March For Jesus Planned Downtown
Christians around the world will march next Saturday, Pentecostal weekend, to demonstrate their belief in Christ.
In Spokane, March for Jesus, following the theme “No More Walls,” begins at 10 a.m., when walkers of many denominations will gather at the site of the former Coliseum. The event will begin at 11.
Marchers will carry banners and flags, play musical instruments, sing songs and dance as they make their way through the streets of downtown Spokane to Riverfront Park’s Lilac Bowl.
A rally in the Lilac Bowl will conclude the march.
“March for Jesus is nothing more and nothing less than a joyous celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ,” said Terry Stephens, spokesman.
Workshop for clergy scheduled
A workshop, “Becoming Community Together: Welcoming Persons with Disabilities into the Religious Community,” is designed for Spokane-area clergy and congregational leaders to learn more about serving people with disabilities.
The workshop, sponsored by the Community Clergy Task Force, will be 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. May 22 at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute, 711 S. Cowley.
The Rev. Robert Anderson, a Southern Baptist minister, will be the featured speaker. He is a clinical member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and chairman of its spiritual care task force for people with disabilities. He also serves on the Alabama Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities.
A panel of local experts will be a part of the seminar.
Workshop registration is $10, which includes lunch and materials.
To register, call Chaplain Virginia Brondos at 838-7211 by May 20.
Attorney awarded Bishop’s Medal
Judy Butler, an attorney and former partner in the firm of Lukins and Annis, was awarded the 1997 Bishop’s Medal during the annual Bishop’s Dinner at the Spokane Club last week.
The prestigious award is given every year to a contributor to the Spokane Diocese, especially Catholic Charities.
Butler began volunteering for Catholic Charities in the early 1980s, providing pro bono legal assistance, and since has served in many other ways.
In 1994 she and her husband, Bruce, traveled to the Dominican Republic for Catholic Relief Service to view economic justice projects. She led The Harvest for Hope cooperative agriculture-reforestration program between the Spokane Diocese and Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Butler is now a full-time volunteer in the Catholic Charities Parish Social Ministry, assisting social concerns committees throughout the diocese.
The dinner, attended by 156 people, also raised $21,000 to assist Catholic Charity programs.
Catholice Appeal near goal
More than 9,800 donors have helped bring the annual Catholic Appeal to within $20,000 dollars of its goal. As of Thursday, the effort had raised $1,608,391 toward the $1.625 million goal.
Thirty-six of the 71 parishes in the Spokane Diocese have reached or exceeded their goal.
The drive is now at 99 percent of its target amount. Steve Kocharhook, director of development, expects to see enough money trickle in through the mail to take the effort over the top.
Money raised through the annual appeal helps support the bishop’s office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, programs and services for its churches and schools, care of retired priests, and education of seminarians.
Marian Conference planned
The annual Marian-Eucharist Conference, centering around Mary and her call to follow Jesus, will be May 23-25 at Gonzaga University’s Martin Center.
Conference fees are $27 for adults and $8 for youths 12 to 18. There is no charge for priests and pastors.
Registration deadline is next Saturday.
To register, or for more information, call 324-5760.
Reproductive choice theme
Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ, 411 S. Washington, will host “Our Lives! Our Choice!” from 7 to 10 tonight.
High school and college students organized the event to celebrate reproductive choices. The rally is sponsored by the Washington National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and Planned Parenthood of Spokane and Whitman Counties.
Speakers will include the Rev. Monica Boyd Corsaro of Audubon Park United Methodist Church, and Judith Gilmore, a reproductive rights activist.
The film, “When Abortion was Illegal,” will be shown, and a silent auction will be held with CDs, clothes and gift certificates up for bid.
Admission is $1.
Ex-senator to speak
William L. Armstrong, retired U.S. senator from Colorado, will be the featured speaker at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on Friday in the downtown Red Lion Hotel’s ballroom.
Leadership Northwest, a Spokane-based nonprofit organization that promotes faith and values in daily life and work, is sponsoring this year’s event.
Breakfast, from 7 to 8:30 a.m., is $15; advance registration is required. To register, or for more information, call 326-6352.
Tax rules will be topic
A tax seminar for churches and nonprofit organizations will be at the downtown Red Lion Hotel on June 2. It will be sponsored by the Church Management and Tax Conference.
The nonprofit, educational organization has conducted tax seminars around the country for 20 years.
The seminar, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., will cover current Internal Revenue Service rules and regulations. The fee, $134 per person, includes lunch and all materials. To register, or for more information, call (800) 345-9117.