(Editor’s Note: Monica O’Desky is the cantor at Temple Mizpah, 849 Chestnut St. She travels to Abilene for special services, including Hanukkah, which will be observed Dec. 23-30. She submitted the following primer on what Hanukkah is and isn’t.) By MONICA O’DESKY For those who may not be aware, what Hanukkah isn’t, and what it is: What Hanukkah isn’t: *
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By NANCY PATRICK For many Americans, Christmas celebration has begun. Sometimes people begin their preparations well before Thanksgiving. Although I’ve never done that, I have always tried to get into the spirit immediately after Thanksgiving. Years ago, I found it easier than I do now. At the age of five, my family moved to Texas from Arkansas. We began a
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By GRACE SOSA This Advent season has been one of the most joyful ones I have experienced. I began the month with an exciting new job, working at my church coordinating children’s ministry. My husband and I bought our first Christmas decorations for our first home. We both finished a semester of seminary and celebrated the graduation of friends. But
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(Editor’s Note: The following devotional first was published in an Advent booklet prepared by Pioneer Drive Baptist Church. A different member contributed each day of Advent.) By Kirk W. Hancock Depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, shame, rejection, abandonment, self-hatred, abuse, trauma, and grief. People struggle with these problems every day. Normal people with common problems. Their wounds are deep and painful.
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By LORETTA FULTON Two Christmas traditions, Las Posadas and a Living Nativity, will be a part of the Christmas activities in Abilene next week. Las Posadas, a tradition at St. Vincent Pallotti Catholic Church, will be each evening Monday through Dec. 24. Families ares hosts each night. The Living Nativity will be presented outdoors on the west side of Our Savior
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By LORETTA FULTON Technically, the church located at 1402 Grape St. is a United Methodist Church named Grace. But in reality, it is much more than that. It is a symbol of what can happen when two groups of people decide to join for the betterment of both. And, typical of today’s world, the two met on Facebook. Grace UMC, with
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON Christmas time is here! It seems to come around the same time every year as far as I can remember. The only difference, it comes faster nowadays than it did when I was five. It’s a time when families get together, exchange gifts, laugh together, play games, and sometimes cry a little. You drive down the street
Read moreBy JIM McDONALD The Bible is the infallible Word of The God of all things seen and unseen. This astonishing chronical encompasses the creation, the history of time and beyond. The Old Testament forecast the redemption narrative of God. There have been many gloomy times. In the darkest time of the year Jesus came to us at our level. This
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By ROBERT A. FINK “And she brought forth her firstborn son” (Luke 2:7, KJV) Even here a new star has risen above the city underpass, packing-crate home what family tucked in the suburbs ever dreamed of, or imagined a baby swaddled in newspaper, his mother having just given birth and suckled the child, the man she calls husband whispering the
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