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Friday, April 19, 2024
HomeCommentarySpokane’s Religion Wrap-up: Doomsday, Christmas services, Newtown and Bishop Cupich

Spokane’s Religion Wrap-up: Doomsday, Christmas services, Newtown and Bishop Cupich

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Well folks, the world didn’t end. I like the way our D.C. editor said it best, “So turns out it wasn’t the end of the world as we know it. Apparently the ancient Mayans went to the Harold Camping School of False Prophecy. Back to work, people. Nothing to see here.”

Anyhoo, have you figured out when and where you’re going to worship this Christmas? Most churches are having services on Christmas Eve, but some are having services on Christmas Day. Others are only having weekend services. Still others are having all three. We have a comprehensive list of area Christmas worship services here.

There’s no denying this Christmas season has a bit of gloom mixed in. The Newtown massacre is still on our hearts and minds. On Friday morning, at 6:30 a.m., Westminster UCC remembered those killed by ringing the church bell in unison with Connecticut churches (9:30 EST – when the shooting happened).

This Christmas, Bishop Blase Cupich, of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, wants us to pause and be thankful for our lives and for what God is doing around us. He wrote, “… I invite you to have a new regard for the value of your life and know that God will bring to fulfillment the good work begun in you. A Blessed Christmas to you all.”

I’ll keep this short because I think we should end on Cupich’s words and reflect on them. But before I go, just a quick note that the staff of Religion News LLC is officially on holiday vacation. So please be patient if for the next week we don’t post as often as usual.

Happy holidays.

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Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of FāVS.News, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.

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