Churches plan for blessing of animals

The faithful will celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, with special blessing services for pets.

Pets are generally considered part of the family but get this opportunity to receive a blessing only once a year.

•Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1832 W. Dean Ave., will offer blessings to all God’s creatures Sunday at 7 p.m.

All pets will be welcome, but if it flies or bites the pet should be caged or muzzled.

Refreshments will follow the ceremony in the parish hall.

For more information, call the church office at 326-6471.

•St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 316 E. 24th Ave., has had a long tradition of blessing pets. The church will offer its 19th annual St. Francis Day Blessing of the Animals Sunday during the 10:45 a.m. service.

More than 100 animals are expected to be blessed.

For more information, call the church office at 747-6677.

Anniversary celebrations

•First Covenant Church of Spokane, 212 S. Division, will celebrate 120 years of worship on Saturday with an open house and banquet.

The open house will include bulletin board displays, social time and refreshments from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The banquet will be held at the Red Lion Inn, 700 N. Division St., at 5 p.m. The cost to attend is $20 per person or $35 per couple and will include guest speaker Don Njaa, a graduate of Whitworth University and a pastor for several Covenant Churches.

First Covenant began in Spokane as the Swedish Christian Church in October 1888. A group of Swedish families from Minneapolis founded the church, which changed its name to the Swedish Tabernacle in 1906. Until the late 1950s, services were held in both English and Swedish.

The present church, which was named First Covenant, was completed in 1950.

For more information, call the church office at 747-2818.

•Country Homes Christian Church, 8415 N. Wall St., will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Country Homes English as a Second Language School Sunday.

There will be a worship service at 10:30 a.m. in celebration, and lunch will be served at noon.

Over the last 30 years, the church has taught 445 students from many different countries.

For more information, call the church office at 466-3414.

Seminars and classes

•Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1832 W. Dean Ave., will present a seven-week program, Living the Questions, on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. starting Oct. 7.

The program will discuss the Christian faith and beliefs from a 21st century point of view.

The classes will begin with an informal happy hour, complimentary supper and a brief video. After the video, everyone will join into small groups to discuss the material.

Participants can register online by visiting www.trinityspokane.org.

For more information, call the church office at 326-6471.

•St. Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Church, 2803 N. Lincoln St., will offer Orthodox School for All Ages after the 9:30 a.m. liturgy on the first and third Sundays of every month.

The theme of the classes for adults is “Learning the Faith of the Early Church,” which will include discussions of the “Origins of Revealed Faith, Scripture and Tradition and the Sacramental Life of the Church.”

There also will be Scripture study every Thursday at 7 p.m.

For more information, call the church office at 325-6432.

•Knox Presbyterian Church, 806 W. Knox Ave., will present a Faith and Politics Seminar on Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Seminars scheduled on Oct. 12, 19 and 26 will be from 9 to 10:15 a.m.

Todd Cioffi, an assistant professor of theology at Whitworth University will lead the course.

For more information, call the church office at 328-7540.

Apple festival

Green Bluff United Methodist Church, 9908 E. Green Bluff Road, will present its annual Apple Festival Craft and Bake Sale Saturday, Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12 and Oct. 18 and 19.

The events will include entertainment, crafts, apple pie and dumplings with hot vanilla sauce. The hours of the festival are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, call the church office at 238-9100.

Juried art show

The United Church of Christ, 423 N. Sixth St., Cheney, will present a juried art show and sale Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Local artists will display weaving, watercolors, oils, pottery, lamps, photography, jewelry, cards and wood pieces.

A reception will be held for the artists Sunday at noon and will include an art raffle and silent auction.

For more information, call Carole Folsom at 235-8984.

Bazaars and sales

•Highland Park United Methodist Church, 611 S. Garfield St., will present a Japanese Bazaar with a Yakitori Bento from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The sale will include handcrafts, baked goods, senbei, sushi, produce Tsukemono and the church cookbook.

The Yakitori Bento box will include barbecued boneless chicken, rice and vegetables for $11. The boxed lunches should be purchased in advance by calling the church office at 535-2687.

•Trinity United Methodist Church, 1725 E. Bridgeport Ave., will present a book and rummage sale Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Items for sale include household items, clothing, collectables, sheet music and records.

For more information, call the church office at 483-2361.

Pancake breakfast

Court 196 of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas will present its fall pancake breakfast Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 302 E. Boone Ave.

The cost is $6 for adults, $3.50 for children ages 5- 10 and free for children younger than 5.

For more information, call Mary Alice McGinn at 487-4707.