By MARIANNE WOOD I have arrived. No, not at heaven’s gate. And not at some new success level, but yes, to a special status: a church lady, the kind of woman who cooks for, cries with, and cradles her church. The church ladies of my youth held tea parties and decorated the sanctuary for different seasons. In modest dresses and
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK As we approach the season of Lent, many people contemplate “giving up something” (sacrificing) to represent the sacrifice Christ made for his disciples. I don’t always participate in Lent, but I’ve thought about it more this year than usual—probably because of the tremendous hardship and involuntary sacrifice 2020 has inflicted on so much of humanity. My retirement
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Like many other organizations, the Abilene Interfaith Council has been meeting virtually since its programming year began in September. The latest program is a video interview with the Rev. Bikole Malunda and members of the Swahili language worship service that is held on Sunday afternoons at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest. The video includes some of the service,
Read moreEditor’s Note: Laura Lacey Johnson is a former employee of KTXS-TV, the Community Foundation of Abilene, and Howard Payne University in Brownwood. She now lives in Missouri and is an author and creator of Christian videos. Her latest contribution follows. To see more, go to https://lauralaceyjohnson.com Hi, I’m Laura Lacey Johnson. I’ve heard from so many of you struggling with uncertainty. Uncertainty
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Jemar Tisby, president of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, will be guest speaker for the 2021 Don Williams and Royce Money Distinguished Lecture Series at Abilene Christian University Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 10-11. The series, hosted by ACU’s Carl Spain Center on Race Studies and Spiritual Action, will be presented in person and virtually. Both are free and open to
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Folks who regularly lump alcoholic beverages into the cauldron labeled “witches’ brew” may still be shaking their heads, wondering why Anheuser-Busch didn’t get their famous Clydesdales in harness for Super Bowl LV. The brewery moguls say they’re skipping major SB ads for the first time in 37 years so funds can be diverted to further
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By LORETTA FULTON In April 2020, local historian Jay Moore put together a self-guided tour of historic churches in Abilene, all but one of them serving predominantly Black congregations, as an answer to the question everyone had–What can we do during this COVID-19 shutdown? Unfortunately, almost a year later that’s still a good question. And Moore’s tour is still a
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS Perhaps we try to make this too complicated. God’s requests of us as His people are relatively few; the list may be challenging, but they are not mysterious. The dilemma for us is not that we do not know what God desires; we just do not want to behave that way. The hospital announcement requested a chaplain
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament centers around the Exodus. Numerous lessons come from Moses’ life and his encounters with God, the Pharaoh, and the people in the wilderness. If you remember, God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the request to let the people leave Egypt. Pharaoh proved to be stubborn, or as the
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Spirit Of Abilene 