From Eden to Heaven: Spiritual Formation for the Adventurous By KELLY PIGOTT This book has been a very long time in the making. I’ve been teaching spiritual formation for over a decade at Hardin-Simmons University, and I’ve led three pilgrimages to Ireland (a fourth is slated for this spring). Drawing upon the material I developed for these courses, I’ve crafted
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON The time was late afternoon, Dec. 10, 1965. Daylight was fading on a rather warm day for December in North Central Texas. The high temperature for the day had been 66 degrees with winds rustling the trees in the neighborhood around our football field in Plano, Texas. By tradition, each afternoon before our game the following day
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Each year, the Religion News Association asks its members to vote on the top stories of the year. They are stories of consequence, like this year’s top story, the Pennsylvania grand jury report that accused 301 Catholic priests of sexually abusing at least 1,000 minors. The top religion stories in Abilene ususally don’t carry that kind of weight, but they
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Abilene Christian University is bringing two outstanding presentations to campus Jan. 16-17. Both programs are free and open to the public. The first is a showing of the new film (a PBS documentary) about Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King’s mentor. “Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story” explores the extraordinary life of a man who, in his heart, was a
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK My upbringing, though a simple one, taught me about worthwhile values. I confess that I have materialistic moments and desires, but I strive to keep them at a minimum. When I contemplate my New Year’s resolutions, I try to keep them simple, unselfish, and realistic. I consider several categories of behavior for my own life. One area
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“Il faut laver son linge sale en famille” By DANNY MINTON The title of this thought is an old French proverb. It was one that Napoleon quoted when he returned to France from his exile in Elba in the year 1815. It was a phrase that was first used in England in 1867 by Anthony Trollope in “The Last Chronicle
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Not many people have creativity in mind when mowing the yard. But the Rev. Mary Glover, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, decided to make the last mowing of the year a memorable one, creating a labyrinth in her backyard. Walking a labyrinth, which is a kind of maze, is an ancient spiritual practice. Glover found a drawing of a
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By DANNY MINTON The term “Bucket List” has been around for quite some time, but seems to have become more popular since the movie, “Bucket List,” came out a decade ago. The term originates from the phrase to “kick the bucket” or in other words to die. It’s a list that people create of things they want to do or
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Watch Night, with roots in the days of slavery, in modern times has become a hopeful service observed in many predominantly black churches in America. Locally, the service is sponsored by the Greater Abilene Ministers Alliance. Macedonia Baptist Church hosts the annual service on Dec. 31, beginning with fellowship at 9 p.m. The worship service, with a sermon, music, and
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