Raising a voice about homosexuality

Bible believers approach the topic of homosexuality in varied and cautious ways, but for two different churches in Spokane, Wash., their answers to whether gays and lesbians can be a part of the church community are simple.

Dan Jarms has been the pastor of Faith Bible Church for seven years. Born and raised in Cheney, Wash. by an atheist father and a Catholic mother, Jarms grew up with unsure about faith, he said. At 19, Jarms attended a Christian basketball camp where he heard the gospel being preached.

“I heard that Jesus died to pay for my sin in my place,” Jarms said. “That was the first time I heard that. Even I had gone to church plenty before that, but I finally understood the idea.”

Jarms overcame his struggle with certain personal sins he committed, motivated by conviction he felt from the Lord to turn over his life to Him, he said.

Ever since, Jarms has been involved with Bible teaching and joined a church he felt taught the scriptures as God’s Word. Turning to 1 Corinthians 6:9, the Bible’s teaching about homosexuality is clear, he said.

“Our [the church’s] stance is that homosexuality is a sin, like adultery or sex before marriage. We treat it as a sin common to man,” Jarms said.

Instead of turning away the homosexual people who occasionally attend Faith Bible Church, Jarms said they welcome them just as they would an alcoholic.

“When they come to Christ, Christ changes their hearts; they can have victory over those temptations and struggles,” Jarms said.

Three miles away in the bustling downtown of Spokane, Westminster Congregational United Church has different views as to who a person is as an individual.

Andrea CastroLang, raised in a warm and loving Catholic family has pastored there since 2002, and enjoys the rare and beautiful community, she said.

After moving to Spokane with her husband and attending the church in 1990, the inclusive Protestant members supported her and prompted her to attend the San Francisco Theological Seminary for three and a half years in 1995, she said. Their support has influenced her efforts in public service as well as adopting an open and welcoming environment for new people, she said.

“At Westminster, we don’t believe that your sexual orientation is a cause for judgment,” she said. “We extend the welcome to all people as children of God.”

Focusing on God’s acceptance, she wonders why people spend so much energy condemning those who are different, she said.

“In the three short years of His ministry, the only people Jesus fought with were self-righteous, condemning, judgmental and cruel,” she said. “It’s not hate that is going to heal this world.”

Welcoming anyone to participate in all aspects of the church is important in order to support them and make them feel safe, Westminster church member Shelby Rothstrom said.

“I think it’s the foundation of Christianity,” she said. “It’s the way Jesus did it.”

Jarms view is similar in that Faith Bible Church welcomes people of all different backgrounds to attend church services as well, he said. The only difference would take place when they want to become members of the church, in which case, members would agree to uphold the principles of the church, he said.

Westminster Congregational allows permission to its members to disagree on certain topics and encourages dialogue among members to discuss important issues, like a rescheduling of early Sunday morning services.

“Every person matters; this church is invested in making sure that everybody is OK. I think people need to get past this right and wrong stuff,” said Anne Marie Floch, a lesbian member of Westminster and author of three books on spirituality. One of her books, “The Soul of a Woman,” describes different types of women in a poetic style.

Andrew Copley, a freshman at Eastern University and a member of Faith Bible Church, believes the issue has become a taboo topic among churches, he said.

“I just hear a lot that Christians hate gay people. We don’t. At the same time, it’s important to submit to what God says about gender roles and who we are,” Copley said.

Benjamin Harkrider, who is in his third year at Moody Bible Institute in the aviation program as well as a member of Faith Bible Church, also has the feeling that the secular world thinks that the church hates homosexuals.

“I think the proper biblical approach is to hate the sin but to love the person. We shouldn’t brush their sin aside but continue to love them, just as Christ loved us,” Harkrider said.

At Westminster, finding one’s identity and calling is important to all the members.

“In the society that I lived in (60s), you were never taught to be authentically who you were. You just did what the generations in front of you did,” Floch said. “Silence kills the ones who have to be silent.”

Passing the torch

I am already starting to collect ideas on what things I want to do next year for the layout design. I am excited!

Asian Cafe and Bakery

Go there. The food there is tasty and unique in Spokane. It is located at 3329 E. Sprague Ave. The number is 1.509.533.2791

The Tinman Gallery and Tinman Too: cozy places to experience art and literature

Among the locally owned businesses in the Garland district, two neighboring stores draw a great deal of attention from art and book lovers: the Tinman Gallery and the Tinman Too.

The gallery, which opened in February 2003, connects artists and art collectors together in the local region, and puts on new art exhibits every month.

“We try to fill a niche that we haven’t seen get fulfilled very well in Spokane,” employee Christopher Bradley said. “There have traditionally been a lot of art galleries that have opened and closed.”

The limited number of galleries in Spokane is what pushed owner Susan Bradley to open the gallery. She has been an artist all her life and started working professionally as a landscape painter in oil since 1990, she said.

“There weren’t enough venues for painters and I wanted to broaden the collectors in the community,” Bradley said.

The gallery also features a wide range of contemporary novels and art books, some of which are written by local authors.

“I’m a sucker for books. I thought it was a good mix for keeping the gallery open,” art professor Scott Kolbo said.

In order for an art gallery to be successful, it must have a good business strategy and a good sense of art, said Kolbo, who has worked with the owner at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture before.

“Sue is great because she kind of has both things. She’s a business person; she knows how to market and run a business,” Kolbo said. “There’s stuff that you can buy there at all sorts of price points.”

To Christopher Bradley, stressing Spokane’s art talent is important and the gallery makes that one of its priorities, he said.

“It’s refreshing because it shows the local public the art that is being done,” he said. “We are trying to show people what we think they should learn out of art.”

Walking through the art gallery’s door, customers enter into a crisp, clean room with white walls that hold up the artwork of the featured artist for the given month. Following a small staircase, customers can continue to see art hung up on walls farther back in the store, and also encounter shelves of books, gifts, candles, lotions, ceramics, and toys.

The gallery stresses for quality in all of its additional store items, especially in its collection of books, Christopher Bradley said. The balance of literature and art has enabled the gallery to provide customers with a well-rounded art experience.

“We like to think of classical or well written literature as part of the art experience,” he said. “The books are supposed to compliment the art. Literature is art in itself.”

Opening up the business with his mother has opened new opportunities for Bradley, who is passionate about art and loves to write non-fiction novels in his spare time, he said. For the past three years, he has organized a writer’s group that meets every second and fourth Wednesday of every month.

“I think [working at the gallery] has helped to further my interests. It’s exposed me to different styles of art,” Bradley said. “It’s also been a lesson on learning a business.”

One of the Tinman Gallery’s most exciting nights was a Harry Potter midnight book release party in 2007, Bradley said.

“It was very good for our business. It was fun for everyone who attended,” he said. “We made a lot of friends that way, a lot of customers who I consider friends still.”

The Tinman’s mission, as stated on its website, is “to expand the visual

arts community in Spokane by encouraging and supporting established and emerging artists, educating and developing collectors and art lovers, inspiring patrons to learn more about art and create art, to have a new and refreshing experience on each visit.”

Two ways that the gallery tries to educate and develop art lovers is by the collection of art books in the gallery for adult customers, and weekly-scheduled art classes and workshops for children, taught by certified art teachers. The Tinman Gallery’s newest addition, the Tinman Too, is located next door and provides an art experience aimed for children.

The current Tinman Too building used to be a shoe store owned by Susan Bradley, called “The Ruby Slipper.” All that remains of the old business, which sold American-made shoes, is the old sign, displaying the red sparkly shoes sitting above the store entrance.

“We were looking at what kind of business would bring more people to Garland. The economic downturn just nailed us in many ways,” Susan Bradley said.

Instead of continuing the financially burdened shoe store, Bradley remodeled the building last summer, along with the main gallery, intending for it to be a children’s bookstore. The children’s bookstore mirrors the main gallery in that it also sells artwork, toys, etc., but also provides art workshops for children.

Because of a massive shift in the education system, children and teens are not receiving the art experiences that matter, said Tresia Oosting, a Tinman Too art teacher for a year and a half. Oosting teaches children from ages four to seven every Tuesday in using multi media, constructing things, sculpting, drawing, and gluing.

“In the public education system, they are not doing a lot of art with kids, and since the Spokane Art School closed, there are not a lot of venues for art classes,” she said.

The children bookstore’s focus is on promoting creative thinking and developing art skills, Schuyler said.

“If you look at what the Tinman is trying to do, which is to get people to read and be involved in art, those are both things that require education,” Kolbo said. Making sure that kids get involved in them early makes a lot of sense.”

Working with kids has inspired both Oosting and Tinman Too employee, Melinda Schuyler, they said.

“Everything is an adventure for them. The enthusiasm that they show is heart-warming,” Schuyler said. “As adults, we sort of forget to show our enthusiasm for simple pleasures.”

The books, artwork and toys are all personally selected, with some toys made locally, to provide children and parents with a more interesting experience, Schuyler said.

“It really does bring literature and art to a child’s level,” Schuyler said. “I have a mother and son that come over every week. He takes his time selecting his new story for the week and he gets so excited.”

Susan Bradley plans to get more attention from the public with new marketing and hopes to open up a web store for the gallery by this summer. The web store will feature about 35 store items first and then put on more, she said.

The employees at the Tinman Gallery continue to delight in art’s impact on people and expect it to grow in the community.

“I think we get the most excited when we get to match the artist to the art lover,” Susan Bradley said.

Local artist paints the world brightly

A woman who has explored the world underwater and above, Melissa Cole’s imagination and travel experiences reflect in her paintings that hang in this month’s Tinman Gallery exhibit.

Cole was raised in different cities around the world, including Hong Kong, London, and Bombay, although she was born in Albany, Oregon. Now she lives in Spokane with her husband, Brandon, with whom she’s been married for 15 years.

From a young age, Cole had experience with art and drew support from her family members, particularly her mother who is a painter.

“My mom was artistic, my dad and brother always supported the arts,” she said. “We always had clay to sculpt with, crayons, and pencils, so it was just a part of life.”

Cole started painting 12 years ago, experimenting with different textures and materials. Now, she commonly uses acrylic paint, patterns, bright colors, and pays special attention to different media pieces in her paintings, like coins, ceramic tiles and glass.

“I like the way things look when a different media is next to another one. That’s why I like texture,” Cole said. “It just adds more dimension.”

Her paintings have traces of Australian and Indian styles (like dots and detailed patterns) interspersed in her designs, inspired by her travels to both the countries. One particular signature of her work is a painted pattern around the outside of her designs that acts as a border.

“It was more of an excuse to add more patterns to my work. The people don’t have to frame it as well,” Cole said, laughing.

Although Cole has painted a variety of different animals and sea creatures, the things Cole loves to paint most are wildlife from the northwest, like ravens, salmon and horses, as well as mythical creatures, like mermaids and dragons.

“I’ve always loved animals and my degree is in zoology. It’s what I feel attracted to,” Cole said.

Cole received a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a minor in marine ecology from Oregon State University, which she described as challenging, but worthwhile.

“I’m glad I got that degree. I think it helped me learn how nature works and how things connected, which is what I use in my paintings a lot,” she said.

Cole still travels a great deal with her husband, a wildlife photographer for various magazines like National Geographic and children’s magazines. The couple often scuba dive together and have done so off the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, New Zealand, and Africa.

“Because of his job, I’ve been able to see many places all over the world underwater,” Cole said. “We photograph for up to 18 hours sometimes when there’s light.”

Painting every day for three to eight hours, gives Cole an outlet for her imagination and memories of diving with fish and outdoor activities like hiking.

“It takes me away into another world,” she said. “You start painting and you don’t realize that the time is passing.”

            Cole wishes to create and display more of her artwork publicly, like her current large display painting called “Riverdance” in the Spokane Convention Center. She has had more than 50 art exhibits, one of which was in India.

“The India one was really interesting because I had to ship the canvases. I painted things specifically for them, so I did some Indian wildlife, their deities, and some photographs from my travels and from living there,” Cole said.

Cole plans to learn to how to make mosaics and cement sculptures to display inside and outside of hospitals and mental institutions, she said.

“I like the idea of having a lot of people be able to see the artwork in a public display, rather than a private buyer,” she said.

Backgammon!

Whitworth University