3,000 Unitarians Will Meet In City

Some 3,000 Unitarian Universalists from around the nation will be in Spokane Thursday through June 20 for the denomination’s general assembly.

Clergy and lay members will attend - and Normal Lear, creator of TV’s “All in the Family,” will be among them.

While the assembly is primarily for registered guests, some events, such as Lear’s lecture at 8:30 p.m. June 18 at the Opera House, are open to the public.

Also open to the public is an award reception for the Rev. Marie Fortune at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Sheraton-Spokane Hotel.

Fortune, author of “Is Nothing Sacred? When Sex Invades the Pastoral Relationship,” will be honored with the Ministry to Women Award. The public is invited to hear her and attend an afternoon of presentations on women’s issues Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ridpath Hotel.

The fact that Fortune, a United Church of Christ minister in Seattle, received the award says a lot about Unitarian theology, a spokeswoman said. The organization doesn’t have set rules or dogmas; it allows members to incorporate ideas from different denominations or religions.

“We have people of many faiths in our church,” said Shirley Cannon, program director at Spokane’s UU church. “The common quotation around here is, ‘Living with the question,”’ rather than relying on a catechism.

That openness makes anyone as eligible for award distinction. The award is “open to those who minister to women in the broadest sense of the word,” said Julie Parker Amery, a spokeswoman for the national UU office.

In fact, past winners include groups as well as individuals, including Planned Parenthood and Ms Magazine.

Also public is a worship service, “Service of the Living Tradition,” at 9:30 a.m. June 18 at the Opera House.

There is no admission fee for the service or Lear’s speech. Tickets for Fortune’s reception will be available at the door for donations of $15 to $25.

To attend Thursday’s seminars and lunch, call 325-6383 for late registration information.

Romanian visits Unitarians

In other Unitarian news, the Spokane church, 4340 W. Fort Wright Drive, will sponsor a monthlong visit by the Rev. Jozsef Kotecz, a Unitarian minister from Felsorakos, in Transylvania, Romania.

Kotecz will speak this Sunday morning at 9:30 and 11 on “Faith at the Edge of Oppression.” A special collection will be taken to support his congregation.

Displayed at the church is a collection of Transylvanian woodblock prints depicting villages and churches threatened with destruction by Ceaucescu’s dictatorship. They will remain on display until Wednesday.

The church will host a community potluck dinner for Kotecz at 6 p.m. June 27.

John Michael Talbot concert

Christian recording artist John Michael Talbot performs at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Talbot’s music isn’t typical of a lot of contemporary Christian fare. Without resorting to drum machines or heavy guitar, Talbot has become the top-selling male contemporary Christian artist to date.

His soothing, acoustic-driven music is meditative and prayerful - a seemingly appropriate medium of expression for a former celibate friar.

Though now married, Talbot still lives in the monastic community he founded. It’s one of the few such groups that accept both celibate and married members.

Concert tickets are available through The Kaufer Co. and other Christian bookstores. Proceeds go toward Mercy Corps International, a relief group for the poor, and Talbot’s community.

Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 each for groups of 10 or more, and $15 for reserved section seats.

For more information, call 326-7070.

Music at Lourdes

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, 1115 W. Riverside, will present the last of its organ concert series at 4 p.m. Sunday.

Performing will be Janet Satre Ahrend, organ instructor at Gonzaga University. The program will include classic works by Lubeck, de Grigny, Zipoli, and J.S. Bach and music by the Rev. Kevin Waters, GU’s dean of arts and sciences.

Admission is free, but an offering will be taken.

The nine-concert series was scheduled to celebrate the 1994 restoration of the Lourdes organ. Restoration made it possible for the 1914 gallery organ, the 1973 baroquestyle organ and a new digital organ to operate together from a single console.

Harpist performs

Renowned harpist Greg Buchanan will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Coeur d’Alene Church of the Nazarene, 4105 Honeysuckle Drive.

Buchanan is known for his aggressive style of playing, one that has a tendency to take listeners by surprise.

While he performs on traditional Celtic harps and lyres, he also uses electric harps. The strings are amplified separately, allowing them to be mixed into a stereo signal.

Buchanan has eight albums to his credit as well as two video releases.

Admission is free, but an offering will be taken. For more information, call (208) 667-3543.