The Fig Tree

Salish School singers and drummers join ceremony. Photo by Gary Jewell Children from the Salish School of Spokane sing and drum during the groundbreaking for the future campus buildings at 2720 W Elliott Dr. beside the Spokane River. They used a golden picha, a traditional root digging stick, to break the ground.

New cohort met in May at St. Martins in Moses Lake. Photo courtesy of Mallory Davis Seven churches across the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane have been participating in a learning cohort as part of the "Building Bridges: Healing Divides" five-year grant under the Thriving Congregations Initiative from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. A second cohort began in May.

Editorial Reflections While it's discouraging to follow the news coverage of war in Iran and ignoring "post war" Gaza, following the political ups and downs of candidates on edge about midterms, seeing the daily disregard for the rule of law, usual protocols and expected morality, it's heartening preparing this issue of The Fig Tree.

During the Cultural Revolution in China, it was said that women hold up half the sky. Since then, it has been applied in various contexts to raise the profile of women and their foundational work around the world. Too often in agrarian communities for those outside cities and towns, the day in, day out work of maintaining a household, child rearing and participating in subsistence farming is left to women. This is particularly true in patriarchal societies and faith traditions.

2026 Summer Camp Series Campers of all ages help with cleanup after winter storm. The enthusiasm of campers and volunteers coming to N-Sid-Sen has been inspiring as they work bit by bit to help with the extensive cleanup since a Dec. 17 storm tore out 35 trees in a swath from the outdoor beach chapel through cabin 12, with little damage to buildings. A logger took out the big trees, but left branches. Campers and volunteers have helped clear them from the trails and grounds.

2026 Summer Camp Series Swimming and water activities abound at Silver Lake Camp. Silver Lake Camp in Medical Lake is set for the summer camping season with 16 camps coming for five days from nearby states, according to assistant camp director Kaye Peterson. Silver Lake provides varied lodging options and activities, and different groups create their own programs. Many have come since Silver Lake Camp's founding in 1962.

Second Harvest semi-truck fills up with diesel. Photo courtesy of Second Harvest Even though food and fuel prices are high, Second Harvest Inland Northwest continues to rescue food donations from farmers and grocery stores. To transport and store that food, they rely on financial gifts from individual donors. On May 13, Second Harvest team member Eric Williams of Spokane rode with driver John Fisher to Gebbers Farm in Brewster to pick up a semi-truck load of apples.

2026 Summer Camp Series Twinlow campers prepare for water games. Photo courtesy of Alan Rogstad Alan Rogstad, executive director of Pacific Northwest United Methodist camps, has seen an uptick in registrations early in the season for the United Methodist Conference's camps at Twinlow near Rathdrum, Lazy F near Ellensburg, Indianola in Indianola and Ocean Park near Long Beach. Since registrations dropped in COVID, day camps and family camps have become more popular.

Joe Ader shows some of the new playground equipment. By Mary Stamp When Joe Ader came to Family Promise of Spokane, he brought with him ideas about how to end poverty. Since then, he has used his position to implement those ideas of ways to prevent and reduce homelessness. The program in early 2016 was then serving 43 people through rotational church shelters. By December 2016, Family Promise started Open Doors, a 24/7 emergency shelter for families at Emmanuel Family Life Center.

2026 Summer Camp Series Campers help each other, worship together. By Catherine Ferguson SNJM Lutherhaven, as its name suggests, is a camp in the Lutheran tradition. It has operated for more than 75 years on Lake Coeur d'Alene, by Shoshone Creek and in McPherson Meadows in north Idaho. It offers year-round events and retreats for youth and adults.