March 30th By John Hunt The words had waited for the hunger in her to become the silence where they could form. – John O’Donohue “The Annunciation” from Connemara Blues Mary, the mother of Jesus, is typically a subject of the season of Advent and yet, in the scene of the Annunciation as it is imagined by Irish poet and theologian
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By LORETTA FULTON A special place in the hearts of volunteers from Aldersgate United Methodist Church got a little more special during a recent mission trip. A group of 10, including the pastor, Gary Boles, left Abilene on March 3 for Providence Place in San Antonio, the fourth trip for church members to the mission that until 2013 was named
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By LORETTA FULTON In case guests had trouble remembering the name of the honoree at the annual Round Table Scholarship Luncheon, her name was spelled out–with details. By the time Judy Hancock finished descrbing M-I-C–K-E-Y Cassle, the guests in the packed dining room of the Abilene Country Club knew her well. Cassle received the Woman of Virtue Award, a honor
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By DANNY MINTON Growing up one of the most popular games we played was Monopoly. There were times that a game would run for hours, eventually ending with no one winning. The first game we had used wooden houses, hotels, and markers. Later we had one that used plastic houses and hotels, and the markers were changed to metal pieces.
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By LORETTA FULTON When Bob Fink looks at a photo of poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil, he sees St. Francis of Assisi.Not literally, of course. The patron saint of animals and ecology died in 1226. But his spirit lives, and that is evident in some of Nezhukumatathil’s poetry. He also has a well-known prayer attributed to him. “For me,” Fink said in
Read moreIDLE AMERICAN Commentary by Dr. Don Newbury Many Texans–and no doubt some abiding outside our borders–have used the expression for years: “He’ll do to ride the river with.” We give little thought to its origin, but typically it is used to convey highest praise for others in whom we have confidence–whether we’re fording a river, or even if we don’t
Read moreA team from Pioneer Drive Baptist Church spent part of spring break in Rockport, building wheelchair ramps, doing other much-needed jobs and building relationships with the people they served. Following is report from team member Jay Barbian: TEAM MEMBERS Mr. and Mrs. Wes Ratliff Mr. and Mrs. Al Camp Dean Taggart Bert Agnew Terry Bunkley Jay Barbian A man from
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By LORETTA FULTON If you find yourself confused about how Christians should respond to migrants and refugees, it’s pretty simple. Just pick up a Bible and read passages from either the Old Testament or the New Testament. That was the crux of the message delivered March 21 by Mark Hamilton, a professor of Old Testament in Abilene Christian University’s College
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IDLE AMERICAN Commentary by Dr. Don Newbury They met in college at a time of comparative innocence. Father Knows Best was the rage on TV; Ken and Barbie weren’t yet a couple. The TV show and the famous dolls–one might suggest–were bookends for a real life romance that began 65 years ago on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. A 1953 graduate
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