's outreach was also initiated for many years in Seattle's Yesler Terrace neighborhood, which was Washington state's first public housing development, and the first racially integrated one in the entire U.S., administrated today by Seattle Housing Authority. This area has since commenced a $1.7B redevelopment projected to have a duration of 2013-2028.

Open air meetings were held on Sunday evenings for several years at 4th & Pike, near the Liggett Building even in inclement weather. Subsequent meetings have been held in the Seattle Center in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. A gospel tract band met on Tuesday nights to prepare mailings of "God's Way of Salvation" to addresses throughout the Seattle phone book, and later monthly with a variety of literature after the ministry meeting on the second Sunday of the month.

The assembly also has had scripture banners in literature booths at at the U District Street Fair (1970+) and the Fremont Fair (1972+) resulting in conversations. From 1990-2000+, a Seed Sowers distribution of over Scripture texts and calendars was undertaken on Sunday afternoon a month, and expanded gradually. This initiative spread over 80,000 Scripture texts, and annually Scripture calendars to 3,500 homes within vicinity of the hall.

Special gospel series meetings have been conducted over the years, see Visiting Ministry at Clearview Gospel Hall, WA for detailed accounts. Annual conferences have also been held in fall during the early 1950's, and New Years' subsequent, with later meetings being held at West Woodland Elementary.

Truth & Tidings carried a series of reports from 2006-2014 indicating a growing burden of the assembly to serve the Clearview community of Seattle in Snohomish Co. where a majority of the believers were relocating, roughly twenty miles to the northeast of their old location. Gospel outreach, Bible studies and children's meetings were commenced in 2003 using a schoolhouse and a local community center.

2006-current

In 2006, the assembly rented a community building known as the Clearview Center and relocated their meetings, and rebranded as Clearview Gospel Hall. Meanwhile, a property was purchased, a new hall designed, and construction that commenced n June of 2014, and they were able to move into the permanent location in 2016. See CGH's website for current data. As per their site, they presently serve breakfast weekly before Sunday morning meetings.

Hives

Possible/Presumable.

• Tremont Avenue Gospel Hall 1918-1922+

Mergers

• 1956: There was an assembly in Cowlitz Co., that met in Clover Valley Schoolhouse that folded and/or was rebranded as an independent, at the same time as this assembly changed locations in the address book to Woodland, possibly no connection.
• 1961: Everson Gospel Hall, founded prior to 1943, merged into this assembly with the assistance of Harry Kazen.

AKA

• Cherry Street Gospel Hall 1912-1920
• Roy Street Gospel Hall 1920-1950
• Woodland Gospel Hall 1950-1963
• West Woodland Gospel Hall 1964-2006
• Clearview Gospel Hall 2006-current

Locations

• +1899-1912: various rentals
• 1912-1920: E. Cherry & 22nd Ave.
  • This particular location subsequently was occupied by Cherry Hill Baptist Church which was credited in an article from April 2018 by the Seattle Times (see Seattle article as a "key center for Seattle black activism and community organizing during the civil-rights movement". This "one small church... was used to rally people for black equity in schools, tenants' rights, more blacks in the public universities and an end to apartheid. It was used to protest redlining in the banking industry, as a food bank for the poor". Cherry Hill was regarded "as much a community center as it was a church" which also included a "rigorous preschool" called "Central Area Mothers for Peace" that in thirty years laid claim to educating more than 6,000 children. Before it was razed in 2018 to make room for townhomes, it was home to "Tent City 3" which provided shelter to 50 people, as per a post by Vanishing Seattle, a Facebook group. The post also includes modern pictures of the structure. CHBC relocated and rebranded in 2018 as Christ Spirit Church in Beacon Hill.
• 1920-1950: 4th Ave. & Roy St., Seattle, foot of Queen Anne Hill. It was one block north of Civic Auditorium, rebranded in 1962 as the Seattle Opera house, and currently as McCaw Hall, also home of the Pacific Northwest Ballet.
• 1950-2006: 516 N.W. 56th, Ballard
• 2006-2016: Clearview Center, 17826 Hwy. 9 SE, Snohomish
• 2016-current: 18029 67th Ave. SE, Snohomish

Correspondents

• George A. Morrison @ 4418 Woodlawn Ave. +1922-1960
• Harry Kazen 1961-1964
• Howard D. McNicol 1965-1977
• David C. Hale @ Normandy Park 1978-2000+
• John P. Bell II 2000-current

CGH

Also See

• Who's Who at Clearview Gospel Hall, WA notable alumni
• Visiting Ministry at Clearview Gospel Hall, WA conference news, etc.

Sources

• 1922-2011 AAB's
• photo courtesy of Dr. Daniel Nessim 3-14-2025
• Gathered in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ - Seattle - 1899-2000 by David E. Brandt.
• Truth & Tidings:
  • 2006-11; 2009-3; 2014-9.