Idaho Churches Gear Up To Resume In-Person Worship

From Idaho-

Episcopal Bishop Brian Thom says the 26 churches in Idaho's Diocese will not resume in-person worship until at least May 24.

"Everything about church is contrary to social distancing," Thom quipped. "The sitting in tight quarters, the passing of the peace and the common cup." 

"I have a weekly meeting with my clergy on zoom, and I thought they were going to be pushing to open but it was quite the opposite," the Bishop said.

The Episcopal Church in Idaho has good reason to be cautious. The parrish in Sun Valley was an early epicenter of the virus.

"It began in the choir," Thom explained. "Somebody from the choir attended a community event and then went to choir practice that week."

More here-

https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/idaho-churches-gear-resume-person-worship#stream/0

Idaho Episcopal Bishop On Keeping The Faith During Pandemic: 'We've Never Been Alone'

From Idaho-

As Christians around the world prepare to mark the holiest day on the Christian calendar, many will be worshiping under a shelter-in-place edict. As a result, faith leaders are planning to share an Easter message unlike any other, in the shadow of COVID-19.

"I'm hesitant to say that it's all going to be okay because it might not be for some people; but it can be holy," said Rev. Brian Thom, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho. "It's a time when God may not be more accessible, but we can more aware."

Thom visited with Morning Edition host George Prentice to share stories of sorrow, sacrifice and hope.

More here-

https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/idaho-episcopal-bishop-keeping-faith-during-pandemic-weve-never-been-alone#stream/0

Burglars take $15K worth of items from N. Idaho church

From Idaho-

Members of a church outside of Sandpoint are searching for answers after burglars stole an estimated $15,000 worth of items, including crosses, computers, and donated goods for the homeless.

Churchgoers at Holy Spirit Episcopal, in Dover, discovered the items missing last Sunday morning when they arrived for services. Church members said that a suspect was able to compromise a lock on the main entrance doors to Holy Spirit.

"How could someone violate a church in that manner? And especially a church in Sandpoint?" said Geoffrey Cant, a Holy Spirit member. "Churches should not be subject to that."

Sacramental items that were taken included a tabernacle, chalices, candelabras, and two crosses, among other items. The crosses had a combined value of approximately $5,000, according to estimates by church members. 

In a separate section of Holy Spirit, members said that the suspect went into the vicar's office and stole two desktop computers and a new vacuum. Outside the office, the church had been collecting clothes and other items for a local homeless charity, which were also stolen.

More here-

https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/bonner-county/burglars-take-15k-worth-of-items-from-n-idaho-church/293-fe27eef8-0a33-4dc4-b314-415ef884327c

'My Brother's Table' feeds dozens of people every Sunday

From Idaho-

Dozens of people every Sunday gather at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Pocatello for a free lunch and this Sunday was no exception.

KPVI News that Works for You was there and talked to volunteers to find out what it takes to feed so many people as well as the people that tell KPVI what the free lunch means to them.

“It helps us out a lot, especially when you don’t have food or nothing to eat.  We come here and eat and so it helps out a lot,” says Ann Eberhard, Attended ‘My Brother’s Table’ lunch.

More here-

http://www.kpvi.com/news/my-brother-s-table-feeds-dozens-of-people-every-sunday/article_6d394c80-d912-11e5-af7f-8304e754b3ab.html

Friends remember state’s first female Episcopal priest

From Oregon-

The first woman ordained as an Episcopal priest in Oregon died last week.

The Rev. Letitia “Tish” Croom, who served in Vale and Nyssa, among other places around Oregon and Idaho, died July 29 in Boise at age 89.

She was among the first 100 women ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. Many remember Croom, who worked in both the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho and the Diocese of Eastern Oregon, with fondness and respect.

“Her life was devoted to humanity and to the church. She was fearless in bringing tough issues to the table for discussion and actions,” said the Rev. Rustin Kimsey, who was bishop of Eastern Oregon from 1980 to 2000.

More here-

http://www.argusobserver.com/news/friends-remember-state-s-first-female-episcopal-priest/article_9b935f64-1d87-11e4-ad00-001a4bcf887a.html

Idaho church leaders launch fast, prayer vigil for immigration reform

From Idaho-

Immigration reform advocates are joining the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho along with Mennonite and Unitarian churches in Boise to launch 11 days of fasting and prayer for immigration reform, culminating in a candlelight prayer vigil Sept. 13 at Lakeview Park in Nampa, with the 11-day timeframe symbolizing the 11 million undocumented immigrants now estimated to be in the United States.

Church leaders said the issue goes straight to their faith. “Abraham himself was an immigrant,” said the Rev. Debbie Graham, an Episcopal priest serving Meridian, Payette and Weiser, in a news conference at Boise’s historic St. Michael’s Episcopal Cathedral today. She noted the Biblical injunctions to welcome the stranger. “One of the sad things in our country is that for too long, our undocumented neighbors have been strangers to us,” she said. The advocates noted that the Catholic Church is planning immigration reform messages at services nationwide on Sunday.

More here-

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2013/sep/03/idaho-church-leaders-launch-fast-prayer-vigil-immigration-reform/

Idaho History: The remarkable career of Episcopal Bishop Tuttle

From Idaho-

"I arrived at Boise Saturday afternoon, October 12, with broken neck, bruised head, aching bones, sore throat and disturbed temper… of all the uncomfortable routes I ever traveled over, that from Salt Lake to Boise is the worst." Thus wrote Daniel Sylvester Tuttle of his first stagecoach ride to Boise in 1867.

Tuttle had been elected Episcopal missionary bishop of Montana in October 1866, with jurisdiction over Utah and Idaho as well, and with headquarters in Salt Lake City. He was elected four months before his 30th birthday, after which he was eligible to take office.

Despite his bone-shaking ride from Salt Lake City by stagecoach, Tuttle was cheered by what he found in Boise City: "St. Michael's is quite church-like. The singing and responses are hearty and good. I was much pleased on Sunday. I felt more as if I were in church than I had done since I left Denver. At the morning service I confirmed five." That small white church, built when St. Michael Fackler was its pastor, is still much as it was when Tuttle first saw it in 1867.

Read more here:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/05/26/2591133/the-remarkable-career-of-episcopal.html#storylink=cpy