Kelly McBride

Mario Marcella's mother would have been proud. A devout Catholic, she died several months before her son and grandson began building an altar for St. Aloyius Roman Catholic Church. "I was her little altar boy," said Marcella, owner of Mario and Sons Marble and Granite shop. "She would have liked it a lot - knowing I made something for the church." The Marcellas make most of their money building upscale bathrooms.

The Rev. Roger LaChance at St. Pius X Church in Coeur d'Alene hopes to give infrequent churchgoers "a shot in the arm." Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

United Way faltered and the Christmas Fund is struggling, but Catholic Charities' annual Christmas Appeal has collected twice as much money when compared to last year. "This is very good news," said Mary Ann Heskett, fund drive coordinator at the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. "We are cautiously optimistic at this point."

Dennis Twigg and Marti Martin light the first candle on the menorah before their party. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

Sower Bookstore's Jennifer Christiansen helps Bob Morris. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

More than 400 'Saturday Sunday School' children sang a song of peace to the congregation before receiving a Christmas gift at the Spokane Christian Center on Sunday. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review

Bob Moore at the opening procession as parishioners join in song during a recent Sunday service. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review

A former secretary is suing the top executive at Guardian Life Insurance Company's Spokane office for sexual harassment, claiming he left "vile, outrageous messages" on her answering machines. Lisa LeDoux, 27, says in her suit that Vice President William J. McAndrews sexually harassed her for the first five months of 1995, begging her for sex, marriage and a key to her house. LeDoux's lawyer, Sandra Simpson, is asking for a minimum of $1.5 million in damages.

The Washington Department of Corrections kept Mark N. Kelley locked up as long as possible over the last 10 years. During the short period the 31-year-old convict was free in Spokane last year, he racked up criminal charges accusing him of robbing an old woman and raping a 13-year-old girl. Now he's facing a possible life sentence in the kidnapping and raping of a 16-year-old girl.

Perko

Spokane Bishop William Skylstad is urging area Catholics to come up with $550,000 this year to support the church's charity program. The church is facing the same soft economy that has left United Way of Spokane County $1 million behind this year with just one week left in its annual money drive. Skylstad is undaunted.

Pastors, preachers and gang members will be part of a two-day workshop in Spokane this week led by Jim Wallis, a nationally known activist and author. First Presbyterian Church is sponsoring the event, "A Call to Action." Staff at the downtown church hope the seminar will create an alliance of congregations throughout Spokane dedicated to combating youth violence.

While United Way officials remain optimistic, other Spokane fund-raisers say the agency's $1 million donations drop reflects a new trend in the way people give to charities. "People want to give to causes rather than organizations," said J. Kent Adams, a Spokane consultant who works on money drives for many charities. "United Way is the big picture, not one cause. It's not as exciting. It's more of an uphill battle." So far, United Way has raised $2.8 million in pledges. Last year at the same point, the charity counted $3.7 million pledged.

Deloris Walker organizes paper bags filled with donated food for the Thanksgiving Food Basket Distribution run by the Salvation Army. Photo by Liz Kishimoto/The Spokesman-Review

A mother of two listened attentively Friday as the speaker described her sons during a conference on fetal alcohol syndrome. They don't learn from their experiences. They are often friendless. They don't pay attention, the speaker said.

Hard times ahead For United Way of Spokane County to better serve those in need, Executive Director Jose Pena says the charity itself needs a big helping of donations. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

1. Choir members and Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor Steve Allen lead the congregation during Sunday services. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Churchgoers join hands at Calvary Chapel as pastor Ken Ortiz leads the group in prayer. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review 3. Worshippers at New Life Community Church in Rathdrum affirm their faith. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

The coffee bar at Life Center Foursquare Church goes through more Starbucks than a small diner. The congregation downs at least 600 cups during the traditional fellowship hour on Sunday mornings. Mega-churches are minicorporations - and not just on Sunday mornings.

Dante Little, 4, scrutinizes lunch at the newly opened G&B; ABC Day Care. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Tracy Zidrashko, left, shows Bea McElroy a photo of her husband David, who Zidrashko met when the couple were students at Crosswalk. Crosswalk is celebrating its 10th anniversary wiht an open house today. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

FOR THE RECORD (October 28, 1995): Clarification: A Sunday afternoon prayer service and benefit promoting peace in Bosnia is sponsored by St. Michael's Institute at Gonzaga University. The group sponsoring the event wasn't listed in a story on Friday. Tatjana Stojak, Misad Jacevic and Ana Kapor are organizing a prayer service on the eve of a summit to end the Balkans war. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Ruth Hamp is helping to organize local congregations in the National Concert of Prayer on Saturday. File/The Spokesman-Review

More people are turning to the Spokane Food Bank for emergency help rather than relying on food stamps or welfare. The latest results in the annual food bank client survey indicate that many people getting emergency food packages are needy for the first time in their lives.

The majority of Washington parents say more time - not money - would improve their family life, according to a survey released Wednesday in Spokane. In fact, 84 percent of parents surveyed said they have enough money. But more than 50 percent said that if one or both parents could spend less time at work, the quality of their family life would improve.