The Rev. Emilio Sosa was raised in an orphanage in Mexico, with several unsuccessful adoptions. He was raised in a loving environment at the orphanage by nuns who saw to it that he was well educated. As a result, he earned seminary degrees and became a priest in the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo. In July, Sosa began his
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON My wife, Kathy, and I sat down and watched a movie late one night entitled, “A Smile as Big as the Moon.” It was a true story about a coach who was also a special education teacher and his class of special needs children. The class was a variety of kids, Tourette syndrome, autism, ADHD, Downs’s syndrome and
Read moreA Calling to Care Nurturing College Students toward Wholeness Editors: Timothy W. Herrmann and Kirsten D. Riedel Coeditors: Emilie K. Hoffman, Jessica L. Martin, Kelly A. Yordy, and Hannah M. Pick FROM ACU PRESS Despite the widely differing perspectives held by those who work in higher education, there is one goal upon which all educators and educational leaders agree: students
Read moreDr. Mohammad Al-Sayyad, an Abilene physician, leads Juma’a Prayers By LORETTA FULTON The theme for a two-week gathering in Abilene of people from various ethnicities and countries is “Hospitality and the Stranger,” but the group, hosted by Hardin-Simmons University, is learning that in Abilene at least there aren’t any strangers, just plenty of hospitality. The
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By BILL TILLMAN I grew up often hearing one of Will Rogers’s quotes, “I’m not a member of any organized political party, I’m a Democrat.” My turn on Rogers’s statement is “I’m not a member of any organized Church, I’m a Baptist.” Some of the truth of that comment is that Baptists began historically as a part of the Separtist
Read moreBy MEREDITH STONE Did you feel closer to God? This is the question that I have been asked several times since returning from a two-week trip to Israel/Palestine in May. And I must admit that I haven’t been exactly sure how to answer the question. On the one hand, I definitely had significant and meaningful experiences with God while
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK I grew up in a simpler time than today’s society. My dad was a child of the Great Depression, born in 1928 in the dirt poor farming community of Blevins, Arkansas. His parents had five children; my dad, the second. He grew up working hard, leaving his home at age 14 to move 17 miles away to
Read moreBy DR. KRISTINA CAMPOS DAVIS Director of Communications, Hardin-Simmons University On June 14, the Hardin-Simmons University family lost one of its most distinguished and well-loved members, former President Dr. Jesse C. Fletcher, who died at age 87. A memorial service celebrating Dr. Fletcher’s life will be held in the main sanctuary at First Baptist Church at 2 p.m. Monday,
Read more(Editor’s Note: The following article first appeared on the Womenary blog site in May, 2018. Womenary is Tyler-based program that offers seminar-style classes for women seeking a theological education. The author, Leslie Strader, is a freelance writer who lives in Tyler but grew up in Abilene, the daughter of Rob and Linda Carleton. She graduated from Baylor University and then earned
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Spirit Of Abilene 