By LORETTA FULTON A move to Abilene as senior pastor at St. Paul United Methodist Church put Steve Patterson almost back at Square One, give or take about 30 miles and a population difference of several thousand people. The journey to St. Paul started in 1991 at the United Methodist Church in Avoca, located southeast of Stamford in Jones County.
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HARDIN-SIMMONS UNIVERSITY While Lynsi Johnson has learned much from her professors at Logsdon School of Theology and Hardin-Simmons University, she learns about life from the people she serves as a chaplain and the people she meets on the streets. “The dying and the homeless are two populations that could teach the world a lot about humility and compassion for life,”
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By DANNY MINTON I finished a hospital visit and entered the elevator following an attractive blonde lady. Already in the elevator were two men. They were good sized men who appeared to have come to visit someone after a hard day’s work. The elevator was silent as we descended to the first floor. The two men allowed the lady to
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IDLE AMERICAN Commentary by Dr. Don Newbury So awash are we in acronyms these days, we may start tossing them asunder at any time. Such drastic action carries with it results akin to “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” Acronyms are everywhere, and youngsters using them–probably throughout the world–are rendering many “tried and true” acronyms obsolete. We of wrinkled
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By LORETTA FULTON After 23 years, the congregation at Sacred Heart Catholic Church has a new pastor. The Rev. Albert Ezeanya, a native of Nigeria, was installed July 6 in a service presided over by Bishop Michael Sis of the Diocese of San Angelo. Ezeanya, who moved to Abilene from Eden, replaces the Rev. Robert Bush, who served the parish
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By LORETTA FULTON The following article by Loretta Fulton first was published in the Abilene Reporter-News June 29 July will be a momentous month for Dennis and Janelle O’Connell, but June wasn’t bad either. On July 7, the couple will celebrate 40 years of marriage and on July 20 they will depart for Thailand for their 20th mission trip with
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By DANNY MINTON When you go into battle, chances are you are going to face an injury or wounds of some type. My battle injuries have not come from war since I have never been able to serve our country in this manner. My battle scars come from sports. In baseball, I’ve had “strawberries” from sliding into a base and
Read moreIDLE AMERICAN Commentary by Dr. Don Newbury Radio listeners heard it from the lips of England’s Prime Minister–the inimitable Winston Churchill. In the 1939 radio broadcast, he said Russia “is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Fast forward 80 years to Uncle Mort’s 107th birthday party on July 4. This old Churchillian quote fits my kin quite well,
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By LORETTA FULTON The 116th edition of the annual Original West Texas Baptist District Assocation got off to a rousing start Monday night, with praise and worship music, scripture reading and words of welcome from representatives of several Abilene institutions. The opening musical program held at New Fellowship Baptist Church set the tone, literally and figuratively, for the coming five
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