By LORETTA FULTON Summer is quickly approaching and that means it’s time for “Space Blast,” “Passport to Peace,” “Be Strong & Courageous,” and the many other Vacation Bible School themes that are popular this year. Most churches are back to the traditional VBS format after the COVID shutdown two years ago and some experimentation with new formats last summer. However,
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The memory is lodged in my brain’s recesses, as closely as mistletoe clings to mesquite trees. Our parents–neither with educational opportunities beyond high school–provided common sense counsel for my brother and me. One admonition on their rigid “you-ought-to-do” ladder has remained on the top step. Their advice was sound then and is so today.
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By JIM NICHOLS The two sisters had spent their whole short lives wading through the legal system. Their biological parents were dysfunctional, so consumed with their own concerns that the girls had little care or guidance. The child protection system was cumbersome but helpful enough to keep the children from obvious danger, but it involved a succession of foster homes.
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON At the end of the movie “The Time Machine,” the primary character, George, makes one final journey to a time century in the future. His friends arrive at his home to find him gone and contemplate where he traveled. They look toward a row of books during the discussion and notice three books missing. The question they
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By LORETTA FULTON Exactly 25 years to the day after Janice Six joined the staff of her lifetime church, she will be retiring as associate pastor. Click here to read a Q&A with Janice Six Six grew up in First Central Presbyterian Church, joined the staff as director of Christian education in 1997, and was ordained and installed as associate
Read moreEditor’s Note: Janice Six, associate pastor of First Central Presbyterian Church, is retiring effective June 1. Following is a Q&A with Janice. Click here for stories and photos from Janice’s retirement luncheon. Q. Where did you grow up and what church did you attend? I was born and reared here in Abilene. My grandparents and their 10 children moved to
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON If you happened to catch the national news this week, you might have seen the story of Zippy Chippy. Zippy passed away just shy of his 31st birthday, and his fan club gathered to pay tribute to him. His legacy is firmly established in two books about him, one a children’s book, and the chances are that
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My old Uncle Mort is nothing if not analytical, even when he’s not even looking for ways to make easy bucks. He called recently to provide his analysis of members of the Thicket Community Church whose pastor called for a special mid-week prayer session appealing for rain. It would be at high noon on
Read moreFollow up meetingWhen: 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17Where: Grace United Methodist Church, 1402 Grape St. By REV. TRAVIS REAMES In the process of a ministry study, Grace United Methodist Church at North 14th and Grape streets recently hosted a neighborhood betterment colloquial focused on community interaction with representatives of the City of Abilene. Some thirty residents of the neighbor bordered
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Spirit Of Abilene 