IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury There are a handful of college coaches in this land whose names are interchangeable with the colleges they served during their entire careers. They were paid salaries that would be laughable compared to contracts held by many big-name coaches today. The coaches were J. Horace (Cap) Shelton (1893-1967) at Howard Payne College (now University)
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Back in the 1940s, Ralph Edwards created a radio program called “Truth or Consequences.” Its popularity resulted in a television version in 1950. The program’s premise required contestants to answer trivial questions correctly or reap the consequences. The consequences usually meant doing foolish, silly things that resulted in the audience’s appreciative laughter. In fact, most contestants answered
Read moreBy PHILIP LeMASTERS Eastern Orthodox Christians may have hesitated a bit this year on April 5 when friends asked, “How was your Easter?” The day before we had observed the third Sunday of Lent, not the Lord’s resurrection. Though Orthodox agree with Catholics and Protestants that Easter is on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the
Read moreACU NEWS RELEASEWendy Kilmer, Director of Communications and Media Relations Dr. Billy Curl, a former missionary in Ethiopia and current minister of Crenshaw Church of Christ in Los Angeles, will speak at Abilene Christian University April 28 about his experience as one of the first two Black undergraduate students to integrate ACU. The event, sponsored by ACU’s Office of Multicultural
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Bishop Michael Sis of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo announced several clergy changes in the diocese effective July 1. Several involve former and current priests in Abilene. Most notably for Abilenians, the Rev. Msgr. Fred Nawarskas, or “Father Fred” as he is best known, will retire. He has been priest at Holy Family Catholic Church since 1996. A special
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS The monitor lights blinked with lines and numbers. The patient lay unmoving in the bed while family members quietly entered and exited the hospital room; they spoke softly and seldom. It seems to me that those employed in medical settings have a distinct human advantage over others. This is particularly true in our modern world. Whereas, in
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By RICK HAMMER Here we are at Earth Day 2021 after one of the most tragic and heartbreaking years in over a century. Over the past year the world has been through much sickness and death as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by a highly infective virus. A virus, mind you that is a part of God’s
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By LORETTA FULTON Methodists are used to change, but no one could have predicted the big change that is coming in July. And, it will be welcomed news to all who were touched by the ministry of Felicia Hopkins when she served as senior pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church from 2013 to 2019. Hopkins will be returning to
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS In 1786 poet Robert Burns penned a line that is memorable. Paraphrased, it suggested it would be a great gift from God if we could see ourselves as others see us. I am speaking to myself now as well as readers. The two types of glass with which we are most familiar are windows and mirrors. Through
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