By SHARIE PYKE - For The Outpost

More than 2,100 women prayerfully sang “Jesus Loves Me” together at the Women of Faith conference at the Rimrock Auto Arena last Saturday. That childhood favorite, deceptively simple, stated the theme for the day: “God loves you.”

While the conference was a time to meet old friends and sing praise and worship songs, it was also a time to search the heart. Sheila Walsh, the keynote speaker, has been with the conference for 17 years.

“I think that the world has changed,” she said in an interview. “In 1996 the world felt a lot safer. Our messages were lighter and more humorous. The intensity of our message has changed. People want to know what is going to be true forever. There are over 3,000 promises in God’s word. There’s this scarlet thread (of sacrificial blood) from the beginning, even before man was created, a provision for salvation. We have an enemy. We fight not against flesh and blood but the unseen world.”

Ms. Walsh is modest when speaking of her own spiritual gifts. “Writing and singing, of course,” she said. “And I have the gift of encouragement. I really see myself as an advocate for the hearts of women. We think that just because we’re on the platform, we’re more precious to God. That’s not true.”

She may not be more precious to God, but she has been blessed with a talent for preaching and teaching, as well as a seemingly endless supply of kindness, with which she blesses both friend and stranger.

Continue reading: Women of Faith preaches hope, love

By WILBUR WOOD - For The Outpost

If you were in college today, what would you major in?

Climate scientist Steve Running asked this question during the first week of April, speaking with mixed-age audiences at three colleges in Bozeman and Billings (Montana State University, Rocky Mountain College and MSU Billings).

He answered the question by suggesting future career paths for students, how they could stay busy and useful for the next 30 years, by creating:

• More energy efficient buildings and cars.

Continue reading: ‘It’s about water’

By AMY R. SISK - Community News Service - UM School of Journalism

HELENA – Jenny Kaleczyc sits at her desk on the third floor of a downtown Helena building with an overflowing inbox and fresh stack of folders – 10 more cases to add to her current workload of 75.

“We lie awake worrying about what we couldn’t get to, and wake up in the middle of the night making our to-do list for the next morning,” the regional deputy public defender said.

Her office isn’t unique. The other 13 public defender offices across Montana struggle to make do with limited resources and an ever-increasing workload as they represent low-income individuals in court.

This week, they are asking the Legislature for more money from House Bill 2, the state’s main two-year, $9 billion budget bill. It passed the House last month, and senators are now busy hashing out its details.

“The bottom line of what we’re going to tell them is that the constitutional duty of the state of Montana will fail,” said Richard “Fritz” Gillespie, chairman of the state’s Public Defender Commission.

Continue reading: Defenders seek more assistance