By FāVS News Staff
Each week, FāVS News rounds up religion and spirituality events happening across Washington, Idaho and beyond. It’s Spokane-heavy this week, but we’re just getting started, and we want this column to reflect your community — so if you have an event you’d like to see listed, submit it to tracysimmons@favs.news. We’d also love to know what you think of this new feature. Drop us a note and tell us what’s working and what you’d like to see!
Here’s what’s coming up.
A Nez Perce author brings her family’s story home | June 2 | Airway Heights
Dr. Roberta “Robbie” Tawlikitsanmay’ Paul has spent years listening — to her family, to her ancestors, to the birds. On Monday, June 2, she invites the rest of us to listen, too.
Paul will read from her book “Listening to the Birds” at Battlegrounds Native Arts Market (12924 W. Sunset Hwy., Airway Heights) at 6 p.m. The book traces five generations of a Nez Perce family through encounters with Lewis and Clark, the War of 1877 alongside Chief Joseph, and the painful legacy of boarding schools. It’s a story about what survives when so much has been taken — and what healing can look like across generations.
The event is free and open to the public.
A weekly invitation to begin | June 3 | Spokane
You don’t need to know anything to walk through the door.
Beginning Buddhism is a weekly class led by nuns from Sravasti Abbey, the Buddhist monastery north of Spokane, held at the Spokane Buddhist Temple (927 S. Perry St.). The class draws on Open Heart, Clear Mind by Venerable Thubten Chodron — Sravasti Abbey’s founder and one of the most widely read Western Buddhist teachers — and combines short talks, meditation and discussion rooted in non-harmfulness and calming the mind.
Drop-ins are welcome any time. No experience required.
Wednesday, June 3, 6-7:30 p.m. Enter through the basement door on Perry Street, north of the main temple stairs. Free and open to all.
What does it really mean to survey faith? | June 3 | Online
If you’ve ever cited a Pew survey in a conversation — or wondered whether you should trust one — this webinar might be for you.
“Faith by the Numbers: Understanding Religious Communities Research” brings together researchers from the Pew Research Center, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, NORC at the University of Chicago, and the Public Religion Research Institute for an honest conversation about what makes polling religion so complicated. Faith communities span languages, cultures and theologies in ways that can make standard survey methods awkward at best, misleading at worst. The panel will also talk through what journalists should know before reaching for a data point as a shortcut.
The webinar is Tuesday, June 3, at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, and it’s co-hosted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and the Religion News Association. Free to attend; register here.
Building something together | June 3 | Spokane Valley
There’s a reason Habitat for Humanity calls it a Blitz Build and not just a build. Something unifying happens when hundreds of people show up at the same site, on the same morning, with the shared intention of making a family’s life more stable.
Habitat for Humanity-Spokane kicks off its 25th annual Blitz Build on Wednesday, June 3, at 228 S. Carnahan Road in Spokane Valley, with a public celebration at 8:30 a.m. Over the following two weeks, volunteers will help frame homes that will be sold — affordably — to families earning below 80% of the area median income. The event wraps June 12 with a block party and home tours.
Volunteer spots are $50 (which covers construction costs, a T-shirt, and lunch). Register at habitat-spokane.org/blitz-build.
Brunch for a community that shows up | June 7 | Spokane
For more than a decade, Julie Morris embodied what it looks like to show up for your neighbors. The annual brunch held in her memory does the same.
The Julie Morris Memorial Benefit Brunch raises funds for Spokane Area Jewish Family Services, which provides seniors, families and individuals with practical support — monthly luncheons, transportation to medical appointments, rent and utility assistance, and a peer-led caregiver support group. The work is quiet, consistent, and consequential.
This year’s brunch will honor Dr. Meryl Gersh and Joan Berkowitz with the Julie Morris Outstanding Service Award. The Hot Club of Spokane sends a quartet and vocalist to provide music.
Sunday, June 7, 10 a.m.-noon at Fête (120 N. Stevens St., Spokane). To register or become a sponsor, visit the SAJFS event page. Questions: (509) 413-8254 or director@sajfs.org.
FāVS News uses professional journalists and thoughtful commentary to explore faith, values and ethics. Support journalism like this by making a tax-deductible donation. FāVS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. © FāVS News. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted only to authorized media partners or with written permission.
