CENTRAL POINT, OREGON — By mid-morning one sunny Saturday in May, over 20 bikers clad in various shades of leather had gathered in the parking lot of a Catholic church in Southern Oregon, waiting for their motorcycles to be blessed by a priest. 

Many of the men and women who lined their bikes in neat rows in front of the church sanctuary had travelled up to an hour and a half to the Shepherd of the Valley Catholic Church in Central Point. 

Although not all the bikers gathered in front of the Catholic church were religious, they did have two things in common: they loved motorcycles and they wanted to receive a blessing from the Rev. Silverino Kwebuza to usher their bikes into the spring riding season. 

The May 9 event was arranged by motorcycle rider Francis Fischer, who is part of the Medford branch of the biking group the Moose Riders.  

The Moose Riders are an activity group affiliated with Moose Lodges, a network of social groups that bring people together for activities and charity. 

Moose Rider Bike Blessings were started in 2004, according to the organization’s website, after a small group of riders from Illinois made a pilgrimage to a religious building on a Moosehart campus to have their bikes blessed. 

Since then, according to the organization, hundreds of riders around the country have participated in the annual event, which continues to gain traction. 

Although Moose Riders have often organized bike blessings, overall, Fischer said, “It’s very uncommon to have a priest bless bikes.”

Read more here: https://favs.news/southern-oregon-bikers-catholic-motorcycle-blessing/

Main Points

• Sixteen North Idaho Catholic teens hiked a mountain with the Rev. Nelson Cintra to explore priesthood, prayer and brotherhood.

• The Diocese of Boise launched Sons of St. Joseph, using outdoor adventure, prayer and mentorship to inspire vocations among young men.

• Carrying a 35-pound wooden cross up Mt. Coeur d’Alene, the teens bonded through hardship, prayer and a summit Mass during the vocations hike.

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North Idaho Catholic young men exploring the priesthood recently received a personal invitation from the Rev. Nelson Cintra to climb a difficult mountain, create fraternal bonds and listen deeply to the Lord’s voice. 

Sixteen teenagers ages 13-18 from six different Catholic parishes responded. 

Cintra was “very pleased” with the turnout for the “To the Heights” hike and Mass event on April 25. The Diocese of Boise Vocations Office sponsored the hike in partnership with Communio CDA founder and North Idaho Vocations Ambassador Jason Chavez.

“The truth is young men are waiting for the invitation. They are waiting to be seen, to be called forward,” Chavez said. “Many are not resistant; they are simply waiting for someone to step in and lead.”

Read the full article here: https://favs.news/north-idaho-catholic-teens-priesthood-hike-brotherhood/

The predominantly Christian Idaho legislature recently passed a law banning transgender people from using sex-segregated facilities that align with their gender identity, but some Christian leaders in the state are arguing that the law is not Christian-like at all.

The law, which goes into effect in July, requires transgender people to only use bathrooms, changing rooms or similar facilities that align with their sex at birth — no matter what gender they identify as.  

Although the law was passed by a Legislature that starts many meetings with a Christian prayer, not all Christians feel as if the law represents their faith. 

“To hear that the state was actually trying to roll us back in history, instead of move us forward into a spirit of inclusion, was incredibly disheartening,” Josh Lee, senior pastor with Boise First United Church of Christ, said. 

Bathroom bill applies to public and private spaces

The bill doesn’t only affect government spaces, like city halls and libraries, but also applies to privately-owned places that are generally open for the public, like stores and religious venues. 

Pastor Bob Lewis with Immanuel Lutheran Church in Boise said the church’s council will need to discuss the law and decide how to move forward as a congregation. 

“I am not going to ask people to sit outside our bathrooms and police them. I can’t do that,” Lewis said. “Our mission and our statement is, ‘We welcome all.’ 

“All means all,” he added. 

Violating the law carries criminal penalties. Anyone convicted of a first violation will receive a misdemeanor, with the potential of up to a year in jail, and anyone convicted of a second violation within five years will receive a felony, with the potential of up to five years in prison. 

There are eleven exceptions to the law, including things like providing medical assistance or doing maintenance. 

Bill’s supporters say it keeps ‘women and girls safe’

Many of the state senators and representatives who spoke in favor of the bill declared it a form of protection, citing the need to keep women and girls safe from “indecent exposure.” 

A 2025 study by the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, a research center conducting independent research on LGBTQ+ themes, found that there was no statistically reportable evidence of increased harms to cisgender people when transgender people use the restrooms that align with their gender identity. 

However, the opposite does occur when transgender people are banned from their restroom of choice: 11% of transgender men were verbally harassed in women’s restrooms and 9% of transgender women were verbally harassed in men’s restrooms.

When transgender people used the bathroom in alignment with their gender identity, the verbal harassment went down to 7%, the report found. 

‘Jesus said to draw them in’

Idaho, a historic stronghold for Christian groups that lean conservative including Latter-day Saints and evangelical Protestants, is often influenced by the conservative politicians who serve in state government. 

In Pastor Lee’s mind, believing that Christianity supports exclusionary practices is “heartbreaking.” 

“They will claim that this legislation is coming forward because of faith and desire to be a Christian state, and yet they somehow totally dismiss the words of Jesus where he calls them to love the least of these,” Lee said. “To me, the least of these are anyone who are less than 5% of society. Trans, homeless, immigrants. Those are the very people that so much of the legislation is aimed at trying to cast them out.” 

“Jesus said to draw them in,” Lee said. “It is very disheartening.” 

Read the full article here: https://favs.news/idaho-bathroom-law-christian-leaders-response/

MOSCOW, Idaho – Hundreds of local residents and students lined up more than an hour early Tuesday as Turning Point USA brought its national tour to the ICCU Arena on the University of Idaho campus, with Daily Wire commentators Matt Walsh and Michael Knowles headlining.

One person in line was Julian Gossard. Gossard is a student at Whitworth University in Spokane and wanted to show support to TPUSA.

“I came to this event because I really love America and I really want to make sure this country is heading in the right direction,” Gossard said.

Across the street, protesters held signs reading “Bigots off our campus,” “God hates fascists” and “Be courageous, oppose all tyranny.” University of Idaho student Chloe Belfer Sanford said she came to draw attention to the university platforming a far-right group.

“We oppose the University allowing TPUSA to be here at all because we feel that they represent a fascist movement and that they shouldn’t be allowed to speak on campus,” Belfer Sanford said. “We believe in the rights of all people including immigrants, queer people, people of color, disabled people and we believe TPUSA is opposed to that.” 

Belfer Sanford acknowledged both sides are exercising free speech but her problem is with the university hosting them. 

“We don’t believe that the university, our tuition, should go to platforming these people,” Sanford said. “We believe that people should be allowed to speak but they are anti-pluralist, they don’t want people like us to speak or to be allowed our freedom of religion or freedom of expression.

Inside the ICCU Arena, Walsh and Knowles took the stage before a sea of white hats embroidered with “freedom” or “47,” black curtains framing the crowd behind them. Within minutes, both mocked the protesters outside.

“Did you see the protest outside?” Knowles said.

“It was a little low energy, I was kind of disappointed. I want more, put some energy into it,” Walsh said.

He used this as a launching point into how the left has become too radicalized. The introduction portion touched on topics including political violence and transgender ideology. During the Q&A portion both fielded questions regarding transgender representation in mass shootings, their support for Trump despite his affiliation and appearance in the Epstein Files, abortion and religion.

Tuesday’s event was the final stop on TPUSA’s “This is the Turning Point Tour,” which also visited George Washington University, the University of Georgia, Ohio State University and Baylor University this spring.

Read more here: https://favs.news/walsh-knowles-turning-point-univesity-of-idaho/