Aaron Engstrom, left, and Charles Hale pose for a photo inside the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission. Listen to their story in the video player above or download it below. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

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IDAHO FALLS — The front steps of the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission — a homeless shelter — is not where Charles Hale ever imagined himself to be. But three years ago, at the age of 49, that’s where he was.

Just three months before, he had moved to Island Park to get a fresh start in life. He had been living on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, for four years after his wife had filed for divorce in 2014.

Hale has a master’s degree, and for 15 years, he had a successful career with Choice Hotels International, traveling the globe to provide computer and technology upgrades for 6,000 locations.

“I’d do trade shows and everything like that, but with that lifestyle — alcohol is part of it,” Hale tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Having a drink with clients was a normal part of the job, and it quickly became a habit, which developed into an addiction. Hale eventually started using cocaine and meth as well. Over time, he became dysfunctional and ultimately lost his job.

Around this time, Hale’s father died, and that caused Hale to continue his downward spiral. Hale’s wife later kicked him out of the house and cut him off from their three boys.

“I floundered there for a while, looking for help and a way back. But the whole time I was fighting my own pride and thinking, ‘Man, I can do this myself. I don’t need any help,'” Hale says.

Surviving on his own merits became his new goal.

After four years, though still deep in the throes of his addiction, he managed to get a job renovating the Chalet restaurant off U.S. Highway 20 in Island Park. This was the opportunity Hale felt he needed to prove he could make it on his own.

That’s when his life took another downward turn.

After three months on the job, the Chalet was completely destroyed in a fire in January 2018.

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No one was hurt, but Hale had been living in an apartment inside the building, and he was once again homeless and unemployed.

A Google search led him to the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission. With nothing to lose, Hale checked himself in.

The entrance to the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission at 840 Park Avenue. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

A growing problem and desperate need

Tyler Perkins, the executive director of the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission, says homelessness is an ongoing problem in Idaho Falls. The nonprofit serves people from all over the globe because of its proximity to Yellowstone National Park and other tourist destinations.

He says the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year combined with all the business growth contributes to the rise in homelessness.

“The first couple of months (of the pandemic), we probably saw a 20% increase in the number of calls and volume of people wanting to come here,” Perkins says. “There were people flooding into Idaho Falls (who specifically came here) because they wanted to stay at our homeless shelter.”

That’s because the rescue mission is more than a homeless shelter. It offers a variety of services for those who are struggling, including a recovery program for drug addicts — something Hale was looking for in January 2018.

“When I showed up here, the first thing they asked is if I could pass a (urinalysis). I said, ‘No, I need about four days.’ They said, ‘No problem. When you get done detoxing, come back, and we’ll have a bed for you,’ recalls Hale. “For somebody to give me just a little ounce of hope was amazing. I lost it, and I started bawling.”

The six-month program proved to be just what Hale needed to get control of his addiction and get his life back. There was a strong spiritual a

Logan Pickens and Pastor Ruth Marsh inside Trinity United Methodist Church. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

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IDAHO FALLS – When 27-year-old Logan Pickens first walked into Trinity United Methodist Church in Idaho Falls a year ago, he was at rock bottom.

He was nearly homeless and battling a drug addiction. One of his coworkers had introduced him to weed several years prior. He then became hooked on other drugs, including meth. He quit for a brief period of time but later started using again after several failed relationships, including a divorce from his wife after just six months of marriage.

He was now facing eviction from his apartment. Though he had a job as a chef at Cardamom Indian Restaurant in downtown, he was becoming dysfunctional because of his addiction. For him, life was spiraling out of control.

Walking into a church was the last thing on his mind at that time, but a trip to the laundromat one day changed all that.

“I used to live by the YMCA and I would go down the street and there was a laundromat there (where I would do my laundry). A friend said, ‘Hey, come over to the church, and you can do your laundry for free,'” Pickens tells EastIdahoNews.com. “So I walked a few extra blocks and got my free laundry here.”

The church has a day shelter that provides showers, food and laundry services for those in need.

Prior to living in Idaho Falls, Pickens had grown up in Missouri where he learned to play the piano, the clarinet and even sing.

As a member of a marching band, music had been a big part of his life back home. It had now been more than two years since Pickens had sung or played a single note, but Pastor Ruth Marsh caught wind of Pickens’ musical ability and offered him a job playing piano at worship services and other church events.

“Part of it was desperation because I needed a piano player,” Marsh says. “I had been praying (to reach) Logan’s demographic for years, and it just happened that Logan was the prototype that walked through the door.”

As a pastor, Marsh says God has often allowed her to see someone the way he does and she noticed something in Logan she wanted to foster.

“I grew up in a household with a mentally ill father, who Logan reminds me of,” says Marsh. “Lots of drug addiction presents itself in the same way.”

With no money to his name and nowhere to go, Pickens found temporary refuge living at the church before Marsh eventually took him in.

“The day the stay-home order went into effect, Logan had brought a few things from the apartment over to the church for safekeeping because he was about to be (evicted) and was going to stay with a friend of his who was on the other side of town,” Marsh says. “I realized … if the stay-home order is so strict that Logan can’t come to the church to play the piano, I’m up the creek without a paddle. So I figured out a way to get a little corner down in the basement where he could at least sleep.”

A year later, Pickens’s life looks a whole lot different. His drug addiction is under control and he now works full-time playing piano, operating sound and video equipment and managing the church’s social media pages.

He’s had many conversations with Pastor Marsh about God and Marsh says it’s helped Logan find his own faith.

“He needed to be able to find out that God was bigger than what he had learned as a young person,” she says.

A journey that began in childhood

Getting to this point has been a journey that began long before he ever set foot in Trinity United. It started when Pickens was just a kid growing up in Missouri.

“I grew up (in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and I was a very active member then. I got to go to the dedication of the Nauvoo temple (in 2002), so

Inmates at Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. Listen to the podcast in the video player above. | Courtesy Idaho Department of Correction

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POCATELLO – Between eight and 30 women gather in a small chapel for Sunday worship services at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center.

They’re all dressed in scrubs, ranging in color from red and orange to brown and green, signifying the unit they’ve been assigned within the prison. Not every inmate is present, but Mike Bright, the leader of a group of volunteers called to minister at the prison, tells EastIdahoNews.com those who do attend are there because they want to be.

“They can’t go anywhere, and they’re so happy to see you. They’ve committed some terrible crimes, but love radiates from those ladies,” Bright says.

Services have not been held at the center since the onset of COVID-19, but Bright describes what a typical Sunday was like prior to the outbreak.

As the religious leader asked to preside over the unit, he usually sat at the front of the group, along with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from throughout the area who are assigned to minister in the Kinport Branch on a rotating basis. Kinport is the name for the congregation of female inmates.

The correctional center is a maximum-security prison, which requires Bright and his volunteers to get through four levels of security just to hold services.

“You’d go up to the front door and push a button. The guards would let you in. Then they would check us in, frisk us with a wand and then we’d go through a metal detector (before entering another door leading to a foyer),” Bright says. “Then you’d go through another door that locked behind you and you were in the prison.”

The final level of security is the doorway to the chapel – a room about 25 feet by 20 feet with a maximum seating capacity of 30 people.

Once everyone had gathered, Bright would welcome everyone in attendance and services would begin with a hymn and a prayer. Two of the volunteers would then deliver a simple message.

“It’s mostly what we feel in our heart they might need that day,” says Sally Lunceford, one of the volunteers. “You might have prepared a (message) and then the day of (the service) you’ll say, ‘That doesn’t feel right. They need to hear this.'”

Lunceford serves as the Relief Society president at the prison. In Latter-day Saint congregations, Relief Society is a class for women 18 and up. Lunceford would coordinate this class in individual units immediately following services and help with activities for the inmates throughout the week.

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‘God knows who they are’

Serving in this capacity gives Lunceford a unique opportunity to have one-on-one interaction with these women and she got to know them on a personal level. She recalls a special connection she made with one woman in particular.

“She wasn’t even a girl who came to our services a lot, but I found out her name and if I met her in the hallway, I would say ‘Hello’ and call her by name,” Lunceford says.

Lunceford says this simple gesture was a big deal to the inmate because they are typically identified by their last name at the prison.

“After that … I always made sure that I acknowledged her name,” Lunceford says. “We all need that acknowledgment that we are a person. Even though they are in that circumstance — and yes, they put themselves there — they’re still somebody and God knows who they are.”

Lunceford lost contact with the woman once the stay-home order went into effect and she has since been released from prison. Under normal circumstances, volunteers are allowed to come and say goodbye to inmates as they exit the center. Due to COVID-19, Lunceford didn’t get that cha

Pastor Dave Schilling, center, and children in the congregation at Crown of Life Church in Rigby surround the pulpit in prayer during Sunday worship services. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Photo courtesy Facebook

Editor’s note: All church gatherings and conversations for this story took place several months ago before the spread of COVID-19. No public health and safety guidelines were violated.

RIGBY — Sixty people gather at the Crown of Life Church at 3856 E. 300 N. in Rigby, next to the high school.

It’s 11 a.m. on a Sunday.

People of all ages are seated in the rows of chairs as Pastor David Schilling begins the services with these words:

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, and burst into jubilant song in music.”

Schilling offers a prayer, reads the biblical account of Jesus inviting his apostles to eat bread and wine in remembrance of him, and invites each member of the congregation, one by one, to surround the altar and partake also. Each person is offered the emblems of Christ’s body one by one, and Schilling speaks to them, one by one, as they partake, saying,

“Remember how much our Lord Jesus loves you. Go in peace.”

When communion is over and everyone returns to their seats, children are invited to surround the pulpit. They join hands and Schilling offers a simple, heartfelt prayer.

“Dear Lord, we thank you for our families, for loving us so much. For blessing us every day and for sending Jesus to save us. Help us always to love you more. Amen,” he prays.

Members of the congregation are there with their families for one purpose: to worship God through words and music in their own way and on their own terms.

Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho. Today members at Crown of Life Church talk about their efforts to unite with other denominations in the community and what sets them apart from other Christian churches. You’ll also meet an active Latter-day Saint couple who regularly attends. Why they say it’s helping them appreciate their own faith even more.

Rett Nelson | EastIdahoNews.com

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE OR DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

If you’d like your church/faith to be highlighted in a future episode, send an email to [email protected].

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Finding Faith: The beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, why they worship on Saturday, and the challenges they face

Finding Faith: The idea behind Cop Church, and how it’s helping the men in blue come closer to Christ

Finding Faith: the beliefs of Pagans and Wiccans, and why everything you’ve heard may not be true

The interior of the Idaho Falls Seventh-day Adventist Church at 800 Westhill Ave. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

I pull into the church parking lot at 800 Westhill Ave. in Idaho Falls, right across the street from Skyline High School. It’s 3 p.m. on a Wednesday.

I walk into the foyer, where I’m greeted warmly by an older gentleman in a suit and tie.

We shake hands and he introduces himself as Harold Peters. He is there to lead a Bible study with several members of the congregation.

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We walk into a small room, where six people are seated around a table with their Bibles, waiting for the meeting to begin.

This isn’t the church’s regular worship service, which is usually held on Saturday at 11 a.m. This is just the regular, weekly Bible study to give members an additional opportunity to hear the word of God.

Most of the people in attendance are older men, but two women are there with their husbands.

After introducing myself to the group, they start talking about several members of the congregation who need some prayers.

Another lady arrives just a few minutes late. They finish the conversation and Peters then begins the meeting by inviting them all to bow their heads.

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“Our Heavenly Father, we come to you with an earnest desire to sense your presence with us today as we study,” Peters prays.

When the prayer is finished, everyone opens their bibles and Peters begins the discussion.

“Jesus declared, ‘When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. And He was talking about being lifted up on the cross,” says Peters. “One of the founding persons of the Seventh Day Adventists church in speaking about that said, ‘The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster.’”

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Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho. Today, we explore the beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists. In this episode, members explain why they worship on Saturday and the challenges they face.

The Idaho Falls Seventh-day Adventist Church at 800 Westhill Ave. in Idaho Falls. Services begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

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Jason Krebsbech bows his head during prayer at Cop Church in Idaho Falls. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Sixteen people gather at the River of Life Church at 525 S. Boulevard in Idaho Falls. It’s 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday.

I walk into the chapel, and in the back corner, chairs are formed in a circle, surrounding a table. On the table are a few bibles for people to use. There is also a plate of cookies, banana bread and pitcher of water.

Clearly, the meeting is intended to be discussion-based, comfortable and very informal.

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Gordon Boyle, the guest pastor for the night, begins the meeting by asking everyone to introduce themselves to the group. They go around the entire circle, and then Boyle begins the meeting with a prayer.

“Lord Jesus, we just thank you for your word. It leads and guides and I thank you for the folks you brought here tonight,” he said.

Most of the people in attendance are men, and some of them are packing guns. The one thing they have in common is their occupation. All of them currently work in or are recently retired from a career in law enforcement. Multiple women and children are in the circle as well, but they’re all there for one purpose: to worship and study the word of God in their own way and on their own terms.

“And we just pray that as we go through your word, you’ll teach us little things that we need to know. And help to have that understanding of who you are, why you came, and what that means to each of us … In Jesus’ name, Amen,” Boyle prayed.

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Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho.

In this episode, the origin of Cop Church, how it brings a special bond for the men in blue and at the same time, a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

Cop Church services are held the second Tuesday of every month inside River of Life Church building at 525 S. Boulevard in Idaho Falls. Services begin at 6:30 p.m. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

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A full moon has spiritual significance for Pagans. Listen to the podcast in the video player above to find out why, or download it below. | Courtesy photo

I walk into the Healing Hands Metaphysical Store at 429 B Street in Idaho Falls. It’s a little after noon on a Wednesday.

Terri Ireland, the owner of the store, greets me with a smile and shows me around the shop.

Among the items she shows me are herbs, candles, tea, rock and crystal jewelry, robes, tarot cards, and other spiritual wellness products. These items have one thing in common: they’re all rooted in some type of Pagan belief system.

One of the most popular items in the store are crystals. Those who follow Paganism believe crystals and other types of rocks vibrate energy, which can have healing properties when it makes contact with your energy vibration.

Many people wear these items as jewelry or just have them in the room with them in hopes of attracting positive energy into their life.

RELATED | Finding Faith: Worshipping on an air force base, role of military chaplains, and how faith helps families cope

Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho.

This week, we explore the beliefs of Pagans and Wiccans, why it’s not considered a religion among believers, and why everything you’ve heard about it may not be accurate.

RELATED | Finding Faith: The evolution of Unitarian Universalism, basic beliefs, and why it’s a growing religion

Wiccan pendant and altar owned by Cola Anderson of Idaho Falls. | Cola Anderson

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RELATED | Finding Faith: The truth about Muslims, what they believe, and how they’re treated by locals

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Chapel where service men and women on Mountain Home Air Force Base meet for worship services with their families. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Courtesy photo

Mountain Home Air Force Base 53 miles south of Boise is home to 4,500 active-duty airmen, along with 6,000 family members, 7,000 retirees and 650 civilian employees.

Each of the men and women in uniform come from various religious backgrounds, but most are Catholic or Protestant Christians.

Chapel services are held on the base every Sunday. About 100 people, on average, attend every week.

“There are some people who come in dress slacks and button-up shirts. Some people come in jeans and a T-shirt. Some women wear dresses and some women wear jeans,” Nina Augustine, a non-denominational Christian on base tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Military chaplains provide spiritual guidance for airmen and their families and help accommodate the spiritual needs of those they serve.

Whether it’s long deployments, combat, or losing a comrade in battle, the lifestyle of active-duty airmen is full of challenges without the additional pressures of raising a family and practicing a faith. But the ability have a place of worship on the base is what allows many of them to get through difficult times and continue serving our country.

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Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho.

This week, we’re doing something just a little bit different. Rather than focusing on a specific religion, we’re visiting the western part of the state to explore what it’s like to practice a faith on an Air Force base. We also learn the role military chaplains play in the lives of airmen, and how faith helps in coping with the pressures of military life.

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Practicing a faith on an Air Force base. | Courtesy Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE OR DOWNLOAD IT BELOW:

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The lighting of the chalice during a Unitarian Universalist church service. Listen to the podcast in the player above or download it below. | Courtesy photo

Thirty people gather at a small church on E Street in Idaho Falls. It’s 10:30 on a Sunday morning.

A variety of people are in attendance. One young mother is there with her newborn baby, and there’s another young couple in the pew several rows ahead. But most of the people are middle-aged.

It’s a non-denominational service with progressive beliefs. Some members of the congregation believe in God and some don’t. Some are gay and some are straight. But everyone is there for one purpose: to worship through words and music in their own way and on their own terms.

Welcome to Finding Faith, a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho.

RELATED | Finding Faith: The truth about Muslims, what they believe, and how they’re treated by locals

In this episode, we’ll take you inside a Unitarian Universalist church service. Members open up about their beliefs and explain why the faith has broad appeal. They also discuss the evolution of the faith over the years, and how it fosters love and acceptance for those inside and outside the church.

The Unitarian Universalist Church at 555 E Street in Idaho Falls. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

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A group of Muslims pray during a worship service in Idaho Falls. Listen to the podcast in the video player above or download it below. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

Seven people gather at the Idaho Falls Activity Center near the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. It’s 1 p.m. on a Friday.

Those in attendance are men, mostly middle-aged, dressed in casual attire. Two of the men are younger: One in his mid- to late-30s, the other in his 20s.

The man leading the group is dressed in a white robe and a Taqiyah, a short, brimless rounded cap.

The men are there for one purpose: to worship God through words and music in their own way and on their own terms.

Welcome to “Finding Faith,” a podcast exploring the history, culture and beliefs of different denominations in eastern Idaho.

RELATED | ‘Finding Faith’ podcast premieres Sunday on EastIdahoNews.com

In this episode, we’ll take you inside a Muslim prayer service and find out what they really believe. A group of Muslims in Idaho Falls explains why your perception of Islam may not be accurate. They also discuss the origins of the faith in eastern Idaho, and what it’s like to live as a Muslim in a predominantly Christian community.

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Click here to download it.

If you’d like your church/faith to be highlighted in a future episode, send an email to [email protected].