A Juneteenth celebration will be held Friday through Sunday at the Abilene Convention Center and in Stevenson Park. All events are free. Friday’s activities begin with a fish fry at 6 p.m., a DJ, and kick ball. Taste of Soul will perform from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by Basic Truth 8-9 p.m. The band, “Soulful Sounds” will be in
Read more
Dr. Phil Christopher, senior pastor of First Baptist Church since 1995, announced his retirement Sunday, June 13, during the morning worship service. His retirement is effective Sept. 26 of this year. The following letter was posted after the service. Some things don’t change…. An article about First Baptist Abilene in the 1954 Abilene Reporter News was titled “An evangelistic, progressive, and pioneering
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON Of all the stories around the sinking of the Titanic, the co-owner of Macy’s, Isidor and Ida Straus, stands out as one of a couple’s love and commitment. It’s a scene depicted in various ways in every movie and book centered on the tragedy. On April 18, 1912, a story came out of New York, “Mr. and
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Fifth-grade violinists from Grandview Elementary School are accustomed to taking Branson, Missouri, by storm, but this year they wowed audiences despite the “double whammy” of rainstorms and a pandemic. Founder-director Vicki Nichols, who has taken the Zebra Strings to Branson for 15 consecutive years on a chartered bus, opted out last spring when COVID-19 dangers
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS I am a baseball fan. I liked playing it when I was young and have followed any major league team close to where I lived and could get on the radio. That would include the Kansas City Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, and now the Texas Rangers. There are certain lyrical
Read more
By WES CRAWFORD The headline of a March 2021 issue of The Washington Post grabbed the attention of many American Christian leaders by reporting that church membership in the United States dipped below 50 percent for the first time in this nation’s history. To put that statistic into perspective, the number of Americans claiming membership in a church, synagogue, or
Read moreKristy McDonoughChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints On Saturday, June 5, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were busy working to help people in Hamlin whose homes were damaged by flooding. Heavy rains caused creeks to overflow and sent muddy water into citizen’s homes, ruining walls, floors, and furnishings. Over 50 church members, many with large
Read more
Evangelical Environmental NetworkNews release A letter signed by more than 100 evangelical leaders was sent to members of Congress June 7 calling on them to include key climate and environmental provisions in a final infrastructure package. Since President Biden unveiled his road map for infrastructure spending in March, Congress has been stalled on how to translate the principles of the
Read more
By ROBIN SAYLORAbilene Christian University The COVID-19 pandemic might feel like déjà vu for ACU graduate Kent Brantly, who contracted the deadly Ebola virus in 2014 while serving as a medical missionary in Liberia. Six years later, Brantly and his family returned to Africa, where Kent works in Zambia at Mukinge Mission Hospital. Read a Q&A conducted in 2020 with Brantly
Read more
Spirit Of Abilene 