By Loretta Fulton

Each December, members of Religion News Association, including Spirit of Abilene creator and editor Loretta Fulton, vote on the top religion stories of the year. 

Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza was selected as the top religion story of 2024. The re-election of Donald Trump, with strong support from Latino and white evangelicals, came in second.

Locally, religion news stories were plentiful and meaningful. Following are some of the local highlights from 2024.

BISHOP MICHAEL SIS CELEBRATES 10 YEARS IN DIOCESE
A celebration of the 10th anniversary of the ordination of Michael Sis as Bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo was held Jan. 14 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Angelo.

The diocese includes four congregations in Abilene–Holy Family, Sacred Heart, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Vincent Pallotti.

Sis was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo on Dec. 12, 2013, when he was serving as the Vicar General and the Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Austin. He was ordained as bishop in January 2014. Since then he has learned that the roads are endless in the vast Diocese of San Angelo, which covers 29 counties. His hours of “windshield time” have made him aware of the natural beauty of the diocese and the magnificent skies.

“I especially enjoy our skies,” he said. “They are like an ever-changing canvas of God the divine painter who never tires of creating new works of art.”

FORMER PARISH PRIEST IN ABILENE DIES
Monsignor James P. Bridges, formerly at Sacred Heart and Holy Family Catholic Churches in Abilene, died Feb. 8, 2024, at age 94.

While in Abilene, he also was principal of Central Catholic High School. 

Funeral Mass was held Feb 16 at St. Stephen Catholic Church in  Midland under direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home. 

While serving as associate pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Abilene, he was also principal at Central Catholic High School. After four years he was made pastor of St. Joseph Parish in

LAMBERT HONORED BY PASTORS FOR TEXAS CHILDREN
State Rep. Stan Lambert was honored Feb. 27 by Pastors for Texas Children at an event at the Grace Museum.

Lambert was cited for his voting record for public education, consistently opposing school vouchers. On the same day that Lambert was honored, Gov. Greg Abbott was in town promoting Lambert’s primary opponent, Liz Case of Dallas, who agreed with Abbott’s support of vouchers. 

Pastors For Texas Children is an organization that supports public education and is led by Rev. Charles Johnson, founder and executive director. 

GLOBAL SAMARITAN CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
Global Samaritan Resources celebrated 25 years of service to Abilene and the world with a luncheon on March 5, 2024. The ministry was started in 1999 when students in an Abilene Christian University missions class decided they wanted to help after the destruction of Hurricane Mitch. 

Today, one of those students, Andrew Kelly, is executive director of Global Samaritan. A highlight of the March 5 luncheon was a presentation of the Ed Enzor Global Servant Award to David Catalina “for his vision, dedication and years of service, in the name of Jesus, to the hurting and need around the globe.” 

Catalina was the first warehouse manager for Helping Hands International, the original name of the ministry that grew into Global Samaritan Resources. 

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH SENIOR PASTOR RESIGNS
Brandon Hudson, senior pastor at First Baptist Church since February 2023, resigned in April 2024. 

An announcement from the Personnel Committee said that Hudson was arrested in March for a DWI. The committee sent the following email:

“The Personnel Committee wants to inform the church that Senior Pastor Brandon Hudson has submitted his resignation letter and the letter was read to the church at the end of the service on Sunday, April 7, 2024.”

Hudson’s first service was Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023. He was selected after more than a year of searching for a senior pastor to replace Phil Christopher, whose retirement was effective Sept. 26, 2021. Christopher had served as senior pastor since 1995. Matt Cook has been serving as interim pastor at First Baptist.

ABILENE GETS FIRST SAFE HAVEN BABY BOX IN TEXAS
A dedication ceremony was held April 2 at Fire Station No. 7 on North Pioneer Drive marking the installation of the first Safe Haven Baby Box in Texas.

The baby box is a place where an infant can be safely left and put up for adoption. Once the baby is placed inside the box and the door shut, it locks and a silent alarm is sounded. Firefighters respond within two minutes and the baby is transported to the hospital and eventually is placed with Child Protective Services for a closed adoption.

Karen Light, a member of Holy Family Catholic Church, was the leader of the effort to get the Baby Box in Abilene. 

FORMER LOGSDON PRESIDENT NAMED PRESIDENT OF NEW SEMINARY
In May 2024, Dr. Dan Stiver, former professor at Logsdon Seminary, was named the new president of Fletcher Seminary in San Antonio.

Fletcher Seminary is an online-based seminary, and Stiver continues to live in Fort Worth. Trustees and administrators at Hardin-Simmons announced the closure of Logsdon in February 2020. A year later, a group of alumni and former Logsdon faculty announced that a new seminary would open in a Baptist Church in San Antonio. It was named in honor of Dr. Jesse Fletcher, the 14th president of Hardin-Simmons University and the visionary behind creation of the original Logsdon Seminary. Fletcher died in 2018 at age 87.

ACU’S SIBURT INSTITUTE ADDS SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
The Siburt Institute at Abilene Christian University, established in 2012, announced in June 2024 that it was adding a Scholar-in-Residence program to its offerings.

The first appointment was Collin Packer, who will serve during the 2024-2025 academic year. Packer received his bachelor of arts in Christian ministry and master of divinity from ACU.He then served as the lead minister for prominent Churches of Christ in Littleton, Colorado, and Allen, Texas, for the next 13 years. As his calling evolved, Packer transitioned out of full-time church ministry in 2021. Since that time, he has served as the Director of Faith-Based Partnerships at CitySquare, a poverty-fighting nonprofit in North Texas, and as the Communications Director for State Representative Carl Sherman during Texas’s 88th Legislative Session.

The Siburt Institute released the following statement about the program:

“The Siburt Institute’s Scholar-in-Residence program will support practitioner-scholars doing significant applied research that meets the rigor of the academy and that serves the life and mission of the church.”

LONGTIME PASTORS RETIRE
When Felicia Hopkins arrived in Abilene in the summer of 2013, she immediately made history.

She was the first woman senior pastor at historic St. Paul United Methodist Church and its first Black pastor. But soon she was just “Felicia,” with no historical references attached. Felicia served at St. Paul for several years before her bishop at the time, Rev. W. Earl Bledsoe, named her superintendent of the Amarillo District. Following a stint in the Panhandle, she returned as Abilene District Superintendent. After a varied career, from the corporate world to Army chaplain during Operation Iraqi Freedom to pulpit minister to district superintendent, Felicia retired–but only partly so. She began serving as part-time pastor at the new Open Door UMC that formed in Clyde as part of a transition that the United Methodist Church is undergoing. 

Rodney Watson, the only pastor Lytle South Baptist Church has known, retired after 40 years. Watson’s last day in the pulpit was June 28. His first sermon came on July 1, 1984, at Temple Baptist Church, 1073 Sycamore, which became a mission of First Baptist Church in 1988. The congregation moved to Industrial Boulevard and became Lytle South Baptist Church. 

“I thank God, Jana, my family, and LSBC for the opportunity I’ve had to pastor at one church for all these years,” Watson said. “It has been a tremendous blessing, something a pastor may dream about, but never really expects it to become a reality.

FIRST CHRISTIAN GROWS IN NEW LOCATION
Just three years after moving from its historic downtown location, First Christian Church announced plans to expand its property on Antilley Road. That’s quite a change from the reality that made the sale and move necessary. The historic church, which dates to 1885, had been located at 1420 N. Third St. since 1921. But, like many historic downtown churches, it had suffered from a declining enrollment and aging buildings, which were expensive to maintain. Something had to be done, and the congregation began a long journey. They relocated to a former Church of the Nazarene building on Antilley Road and soon attracted enough new people to make an expansion necessary.

HENDRICK HOME FOR CHILDREN NAMES FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT
Erin Seabourne was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Hendrick Home for Children during an especially busy time, with the Home celebrating its 85th anniversary in June. Seabourne was hired in 2013 by former President David Miller as a caseworker. She was promoted to clinical director in 2016, Vice President of Clinical Services in 2018, and Executive Vice President in 2019. Hendrick Home for Children, which opened in 1939, was the creation of Tom and Ida Hendrick. With her promotion to president and CEO, Seabourne became the first woman to lead the Home. 

GLOBAL SAMARITAN RESOURCES ADDS NONPROFIT RESOURCE CENTER
Global Samaritan Resources announced the addition of a center to aid nonprofits and church in August. The membership-based center provides items such as cleaning supplies, wipes, diapers, toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, paper towels, bedding, and more. 

LOCAL UNITED METHODISTS BECOME PART OF NEW CONFERENCE
Delegates from three United Methodist Church conferences convened in Abilene Sept. 27-28 to vote on melding into one new conference. Delegates to the Unifying Conference approved forming the Horizon Texas Conference from the former Northwest Texas Conference, Central Texas Conference, and North Texas Conference. The new conference will become official on Jan. 1, 2025. Bishop Ruben Saenz, current bishop of both the Central and North Texas conferences, will become bishop of the Horizon Texas Conference. The entire United Methodist Church is restructuring following the launch on May 1, 2022, of the Global Methodist Church. The new branch of Methodism is much more conservative than the mainstream United Methodist Church and outlaws same-sex marriages and the ordination of gays and lesbians. The majority of the former United Methodist congregations in the Northwest Texas Conference, which includes Abilene, disaffiliated from the UMC and joined the Global Methodist Church. Only 32 UMC congregations remain within the boundaries of the Northwest Texas Conference, with two being in Abilene–St. Paul and St. James. 

McMURRY UNIVERSITY NAMES NEW PRESIDENT 
McMurry University welcomed its 11th president, Dr. Lynne Murray, at a news conference and reception Friday, Sept. 27. She will take office in January. Murray was introduced at the news conference by Dr. Sandra Harper, current McMurry president whose last day in office will be Jan. 10, 2025. Most recently, Murray served as president of Baker University in Kansas, which, like McMurry, is a small liberal arts university with United Methodist roots. 

MISSION THANKSGIVING CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
The 25th annual Mission Thanksgiving took place Friday, Nov. 22, in on the parking lot of Arrow Ford in Abilene. In recent years, locations have been added in Clyde, Anson, and Merkel. Events were held in those locations on Nov. 22 as well. The event is the major fundraiser of the year for Love & Care Ministries and annually brings in 10 to 11 semi-trailer loads of food, clothing, bedding, bottled water, and winter needs. It is always held on the Friday before Thanksgiving. 

UNITED WOMEN IN FAITH FORM NEW CONFERENCE
United Women in Faith, formerly United Methodist Women, met in Abilene in November to unify three existing conferences into one new one. A new conference of three former United Methodist conferences was created in a meeting in Abilene in September. The United Women in Faith will now be part of the Horizon Texas Conference, which was formed by the unification of the former Northwest Texas Conference, Central Texas Conference, and North Texas Conference.

YOUTH VOICE OPENS NEW HOME
Youth Voice, a place for teens to gather after school, held an open house Dec. 5 at its new home, 1634 N. First St. The building previously housed a fire station. Ben Siburt serves as executive director. According to its website, Youth Voice provides basic needs such as food and hygiene products, tutoring, job training, and mentoring. Youth Voice is a United Way agency.

IN RARE OCCURRENCE, HANUKKAH AND CHRISTMAS FALL ON SAME DAY
Hanukkah, with its various spellings, and Christmas fell on the same day this year, which is an unusual occurrence. Hanukkah, also is known as the Jewish Festival of Lights, began on Dec. 25 and lasts until Jan. 2. Christmas Day, for some Christians, is the first day of Christmas. It ends on the date of the Epiphany, which is Jan. 6 for Western Christians. The Epiphany commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi or Wisemen.  Locally, many churches held Christmas Eve services. Temple Mizpah hosed a Hanukkah dinner and service on Dec. 27.

Loretta Fulton is creator and editor of Spirit of Abilene