THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury If we weren’t totally “away from it all,” we were on the outskirts, kind of like the characters in the delightful 1953 Broadway musical “Brigadoon.” Only the long of tooth remember the tale of two New York guys stumbling across a delightful village in the highlands of Scotland that came alive for only one day
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A festival of African music, culture, and cuisine will be held 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St. The public is invited to the free Tamatha la wa Afrika (Celebration of Africa”). The first half of the celebration will be a concert in the church featuring Heavenly Rest’s “Aleluya Kwaya.” The
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By Larry Zelisko Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1202 S. Pioneer, celebrates its 70th anniversary Oct. 12-13, 2024. Special guest will be The Rev Kelsey Fitting-Snyder, bishop’s associate for leadership formation and congregational care for the Northern Texas/Northern Louisiana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. A barbecue meal will be served Saturday, and Fitting-Snyder will preach during Sunday’s worship
Read moreBy Danny Minton Most things we see and hear in life are filed somewhere in our minds and never referred to again. There are some events that make such an impression that they pop up in our thoughts from time to time. One of those events resurfaced in my thoughts this week as I considered what to share through my
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By Carlo Sosa-Ortiz The mind of a child is truly wonderful. This is something that went through my mind after finishing up our kids’ program one Sunday evening. One of our kindergarteners in our group has autism. This child is constantly moving, has difficulty making eye contact, and does not always respond back when he’s asked questions. He’s a very
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By Loretta Fulton Jennifer Schroeder was named director of Abilene Christian University’s annual Summit in 2022, on the heels of a tumultuous couple of years as the university–and the world–dealt with the after effects of Covid. It was a challenge, but Schroeder was up to the job. She brought to her new position a wealth of experience in children’s ministry
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By Jim Nichols It was constructed of blue metal with white trim, four wheels, colored wooden beads right at bite level, and a wooden “driving” handle. One of my treasured snapshots from childhood shows me sitting in that era’s version of a baby stroller—a Taylor-Tot. I was about one year old. That was a popular early life purchase for new
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By Nancy Patrick Glenn Dromgoole recently wrote a piece for Spirit of Abilene in which he expressed his enjoyment of reading personal essays in local newspapers (Sept. 27, 2024). As an old Abilenian, I recognized many of the names he mentioned. Local newspapers used to be an important part of our lives. I always enjoyed reading my paper as I
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Jiminy Cricket! I never dreamed I’d be writing about an insect popularized by Pinocchio, or that this week’s piece may warrant bottom-of-the-barrel placement. I may have reached a new low, what with insects in the spotlight. Late author Carlo Lorenzini got by with it with his ever-popular fairy tale novel involving a wooden-figured boy whose nose
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Spirit Of Abilene 