Unity in the Community will be Aug 16
The 2008 Unity in the Community plans are underway for the multi-ethnic and cultural awareness event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, in Riverfront Park.
“Connecting Communities” is the 2008 program, now in its 14th year. Last year, Unity in the Community drew 6,500 people from the Spokane area’s diverse population and about 160 vendors.
“The objective is to connect people and celebrate cultures in the greater Spokane area,” said Ben Cabildo, event chair and director of AHANA, the African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American business education and training program of Community-Minded Enterprises. “Participation of our communities demonstrates that Unity in the Community represents what Spokane is.”
He said the event educates children while they’re having fun. Beyond giving out school supplies and bike helmets and the educational component, Unity in the Community also enlists corporate, individual and university sponsors to fund scholarships for local Native American, Hispanic and African American college-bound students at the college or university they choose.
“It’s part of awareness of the importance of working together,” Ben said of the event that includes entertainment, a cultural village, games, art, food, a career fair, health screening and other activities for children and adults.
For information, call 209-2634.
Construction volunteers and funds needed
Emmanuel Family Life Center is gearing up for a September dedication after a summer with volunteers and construction workers completing the interior.
The Rev. Lonnie Mitchell, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, said that they need volunteers to help with hammering nails, putting up dry wall, painting walls and completing other finishing touches.
They met the goal of matching a Gates grant with a mortgage, but need only $60,000 more to enter the building mortgage free.
“We have filled the space with the agencies that will help this center serve the community needs,” he said. “The goal is to be mortgage free so the nonprofits can afford rental that will cover just the cost of utilities and maintenance.”
Builders also welcome donations and volunteers to help with landscaping and pouring curbs, sidewalks and the parking lot.
The Fig Tree is among several agencies that will use space in the center to expand its office space to accommodate its programs.
For information, call 534-3007.
YWCA holds domestic violence summit
The YWCA is sponsoring a Domestic Violence Summit from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, June 13, in Cataldo Hall at Gonzaga University.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins, District Court Judge Sara Derr, YWCA-Spokane director Monica Walters and 30 other community members have called this summit to form a coordinated community response to domestic violence.
Patty Wheeler, director of the YWCA’s Alternatives to Domestic Violence Programs, said there will be morning presentations on domestic violence and the criminal justice system, the workplace, and medical response.
Afternoon small groups propose ideas for action. Then all the participants will meet to decide on priorities.
For information, call 326-1190, ext. 145, or visit www.spokanedv.com.
Directory will be published in early June
The deadline for ads has been extended to May 8 for the 2008-09 Directory of Congregations and Community Resources.
The directory will be printed in early June.
Volunteers are needed in April to assist with verification phone calls, said Malcolm Haworth, community outreach coordinator through AmeriCorps with The Fig Tree.
Food and clothing banks, low-income and senior housing and some other resources will be listed in charts for ease of finding resources, he said.
Pastors and nonprofit leaders keep the directory handy for resource reference and referral.
“Now those listed and advertising need to assist us to assure that listings are current and accurate, and to assure that our costs are covered,” Malcolm said.
For information, call 323-4037.
Churches assist Habitat Blitz
The 2008 Blitz Build of Habitat for Humanity-Spokane runs from May 30 through June 17.
Clergy will lead volunteers in prayer as they begin each work day. About 15 congregations are sending volunteers to pound nails and 13 will help serve meals.
Area churches also host out-of-town college groups and church mission groups who come to build.
Habitat-Spokane has built 182 homes since it began in 1987.
For information, call 534-2552.
Lands Council hosts workshops
The Lands Council is hosting three workshops in June for citizens to give input on the City of Spokane’s Sustainability Project.
They will be at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 3, at South Hill Library; Thursday, June 5, at North East Community Center, and Tuesday, June 17, at Shadle Library.
Kitty Klitzke, east-side staff of the statewide Futurewise, said the city has started a planning process to identify strategies to guide city government in how it will respond to the impact of climate change and rising energy prices.
For information, call 838-1965, or email kitty@futurewise.org.
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Project funds training for new Fig Tree writers
The Fig Tree’s new Encouragement Project has received grants of $4,000 so far in 2008, enabling it to begin an effort to support paying more writers and editors for publishing more articles online.
Editor Mary Stamp has scheduled a training session for writers—both those currently writing articles and new writers—to introduce people to the Fig Tree editorial approach and styles.
The first training is at 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 4, at Unity House, 709 E. DeSmet at Gonzaga University.
In addition to the training, several writers will receive mentoring by Mary, writers Deidre Jacobson and Virginia de Leon, and others.
Funding for initiating this project has been provided by three sources:
• The Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Church of Christ recently granted $1,000 for the Encouragement Project, $1,000 for the Rural-Urban Connections Project and $1,000 for the Interactive Website Project.
• The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) approved a grant of $2,500 and sent the funds in May. The CCHD has been active in the United States since 1976 addressing the causes of poverty and supporting programs that work for institutional change and social justice. The Catholic Diocese of Spokane provides local funding for anti-poverty efforts.
• The Catholic Foundation of Spokane granted $500 for the Encouragement Project and $750 for the Rural-Urban Connections Project at its May 22 luncheon.
“The Fig Tree for 25 years has addressed issues of poverty and social justice. We began as a micro-enterprise, a witness of the tenacity of a small group willing to work for less to make the publication possible,” said Mary.
The encouragement project recognizes that a primary area of common action of faith communities is to overcome poverty—addressing root causes and varied efforts to create a solution.
“We recognize the power of fostering communication among faith and nonprofit groups to increase understanding, inspire people and give voice to people often excluded from or misrepresented in media,” Mary said.
So The Fig Tree seeks to increase the number of freelance writers and editors—diverse people, including low-income people—on its editorial team.
By providing training and mentoring, The Fig Tree seeks to nurture writing with The Fig Tree approach, in which writers do not need to compromise the voice of low-income people.
To address the income needs—along with being open to the generosity of those who volunteer to write for The Fig Tree—the nonprofit is raising its payment rates for articles with photos. It will also need to support added time for editing.
“Now we will publish some articles online only to draw more interest in the website and update content more often,” Mary said. “Grants help make that possible.
“With increased visits to our website at www.thefigtree.org, we hope soon to add ad support to make the website independently sustainable, as the newspaper is,” she added.
“Information has power to change minds, assumptions, practices and systems,” she continued. “Our media are effective tools for connecting people and increasing the pool of concerned, hopeful and active people.”
Mary added that she is in ongoing dialogue with people in Western Washington to expand the website to include more content from that area as a means to improve communication among a wider geographic range of the faith and nonprofit communities in the Northwest. She has been consulting with those redeveloping the Washington Association of Churches about expanding this model of communication. She is also recruiting people to submit content.
Lorna Kropp will assist The Fig Tree in the fall, updating the archive of pages to the current format and helping with input for the expanded content, as well as providing overall advice on website design and development.
Lorna was on the committee that helped develop the Interactive Website Project, and was Mary’s primary teacher as Mary learned to develop and design The Fig Tree website.
“We seek to invite grants from the other denominations and faiths so we can fully fund these projects,” Mary said. “Expanding our base of support will assure we can move ahead effectively developing these projects to reach and serve more people.”
The Fig Tree continues to build circulation and coverage of issues in rural and small urban communities of the region, addressing justice, sustainability, congregational life and other issues.
For information, call 535-1813.
Abuse Recovery Ministry plans speaker
The Abuse Recovery Ministry and Service is planning to hold a dessert and educational discussion from 1 to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 14, at Hillyard Baptist Church, 2121 E. Wabash Ave.
Pastor Rich Schaus, who is the resource director at Anna Ogden Hall and director of the Union Gospel Mission’s new Crisis Shelter, will speak on the theme “Breaking Through: Embracing the Truth about Abuse.”
He said that truth includes that women and men in the community are hurting and dying in what look like perfect families.
For information, call 484-0600.
Churches’ language schools for refugees rely on volunteers
Fifteen of the more than 35 students who participated in the Barton School’s English language program at First Presbyterian Church this year were new to the school—coming from Korea, Tibet, Moldova, Afghanistan and Cambodia, said Kirsten Harrington, coordinator.
The school, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year, had 20 new volunteer teachers, but more than 20 students were on its waiting list at the end of the year.
Barton students receive individual attention with the one student per teacher ratio, so new students can be accepted only if a current student leaves or a new teacher joins.
“We always need new teachers. No experience is necessary. We also have special projects and opportunities for short-term commitments, said Kirsten, looking ahead to the fall.
More than 12 students passed the citizenship exam this year, and several other students are preparing for community college, she reported.
Computer classes were offered to the students this year for the first time.
The regular classes are 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Although school closed May 7 for the summer, several teachers are continuing to work with their students through the summer.
For information, call 838-1061.
The Country Homes English as a Second Language School celebrates its 30th year in the upcoming school year.
This year, co-director Virginia Summers said that 20 volunteers have been working with 30 students, breaking the usual pattern of one-to-one, in order to accommodate the students. Most students come from Asian countries, particularly Korea and China. Some were from Haiti.
“Some students have doctoral degrees and come to learn to speak English better while they are here as visiting professors at Whitworth University and Gonzaga University,” she said.
Most of the tutors are not members of Country Homes Christian Church, which provides the space and books for the program as a ministry.
Virginia tutored a year before becoming co-director four years ago with Doni Walker.
“It’s like a big family with the caring of the tutors and the appreciation of the students,” she said. “Last year we held a shower for a student who was having a baby.”
Classes run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The last class until September was May 21.
Virginia has joined Country Homes Christian Church since she began working there after retiring as a bookkeeper.
For information, call 466-3414.
NEWSLINKS
• Ecumenical News International
• World Council of Churches
• National Council of Churches
• National Assn of Evangelicals
• Religious News Service
• World Assn of Christian Communicator |
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