By DANNY MINTON Churches vary on the lighting of the second candle of Advent, with some lighting the candle of peace and others the candle of love. I wasn’t sure which to do since my experience with the tradition of Advent is limited, so I decided to take the “casting lots” method of determining whether to write about peace or
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My ancient Uncle Mort–with razor-sharp memory of the long ago but dullard-like on yesterday–has a mind recently clouded with “what if’s” concerning the World Cup. This is surprising, since he doesn’t know a soccer ball from Cinderella’s ball. He barely knows that World Cup has “kicked off” in Qatar. He’s apologetic for “punning along”
Read more
By NANCY PATRICK I grew up in a church that did not observe religious traditions such as Advent or Lent. Although we observed Christmas and Easter, our leadership sort of skipped over other liturgical events, so when I began attending a church that followed the liturgical calendar, I had a lot to learn. The twenty-four days preceding Christmas is the
Read more
By LORETTA FULTON Wylie Baptist Church is celebrating its 40th year of producing the Living Christmas Tree, an annual gift to the community that involves almost everyone in the congregation. This year’s productions will be held Dec. 8-11 at the church, 6097 Buffalo Gap Road. Tickets are free, but required. They are available at the church office or by calling
Read moreBishop Michael Sis of the Diocese of San Angelo, will preside over a Mass at two churches on Dec. 12, which is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The bishop will be at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Robert Lee at 11:30 a.m. and at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in San Angelo for a
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON Until recently, the congregations I of which I’ve been a part have never had the Advent tradition. However, when I think about the meaning behind the practice, I realize that I have practiced its basic principles yearly and month after month. During this time of year, attention revolves around four central thoughts. Many churches will light a
Read moreBy MIKE PATRICK I want to share three stories about drummers, two historical and one of fiction. When researching my family roots years ago, I discovered that my great-great grandfather is buried in Sabanno Cemetery between Cross Plains and Cisco, located in Eastland County, Texas. His name was Virgil Miller Williams (1843-1894). His father (my 3-great grandfather) Joseph Henry Williams,
Read more
By GRACE SOSA This is my last semester in my master of divinity program, and I’ll be graduating in December (yay)! The last big paper that I’m writing is about the incarnation in the Gospel of John. And that is such a fitting thing to be writing about as we approach the season of Advent because this is when we
Read more
By JIM NICHOLS The line began to form when dawn was not even in sight. The stoplights were blinking and only a few car lights could be seen. A couple of delivery trucks, loaded during the night, were just leaving the parking lot for the day’s work. The people in the line looked groggy from a poor night’s sleep. Why
Read more
Spirit Of Abilene 