By PHILIP LeMASTERS The centrality of peace to the worship and spiritual vision of Eastern Orthodox Christianity magnifies the tragedy of the invasion of Ukraine. Petitions for peace abound in Orthodox services, including for deliverance from “the sword, foreign invasion, and civil war.” The Church prays regularly for “the peace of the whole world,” as well as for the liberation
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Several churches are hosting Vacation Bible School sessions in July, beginning Monday, July 11. Following is a partial listing of of churches that will have VBS in July. To add your church, email information to editor@spiritofabilene.com Trinity Baptist Church, 871 Woodlawn Drive, will have sessions July 17-20, with the theme, “Monumental: Celebrating God’s Greatness.” Sessions are 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 6-8
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Relics of St. Manuel Gonzalez and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be available for veneration in parishes around the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo until July 10. The relics are touring the dioceses of the country as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year focus on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Both St. Gonzalez and Blessed Acutis
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON Sitting in the corner of our main room resides a grandfather clock. The clock was a gift from my mother-in-law for helping her during her last days in a battle with cancer. It stands tall and sounds off loud and clear every fifteen minutes. The clock plays a part of a tune at the quarter hour and
Read moreTwo evangelical organizations that support environmental causes criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 30 that limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate carbon pollution. The ruling was in a case titled West Virginia v the EPA. The Evangelical Environmental Network called the ruling “a significant blow to God’s children here in the United States and throughout creation.” The
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury We’ve all heard of the futility of trying to take “country” from rural lads after they’ve moved to town, and the same likely applies to attempts to take “clown” from rodeo entertainers, even when they climb the educational ladder to school superintendencies. This seems to elevate truth to a higher level when a clown
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON One of the beautiful stories to come out of World War II is the story of the North Platte Canteen of North Platte, Nebraska. One day in late 1941, the North Platte Bulletin received a letter from a 26-year-old woman, Rae Wilson. She spoke of how the mothers of the boys in World War I set up
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My phone pulsated with excitement that could be attributed to my Uncle Mort’s recent spate of news, both good and bad. I asked for the good news first. “You ain’t gonna believe this, nephew, but I went into the swamp last night looking for cases of Monkey Pox, and things got really strange.” Had
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Andrew Kelly, a 2001 graduate of Abilene Christian University, and his wife, Jenny, were in Abilene when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, but their hearts and minds immediately were back in the land they knew well. In 2003, Andrew and Steve Taliaferro, a 1990 ACU graduate, started a ministry called Jeremiah’s Hope that operated a rescue shelter in Ukraine that
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