Speaker Will Offer Lighter Side Of Bible

For many people, reading the Bible is a solemn and, well, holy event, not an occasion for guffaws and giggles.

Doug Adams, however, believes humor has its place in the Bible.

Adams, a professor of Christianity and the arts at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., will present workshops and lectures at various Spokane locations next month. Some workshops focus on humor that can be found in the unlikeliest of places.

Adams will make his first appearance at Gonzaga University on Oct. 2: “The Visual Arts in Worship and Religious Education” will be from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and again from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Cost is $15. Call 328-4220, ext. 3383, to register.

Gonzaga will also host a lecture on the same topic from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 3 in the Jepson Center. Admission is $5.

Adams will speak at Whitworth College’s free forum at 11:15 a.m. Oct. 3 in the Cowles Auditorium. The lecture, “The Prostitute in the Family Tree,” is about humor in the Bible. Call 777-4431 for more information.

Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ, 411 S. Washington, will sponsor a series of workshops on Oct. 4, including, “Learning to Tell Jesus’ Humorous Parables as Hopeful Grandparent Stories,” “Bringing Old Testament Humor to Life,” and “Bringing to Life the Humor of Paul’s Letters.”

For the kid in all of us, there’s “Dancing Christmas Carols,” in which participants will be taught folk dances to accompany familiar Christmas carols. The workshops are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No advance registration is required.

Admission is $5 for one workshop, or $8 for the entire day.

For more information, call the church at 624-1366.

Health fair at Central Baptist

Central Baptist Church, 19 W. Shannon, will host a community health fair from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

There will be displays, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Vision, hearing and lung screening will be available along with blood- pressure checks.

An ambulance and a search-and-rescue vehicle will be at the fair.

Live Christian music and refreshments will also be available.

Participating organizations include Spokane Childe Abuse and Neglect Prevention Center, the American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, the Spokane County Health District, and the YWCA Domestic Violence Prevention program.

Recital planned at St. Mark’s

Luc Ponet, a Belgian world-class organist and educator, will perform the dedicatory recital on the new 31-rank Zimmer and Sons pipe organ at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 316 W. 24th, at 3 p.m., Sunday.

Ponet will also present a master class lecture and demonstration from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. today at the church. It will be titled “Famous Organists of Belgium and their Special Contributions to Repertoire and Performance Techniques.”

Rite to honor Mother Teresa

The public is invited to attend a special memorial for Mother Teresa at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church on Sunday following the Holy Qurbana at 9:30 a.m. The services will be in the lower level chapel at 2404 N. Howard.

Calling all women

Church Women United’s fall assembly will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Salem Lutheran Church, 1428 W. Broadway.

Kathy Cope, a critical-care nurse and certified nutrition support educator, will discuss health improvement partnership and the Nutritional Risk Identification and Intervention Network.

Cope, author of “Malnutrition in the Elderly: A National Crisis,” was a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging in Washington, D.C.

The luncheon costs $5.

To arrange for child care, or for more information, call 532-9731.

Reformation tour scheduled

An informational meeting about a planned two-week Reformation Study Tour in April 1999 will be at Whitworth Community Presbyterian Church, 312 W. Hawthorne Road, at 1 p.m., Sunday.

An itinerary and estimated cost of the trip will be discussed.

The tour, limited to 52 people, is expected to include Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, England and Scotland.

Testimonials from prisoners

Testimonies from former prison inmates will be included in the Otis Manning Ministries’ annual Ministry Anniversary Celebration at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Valley Doubletree Hotel.

Vickie Winans, a Grammynominated vocalist, will sing.

Tickets, $25 for adults and $12.50 for children, must be purchased by Friday.

Call 747-1681 to reserve seats.

Timor church official to speak

The Rev. Arlindo Marcal, moderator of the Christian Church of East Timor in Indonesia, will meet with the South Hill Ecumenical Ministerial Association on Thursday noon at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 127 E. 12th.

Marcal spent years hiding in the mountains after the Indonesian invasion in 1975 but was arrested and threatened with execution. When he was released several months later, he entered a theological school.

Marcal will also speak at an open meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Covenant Christian Church, 5616 S. Palouse Highway.