By Dr. DAN STIVER In April, the administration instituted a new policy of dealing with immigrants at the border, which has involved heart-wrenching scenes of forcibly taking children and babies from their parents. This policy was a dramatic change from two previous presidents of both parties, Bush and Obama, over 16 years, including this administration’s own policy for the first
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON Our first teachers in life are our parents. They teach us right and wrong, good and bad and how to act. We don’t always listen, but in our learning, we can at times learn a lesson not by their words but by their actions. This is the story of a young woman who took a lesson from
Read more(Editor’s Note: Abilenian Nancy Rangel, a retired elementary school teacher and mother of two, handwrote the following letter and mailed it to all 100 senators. She added her voice to those of others who protested the inhumane separation of mothers and children at the border.) TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN, This is the United States of America, a nation of
Read moreBy KAYLA WEINKAUF I walked into the woods—a light breeze blowing breaths on my back Wanting space—and time—and solace, perhaps? The woods called out to me “Come—walk deeper into the unknown…” They dared me to take a new path I trust the woods, and so I wandered Each stride took me further away Each stride brought me closer I landed
Read more(Editor’s Note: Amy Wilson Feltz, associate pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church, shared this Facebook post, encouraging others to join her in contacting elected officials to advocate for peace and justice for all. “I will do . . . something, every day,” is her vow. Contacting senators and representatives is a start.) By AMY WILSON FELTZ Hi, Friends. I typically reserve
Read moreBy THE REV. MARY GLOVER Let us pray to our Creator: Every day, but on this day especially, we ask your blessing on all fathers: For those whose hair is curly, buzzed, blonde, red, black or brown For those whose hair has greyed, thinned out, or even disappeared For those standing tall as a tree and those barely taller than
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK I grew up in a simpler time than today’s society. My dad was a child of the Great Depression, born in 1928 in the dirt poor farming community of Blevins, Arkansas. His parents had five children; my dad, the second. He grew up working hard, leaving his home at age 14 to move 17 miles away to
Read moreBy DR. KRISTINA CAMPOS DAVIS Director of Communications, Hardin-Simmons University On June 14, the Hardin-Simmons University family lost one of its most distinguished and well-loved members, former President Dr. Jesse C. Fletcher, who died at age 87. A memorial service celebrating Dr. Fletcher’s life will be held in the main sanctuary at First Baptist Church at 2 p.m. Monday,
Read more(Editor’s Note: The following article first appeared on the Womenary blog site in May, 2018. Womenary is Tyler-based program that offers seminar-style classes for women seeking a theological education. The author, Leslie Strader, is a freelance writer who lives in Tyler but grew up in Abilene, the daughter of Rob and Linda Carleton. She graduated from Baylor University and then earned
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Spirit Of Abilene 