By LORETTA FULTON Downtown Abilene was eerily quiet Sunday morning as parking lots at St. Paul United Methodist, First Central Presbyterian, and First Baptist churches were practically empty. That doesn’t mean nothing was happening inside. St. Paul and First Baptist broadcast services live as usual, although with no congregations, and First Central Presbyterian aired via Facebook. Sunday morning was challenging.
Read moreIDLE AMERICAN Commentary by Dr. Don Newbury My Uncle Mort, who lives so far out in the country that nobody passes his house going to town, called the other day. “I’m going to shock you, nephew,” he said. “’Cause I’m planning a ‘give-away’ that folks won’t be able to refuse.” He had my attention. I felt flushness in the face–sure
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By LORETTA FULTON Everyone is learning to adapt on the fly to the coronavirus crisis, and local feeding ministries are no exception. By order of Gov. Greg Abbott, commercial restaurants are closed until at least April 3 except for drive-through pickup. Feeding ministries are moving to a version of that model. Breakfast on Beech Street (B.O.B.S), City Light Community Ministries,
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS Ordinarily, a trip to the grocery store before the sun came up would be unthinkable for me; I am a breakfast eater and I have difficulty functioning well before orange juice and cereal. However, these are not ordinary times. So, when the local market installed a twice a week 6-9 a.m. period reserved for (as the announcement
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON The Pandemic of 2020 will be registered in our minds as something we will always remember. As time moves forward, some of the details will fade, but we will not forget that it took place. Most of us will never forget. People remember those events in life that have an impact on our future. Our “National Anthem”
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FROM THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SAN ANGELO: Pope Francis has called for people around the world to join him in praying the Rosary today, Thursday, March 19, at 3 p.m. Central Time: Pope Francis said: “Every family, every member of the faithful, every religious community: All of us spiritually united tomorrow (Thursday) at 9 pm in praying the Rosary, the
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By LORETTA FULTON The annual Holy Week Luncheon Series that hundreds of Abilenians look forward to each year will not be held this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Realistically, there is no way we could have it,” said Cliff Stewart, pastor of First Central Prebyterian Church and organizer of the event for more than 25 years. The series has
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Photo credit: visualhunt.com LATEST UPDATES FROM DIOCESE OF SAN ANGELO Bishop Michael Sis of the Diocese of San Angelo released the following statement March 27 announcing further restrictions within the diocese in order to promote public health and to limit the spread of COVID-19. Following are excerpts from the announcement. The entire announcement can be read at http://www.sanangelodiocese.org “As we
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Editor’s Note: Agnes Stone died in 2017 at age 102, but she will not be forgotten. A friend, Marianne Wood, wrote the following piece 10 years before Stone’s death. In it, Wood reflects on a woman of faith. “I went to see her shortly before she passed. I knew it would be my last visit, and told her I loved
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Spirit Of Abilene 