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Feature Articles 2013

June 2013

Mary Ann Farley

Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) are celebrating 125 years of service to education and advocates for justice in Inland NW

Holden Village - Carpenters Holden Village program goes on road during two year mine remediation and renovation of the village buildings.
Rebecca Nappi and Jim McPherson Northwest Alliance for Responsible Media gives awards and focuses on effects of media and teens for the program and contests.
camp season 2013

Reports from eight area church camps detail how 2013 summer camping season will challenge campers and build community.

Hannaha Teachman Providence Adult Day Care Center offers respite and support to caregivers while providing clients services and restorative therapies.
Ken Gilbert

Ken Gilbert, Computer business retiree, brings problem-solving skills to volunteering in Coeur d'Alene community.

Article Lutheran Community Services NW continues help for Veterans after special funding ends.
Article

Zephyr Lodge, Christian Conference Center on Liberty Lake, an historic building and site is for sale, proceeds to scholarships.

Editorial Nonprofits, faiths need to challenge sequester cuts in their sector.
Editorial

Happy Planet Index offers another way to measure well-being.

 

May 2013

Hospice Chaplains

Through a ministry of presence, Hospice of Spokane’s staff chaplains engage spiritual care needs of clients and families.

Kirk Ruehl Chaplain Kirk Ruehl of Kennewick led a workshop "looking back and giving forward" helping participants use their stories.
Bob Driscoll Bob Driscoll’s work with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare furthers his sense of ministry and call to draw people together.
Don Barlow

Don Barlow, leader of a men’s grief support group, says that each person deals with loss and grief in different ways.

Rabbi Michael Goldstein Rabbi Michael Goldstein, and Temple Beth Shalom accommodate diverse traditions, beliefs and practices of the area Jewish community.
Karla Parbon

Karla Parbon follows her calling to share her Christian faith through movement versus through words.

Bob Frohne

Senior Corps Foster Grandparent Program  works with “at-risk” youth from six months to 18 years of age in a variety of settings

Roy Johnson

Roy Johnson, a retired mathematics professor, brings Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BPFNA) to Spokane in July.

Lena Lopez Schindler

‘Tapping into the abundance,’ - Speakers at the 2013 Fig Tree Benefit Lunch share insights on how the Fig Tree helped them make connections.

Spokane Chapter of Links, Inc will honor barber, Larry Roseman, Faith Washington and Nordstrom, Inc., in Spokane.
Victim Advocate at the Family Support Center, Colville, recommends resources called "Start by Believing"
Our media opportunities today are an incredible gift for good, it’s our choice how we use the gifts we have been given

Hope comes through engaging with problems to contribute to solutions

 

April 2013

Alex Barry

Gonzaga Prep art students create bowls for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl program.

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart discusses how to honor Holocaust victims and promote social justice. Essay contest winners discuss how to resist genocide.

Lake Chelan Lutheran Church welcomes veterans with five day vacation retreat that offers forgiveness that heals.
Lura Sutherland L'Arche Spokane has two residential communities in the Logan neighborhood where residents grow, learn and heal together.
Carla Peperzak Carla Peperzak continues the tradition of educating children and adults in our area about the Holocaust.
Michelle Culbertson

Michelle Culbertson honored at Yom HaShoah for work in Belgium resistance during World War II when she was a teenager.

yom hashoah 2013 Yom HaShoah service on April 7 features Holocaust resisters and Tony Stewart from Task Force on Human Relations.
Jennifer Bokma

One Church One Child program at Lake City Community Church encourages foster parents and churches supporting their work.

Rose Wear Attorney Rose Wear brought the Homeless Outreach Providing Empowerment (HOPE) program to Spokane at 4 outreach locations.
Amy Knapton

Our Kids: Our Business focuses on the role of the community to give children a safe, strong start in life, says Amy Knapton.

Benefit Speakers

Benefit speakers report how Fig Tree helps them make connections

Editorial

Making connections is about people power, sharing that empowers

 

 

 


March 2013

Patty Martin

An environmental activist, Patty Martin from the small town of Quincy, received Sierra Club award for work on the impact of the 6 large data centers - "the cloud" on the area.

huffmanparent A Temple Beth Shalom Kosher dinner planner values reviving faith in her family's life, by involving everyone in the community work.
Breean Beggs - keynote Breean Beggs, Spokane attorney and advocate for just causes, relates how he learned to engage and emphathize to change hearts and minds.
Lonnie Mitchell

Smart Justice Campaign encourages Spokane County commissioners about alternatives to the criminal justice system that can be safer and more cost effective.

Paul Benz, FAN

Paul Benz, FAN co-director, urges congregations to pray for the legislators in their districts and to call them to adopt policies that “put our prayers into action.

Shar Lichty

Shar Lichty of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane’s Death Penalty Abolition Group continues to work for legislative efforts to abolish the death penalty.

Greg Cunningham Issues of immigration reform, environment, caring for poor, and other faith and values discussed at 2013 Eastern Washington Legislative Conference.
Tibebe Eschete, Whitworth visiting professor

Visiting Ethiopian scholar, Tibebe Eshete recounts consequences of ideas, and faith as he challenges students to widen perspective.

Michelle Gutz-Kleng Lutheran Church of the Master in Coeur d’Alene has a thriving community garden, where members of the church and community grow a variety of produce.
Linda Maraby

Eastern Washington Legislative Conference discussed advocacy tools - partnering, campaign styles, motivating people, community organizing and advocating congregations.

Article

Benefits feature people telling how stories in The Fig Tree help ‘make connections’

Editorial

Ongoing efforts to make needed changes eventually bring results

Editorial

Fuss over funding a study overlooks the goal of sharpening seniors’ skill

February 2013

Sharon Cowan

Community leaders, including new leaders, remember Martin Luther King, Jr.and apologize for "unfortunate acts" during civil rights and right here in Spokane.

IngaJablonsky Inga Jablonsky, retired SFCC language teacher, promotes cross-cultural exchange with new books about German sisters as pioneers to the inland northwest.
Bishop Blase Cupich

Bishop Blase Cupich has been in listening and discerning mode since arriving in the Diocese of Spokane, now calls for justice and responding to needs.

Tia Griffin

Tia Griffin gives presentations on the "Report Card on Racial Equality" as a volunteer for Washington Community Action Network in Spokane.

James Wilburn

James Wilburn, achievment gap specialist at Lewis & Clark HS, and the new president of Spokane NAACP chapter, works to stem dropouts.

Barbara Filo

Barbara Filo, retired Whitworth art history professor, has published a story, Return to Budapest, which emerged from her experiences to combat prejudice.

Kathy Kramer

Kathy Kramer, a rural pastor at Elmore UMC, Potlatch Idaho, enjoys spending time listening to the people she meets.

Lance Jacobson

Firefighter, Lieutenant Lance Jacobson, connects with people on the street facing loss, homelessness and even death.

Judge Mitchell

Judge John Mitchell and Mental Health Court address needs which jail cannot meet in Kootenai County, Idaho.

Regina Malveaux

Regina Malveaux is named the new Executive Director of the YWCA. She is recognized as an advocate for women, youth and children.

Editorial

Editorial
Kahlil Wilson Moore

January 2013

Tina Kamkosi

Tina Kamkosi, an international student at Whitworth University, has traveled her life’s journey in Malawi and in Spokane, sees that “God is faithful and God provides."

Father Frank Bach Catholic Charities of Spokane has built a 51-unit housing for chronically homeless people called Father Bach Haven, named for Father Frank who has a heart for homeless people.
Mabel Elsom The community and congregations can help anti-human trafficking efforts says Mabel Elsom, Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) in Spokane.
Father Frank Case, GU Father Frank Case, Gonzaga University VP of Mission says, while fewer are entering the priesthood, more lay people are recognizing they have “religious vocations.
Crystal Gartner

Through Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, Crystal Gartner is building coalitions to inform people about health, environmental and infrastructure effects of increased coal trains.

Peggy Troutt Calvary Baptist Soup Kitchen has gone from feeding five people to feeding up to 150 in the former parsonage beside the church on E. Third.
Habitat North Idaho

A Brush with Kindness (ABWK) is North Idaho Habitat's program to assist people who own their homes, but can't afford to keep up with repairs.

The Most Rev. Katharine Schori

The Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church USA, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, says the church seeks agile ways to do mission.

Article Legislative Conference, featuring Tia Griffin, Washington Community Action Network and Spokane attorney Breean Beggs, offers reflection and informs on issues, advocacy
Editorial
Editorial

Creating the ‘common good’ requires everyone taking responsibility

 

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