Christian author goes undercover to understand homosexuality

Lindsey Treffry | SpokaneFAVS

Timothy Kurek used to think being gay was the ultimate sin. Raised in Tennessee, he attended a Southern Baptist church, was home schooled most of his childhood and went to a private Christian school where his fellow church members were teachers or administrators. He was taught that gay was like the scarlet “S” — the sin of all sins.

“After all, God destroyed two cities over it,” he said.

Kurek was a self-proclaimed bully. The same kind of bully, he said, you read about in the news when a kid commits suicide for being gay.

Then, a friend came out to him one night during karaoke.

To view the complete story, visit SpokaneFAVS.com.

Touring St. John’s Cathedral

Lindsey Treffry | SpokaneFAVS

A British voice echoes through a cathedral nave made of stone and mortar, topped with solid California redwood. The source of the voice is a lean, white haired man, pointing to a south window. He slides his glasses towards the bridge of his nose, describing every detail and color the stained glass creates. This window, he says, depicts the Book of Revelation.

Lindsey Treffry | SpokaneFAVS

Michel Campbell is one of a dozen volunteer tour guides for The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist which overlooks Spokane’s South Hill.

St. John’s was designed by architect Harold Whitehouse and built by Fred Phair in 1925. Additions to the church were made by Henry George and Sons in 1948 and Sceva Construction of Spokane in 1960. Whitehouse followed the suggestions of Bishop Edward Makin Cross and created a cathedral in early English Gothic style.

“This cathedral compares very favorably with all the Gothic churches of the period that I’ve been in,” Campbell says.

To read the complete story, visit SpokaneFAVS.com.

Diet and religion come together at vegetarian outlet

Lindsey Treffry | SpokaneFAVS.com

Lindsey Treffry | SpokaneFAVS

The shelves of Bibles next to aisles of activated charcoal powder, cashew cream, agar agar sea vegetable flakes, Minit-meat and vegan gelatin may seem unrelated. But at the Adventist Book Center and Vegetarian Food Outlet, the diet lifestyles of Seventh-day Adventists closely relate to the religion — and have since the church’s inception in the mid-1800s.

Seventh-day Adventist John Harvey Kellogg, famous for his development of breakfast cereals at the turn of the century, was a health pioneer in manufacturing vegetarian products like Worthington, Loma Linda and Morningstar Farms, which still remain today.

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UCC couple retire after 2 decades of service

Lindsey Treffry | SpokaneFAVS.com

For six years, Randy and The Rev. Linda Crowe traveled south to the ninth — and largest — ward of New Orleans, combating mold breakouts and renovating houses that had been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. This year, though, the couple’s trips to Katrina end, as their retirements begin in a Volkswagen across the country.

As pastor of Veradale United Church of Christ for nearly 18 years, Linda worked through the church’s recent transition to become “open and affirming” to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, including the lead in a booth and banner at Spokane’s Pride Parade.

To view the full story, visit SpokaneFAVS.com.