Oregon

What would you do if your church gave you your offering money back? Journey Church, located in Bend, Ore., decided to try something a little different during their Sunday service yesterday. They passed out envelopes to members of the congregation with cash inside.

Lead Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick told The Christian Post that he got together with the church’s leadership team and asked, “What if we took an offering and then put it back into the hands of the people?”

Starting on the first Sunday in December, Journey began taking up an “Orange Offering.” Church leaders didn’t tell those in the congregation what it would be for. more >>

Months after putting up billboards promoting life without religion, humanist groups in Portland kicked off a three-day film festival on Friday to showcase the “growth” of their movement and promote atheism.

Hosted by Cinema 21 in Northwest Portland, the Portland Humanist Film Fest seeks to “provide, through the medium of film, an expansive window into many of the aspects of existence, morality, history, science and philosophy that reflect the humanist perspective,” according to the event’s website.

A second annual film festival of this kind, it’s a “secular cinematic event where humanists, atheists, agnostics, skeptics, freethinkers, and the curious from the Northwest and beyond can gather, mingle and share in an exciting and stimulating atmosphere,” says the sponsor, Center for Inquiry-Portland. more >>

A couple from an infamous faith-healing church was sentenced to more than six years in prison by an Oregon judge who believed the death of their newborn son was avoidable.

Receiving their sentencing Monday after being found guilty by a jury of second-degree manslaughter in September, Dale and Shannon Hickman were given 75 months of prison with three years of probation, according to The Oregonian.

The Hickmans received the mandatory minimum prison term under state guidelines. more >>

Dale and Shannon Hickman, the Oregon couple who rubbed oils on their sick baby instead of seeking medical attention, will be going to jail after a Clackamas County jury this week found them guilty of second-degree manslaughter.

The case centered on the act of faith healing and parental negligence. The Hickmans’ baby, David, was born about two months premature and weighed just three pounds five ounces, according to court records. The baby developed a bacterial infection and died nine hours after delivery.

The conviction is a class B felony under state law that requires a sentence of at least six years and three months in prison under Oregon's mandatory sentencing regulations, according to state records. more >>

Trial begins this week in Clackamas County for the death of Dale and Shannon Hickman’s baby, another faith-healing death sparking much debate in Oregon.

The Hickmans are the fourth couple to be prosecuted in the county for failing to seek proper medical care for their newborn child based on their religious beliefs, which value prayer, laying of hands, and anointing of oil over modern medicine, according to The Oregonian.

Favoring faith-based care over mainstream medical treatments, the two chose to deliver their baby not through a doctor, but through midwives who attended their church, Followers of Christ, widely known for its controversial faith-related deaths. more >>

Former Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield died Sunday at the age of 89. Hatfield is remembered for his four decades of public service, his staunch opposition to war and more importantly, his Christian faith.

Hatfield, born July 12, 1922, died in a Portland care facility after suffering with poor health for many years. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1967-1997. Since the news of his passing, friends and colleagues from both sides of the aisle have come forward to pay tribute.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in a statement, "Oregon has lost a great son. The United States Senate has lost one of its former giants. The nation has lost a man who represented honesty and decency. And, I have lost a very good friend." more >>