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Deidre Jacobson seeks sustain The Fig Tree into the future

Deidre Jacobson
Deidre Jacobson has been involved since 2001.

Deidre Jacobson wrote her first article for The Fig Tree in 2001, an article on the Women’s Drop-In Center, where she was leading a writers’ workshop for women.

Her husband, Lance, and she were recruiters for Calvary Lutheran (later Prince of Peace Lutheran) for the CROP Walk.  Lance saw Mary Stamp there and told her, “My wife likes to write.”

In 2002, Deidre joined the board.

“The biggest thing The Fig Tree does is provide hopefulness,” she said.  “There is so much fear-based information that beats on us.

“I’m afraid, for example, realizing that by 2025 two-thirds of the world’s population will not have stable water sources,” she said.  “I’m hopeful, however, knowing that people in quiet ways lift up and care for others.

Deidre has written a number of articles over the years. 

One woman she interviewed in Coeur d’Alene had Gulf War Syndrome from uranium in missiles.

She interviewed another woman three times, taking time to hear her story and learn, because “sometimes we can’t rush stories,” she said.

Growing up in Spokane, Deidre attended St. Luke’s Lutheran.  She attended Pentecostal Bible studies and prayer groups during high school.

“My experience of The Fig Tree over the years has expanded my experiences of God,” she said, telling of new respect she has gained for the faith of others.

For example, interviewing Jane Comerford, formerly a spiritual director at St. Joseph Family Center, she learned about Celtic spirituality.

“I used to wrestle with who’s saved and who’s not, but in interviews I hear people’s authentic spiritual experiences that are different from mine,” she said.  “It has widened my view.”

She was also challenged when a friend’s mother, who was Presbyterian, died.  The friend, who was Catholic, thought only Catholics went to heaven.

Now Deidre sees each person’s experience of faith as a different piece of the puzzle.

“It has had impact on my faith journey.  I have learned to respect other’s beliefs,” said Deidre, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 1989 and a master’s degree in 2000 in social work at Eastern Washington University.

For seven years, she worked in geriatric care management with Care Connections.  Then she was a part-time, and later full-time counselor at Miryam’s House for several years.  When she left, she started her own business in care management. 

Last year, she began teaching mental health and caregiver classes at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  Then she began teaching at adult family homes and assisted living homes.

She and Lance are both caregivers for their parents, her mother who lives near Whitworth and his father who lives near 31st and Bernard.

On The Fig Tree board, she hopes to reach the goal of raising an additional $30,000 a year to bring on new staff for enough years to build a base to support and keep The Fig Tree going for many more decades.

“We are also looking at the future of how The Fig Tree will change as denominations shrink and unify, and how The Fig Tree will continue to be the voice of people of faith,” Deidre said.

“Visioning for our future and for financial stability—as other nonprofits—is not easy,” she said.  “We are bringing more young people into the mix.  We will find ways to connect with more non-denominational churches growing more in what unites us rather than what divides us.”

Deidre, as treasurer and as someone dedicated to The Fig Tree’s mission, has been the one who gives the appeal for donations at Benefit Breakfasts and Benefit Lunches.  She helped to establish those events.

Her vision for The Fig Tree includes replicating the publication in other areas of the nation.

For information, call 710-0204.






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