Holocaust Remembrance Will Be Sunday

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps by Allied Forces, Temple Beth Shalom will hold a community observance of the Holocaust on Sunday night at 7 p.m.

This likely will be the largest Holocaust remembrance ceremony ever observed in Spokane, organizers say.

“We’ve had a formal communitywide observance for the last three or four years,” says the observance’s chair, Mary Noble. “We’ve had a couple, sporadically, in the past that weren’t as formal.”

The program will feature readings and speeches from both Jews and non-Jews, as well as music and poetry written by Holocaust victims and survivors.

And the St. Stephen’s Choir has learned to sing the ceremony’s three choral pieces in Hebrew (there will be full translations in the program).

One of the songs on the program , “Ani Maamin,” made a profound impact on the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.

“It was the song that people sang as they marched to their deaths, basically,” said Noble.

In remembrance of the victims, there will be a candle-lighting ceremony. Candles will be lighted by survivor Eva Lassman, concentration camp liberator Gerald Treffry, second-generation survivor Mania Izakson, third-generation survivor Avi Zellman and others.

Preceding the candle-lighting, Carl Paul, who was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division responsible for liberating the Vovolyn camp in Poland, will recount his memories of that mission.

Noble, who says something similar to the Holocaust could happen again, urges people to attend Sunday’s remembrance.

“The number of surviving Holocaust survivors is getting less every year,” she says. “It’s important to keep the memory of this alive. We have to be vigilant.”

Noble also said there will be plenty of security at the ceremony.

Temple Beth Shalom, 1322 E. 30th, can accommodate about 900 people.

Evangelist visits

Evangelist Mahesh Chavda is currently touring the United States and will hold a “Signs and Wonders” service tonight at Mead High School, 302 W. Hastings Road.

Born in Mombasa, Kenya, Chavda converted to Christianity in his teens. Today, he is the author of “Only Love Can Make a Miracle” and leads a worldwide ministry of healing and evangelism.

He claims his ministries have been the catalyst for thousands of miracles, which include raising a 6-year-old boy from the dead and healing people stricken with AIDS.

The service begins at 7 p.m.

Peace Pole Ceremony Sunday

Spokane’s Unity Church will celebrate its Peace Pole with a ceremony Sunday at 1 p.m. at the church, 2900 S. Bernard.

Peace poles are 8 feet tall and inscribed with the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in 12 different languages. This year’s celebration marks the second in the Spokane area. The first pole stands in Finch Arboretum.

During Sunday’s dedication ceremony, community members will read the pole’s inscriptions in their native languages, including Russian, Gaelic, Arabic and Japanese.

The Rev. Austin Hennessey, a native of Ireland and now co-pastor of Spokane’s Unity Church, said the multitongued inscriptions on the pole provide a powerful methaphor.

“It reminds us that only our languages are different,” he said. “The purpose is to help people focus on peace, not war. Peace comes from thoughts of peace. War comes from thoughts of war.”

The Peace Pole concept was founded in 1955 in Japan by the World Peace Prayer Society. Since then, more than 100,000 peace poles have been erected in more than 100 countries.

Crop Walk ‘95

The Spokane Council of Ecumenical Ministries and Church World Service will co-sponsor Crop Walk ‘95 on April 30 in Riverfront Park.

The annual walk is intended to raise money to feed the hungry, not only in Spokane, but around the globe. Walkers raise money by signing up pledges.

This year, proceeds from the walk will benefit the Church World Service, an overseas relief organization, as well as the Spokane Food Bank, Mid-City Concerns Meals on Wheels and Spokane Valley Meals on Wheels.

Last year, over 150 Spokane participants raised $9,380.

Walkers will follow a 10-kilometer course along the Centennial Trail after leaving the park.

Sponsors are also asking participants to bring canned foods to be donated to the Spokane Food Bank.

For more information or to register, call the Spokane Council of Ecumenical Ministries at 624-5156 mornings, or Ann Reinhart at 747-1878.

Buddhist lecture

Frederich Ulrich, an ordained Jodo-Shinshu Buddhist minister, will present a lecture titled “Buddhism and Japanese Society” tonight at 7 p.m. at the Spokane Buddhist Church, Ninth and Perry.

Ulrich’s lecture, offered in conjunction with Japan Week, will discuss the impact and influence Buddhism has had on Japanese people, government, society and institutions.

Ulrich is an author and educator living in Edmonton, Alberta.

The lecture is free and will be followed by refreshments.

For more information, call 534-7954.

Morality will be topic

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, chairman of Toward Tradition, a national coalition of Christians and Jews united by a common Judeo-Christian political and ethical vision, will give a lecture titled “The Morality of the Marketplace” Monday at 3:30 p.m. in the Jepson Center auditorium at Gonzaga University.

In his lecture, Lapin will challenge the assumption that capitalism is considered inhumane and immoral.

The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Joe Ehrbar Correspondent Correspondent Ward Sanderson contributed to this report.