Churches & Religion

St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Vancouver is temporarily housing 30 men from nearby Share House after water damage from a fire shuttered the men’s shelter.

St. Paul Lutheran Church to get a makeover

August 18, 2019, 6:00am Churches & Religion

You could call the upcoming work at St. Paul Lutheran Church a sort of barn raising. The downtown church will get a makeover thanks to the collective efforts of the community. Read story

FILE - This Aug. 4, 2015 file photo, flowers bloom in front of the Salt Lake Temple, at Temple Square, in Salt Lake City. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is reminding members that coffee is prohibited no matter how fancy the name, that vaping is banned despite the alluring flavors and that marijuana is outlawed unless prescribed by a competent doctor.

Java still a no for Latter-day Saints despite fancy coffee names

August 17, 2019, 9:52pm Churches & Religion

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a warning to members that coffee is prohibited no matter how fancy the name, that vaping is banned despite the alluring flavors and that marijuana is outlawed unless prescribed by “competent” doctors. Read story

FILE - In this Aug. 5, 2013, file photo hundreds participate in a candlelight vigil at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting rampage that left six dead in Oak Creek, Wis. The white supremacist gunman, who wounded five other worshippers and an Oak Creek police officer, killed himself in the parking lot.

Latest massacres jolt clergy who’ve faced attacks

August 17, 2019, 6:03am Churches & Religion

As Americans reel from back-to-back massacres in Texas and Ohio, religious leaders who have experienced violence in their houses of worship are venting their anger at the persisting violence and trying to help their congregants persevere. Read story

A statue of Pope John Paul II stands outside the island’s main cathedral, Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica, during a Mass in Hagatna, Guam, Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Those old enough to remember often cite the pontiff’s visit to the island in 1981 as the most thrilling event of their lifetimes, memorialized by the bronze statue of the now-sainted pope designed to slowly rotate on a concrete pedestal.

Catholicism part of daily life on Guam

August 17, 2019, 6:01am Churches & Religion

A towering white cathedral built on the site of Guam’s first church dominates the skyline of Hagåtña, the sleepy capital of this American territory. Read story

Share House still closed after water damage from fire

August 12, 2019, 6:00am Churches & Religion

Share House, the men’s shelter in downtown Vancouver, remains closed after it was damaged by fire July 31. It’s unclear when the shelter at 1115 W. 13th St. will reopen so that the 58 men who lived there can return home. Read story

Church closes, donates $1 million

Twinbrook Baptist Church in Rockville, Md., plans to sell its building and donate more than $1 million of the proceeds to 35 local organizations for community services.

For 63 years, the low-slung, brick church on Twinbrook Parkway has proudly advertised its progressive values. Its logo incorporates rainbow colors. Its members march in Pride parades. A sign formerly on the front lawn declared, “All Are Welcome. Really.” Read story

Church lives on through $8M final gift

Grace Lutheran Church in Bellevue closed this year due to waning attendance. Among the remaining church members are Howard Johnson, from left, and his wife, Judy Johnson, Gail DíAlessio and Marcia Bodin.

Grace Lutheran Church’s library sits dark and empty, its prayer garden littered with rubble, vines spilling onto the walkways of the 3-acre property. The worship hall, many years ago filled twice a day for services, lies quiet, late-afternoon light streaming in as long grass flutters against the colored windows brought… Read story