Religion

In my social media feeds lately, there have been some Christian ministers telling the same story: Parishioners are complaining or upset over sermons.

Each New Year’s Eve, more than 2 million revelers — twice as many as typically fill Times Square — dress in white and pack Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro to watch a 15-minute midnight fireworks extravaganza.

Pope Francis’ declaration this week allowing priests to bless same-sex couples is being hailed in Spokane as a shift by advocates of softening the church’s doctrine on the issue while more conservative faith leaders are quick to point out the gulf between blessings and more formal and unchanged rules regarding ceremonies such as marriage.

With technicolored trees lining walking paths, festive seasonal imagery lit up on bridges and “Happy Holidays” projected on the clock tower, Riverfront Park is a picturesque winter scene.

Silence doesn’t protect anyone, Veradale United Church of Christ Rev. Gen Heywood says. But being accepting, loving and outspoken does.

Mable Dunbar always knew it was her passion to help victims of domestic violence and abuse. But when she first started her career fresh out of college, taking on an internship at a domestic violence shelter in Michigan, she hated it.

When Capts. David and Kelly Cain arrived in Spokane in August to lead the Spokane Corps of the Salvation Army, they brought with them a deeply personal understanding of the effectiveness of the ministry.

The African Children’s Choir is making several stops in Spokane and Spokane Valley this week as the group of performers spends several months touring the western United States singing, dancing and drumming.

The Rev. P.C. Curtis of Vancouver, Washington, a lecturer for the Ku Klux Klan and former “grand dragon,” was scheduled to deliver a talk at Spokane’s Central Methodist Church in the evening.

It was a short year ago that I offered a column about violence, asking the rhetorical question: “Is Violence a Christian Value?”

The Spokane Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answered a call for help from the Salvation Army this week, arranging for a semitruck full of nonperishable food to be delivered from Salt Lake City to stock the nearly empty shelves at the organization’s food bank that serves the residents of Spokane and Stevens counties.

The temple held their 10th annual Obon Festival on Sunday, selling handmade Japanese cuisine and crafts whil teaching traditional dances. One of the most important holidays in the Buddhist faith, Obon is a celebration dedicated to one’s ancestors and the “causes and conditions” that lead a person to their present. 

A two-member crew from Bovard Studio in Iowa has been working the past several weeks to remove protective plastic sheets that have hung outside the windows for more than 30 years. Heath Nevins and Nick De Ruiter have then been cleaning and restoring the windows, designed by the famed Mayer family of Munich, Germany, and the first of which were placed in the church in 1911. They're using a process known as "releading," referring to the lead material that holds the stained glass pieces in place.  

MOSES LAKE – A new temple with a 117-foot steeple towering over Interstate 90 is a sign of the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – and overall growth – in central Washington.

So-called culture wars are burdened-to-breaking with attitudes that make communicating with a perceived “enemy” impossible. It’s like we’re speaking totally different languages. We aren’t, but we do let our fearful attitudes get in our way of authentic communication with each other.

Today if I get into an argument with a loved one, I listen. I don’t respond, sometimes for hours. It’s not that I’m shutting down. Instead, I’m processing what was said. I write down a response, choosing each word carefully, then go back and finish the conversation with my notes in hand.

Pops of color frequently disrupted the steady stream of capped and gowned students who received their diplomas at Whitworth University last month as dozens of students handed University President Scott McQuilkin pride flags.

Some Christians admit that there are stories in the Bible that are not appropriate for children. They do not, however, suggest ways to keep youth from reading these accounts of sexual violence and other atrocities.