By JIM NICHOLS During my years of college professor work, I often envied the students’ enthusiasm, naivete, and joy for life. I did look out from the front of the classroom, however, and be thankful that my life as a college student was in the past. Although life is good in many ways for a student, did I really want
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Honestly, no one ever labeled me a super-woman, and I hope I have not become an insufferable wimp. I do confess that hyperbole appeals to me; my husband Mike calls it exaggeration and a tendency to see life’s situations as all or nothing thinking. As a school girl, I demanded of myself that I make all A’s
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By LORETTA FULTON Not many people can cite something good from the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Elizabeth Miller is an exception. She, like everyone else, would rather the pandemic had never occurred. But it did. And with it came the cancelation of many in-person events. Once that started happening, the word “Zoom” zipped into our vocabulary.
Read moreBy JIM NICHOLS Another author used the phrase “receiving the moment” as a paraphrase for contemplation and it struck a positive note with me. It was an admonition to pay closer attention and see what memories and aspirations God calls up from seemingly unnoticeable events. The biting wind of the day had relaxed to near zero leaving only a clear,
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By LORETTA FULTON It shouldn’t surprise anyone that members of Religion News Association voted the effects of COVID-19 on religious institutions and their members as the top religion story of 2020. Coming in second was the racial unrest that followed police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans, with many faith-based activists and groups taking part in
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON She found herself in trouble. Kidnapped from her home, she now faced death from her captors. Her voice remained paralyzed, tears began to well up in her eyes as her captors forcibly dragged her out of the house. Half clothed, she remained a prisoner to the men who dragged her down the street, eventually throwing her to
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By LORETTA FULTON The traditional Watch Night service, which dates to the days of slavery, will not be held in Abilene this year, another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to disrupt lives. The annual service, held on Dec. 31 each year, is hosted by Macedonia Baptist Church and sponsored by Greater Abilene Ministers Alliance. The service, originally called
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By LORETTA FULTON “My brothers and sisters, you are witnessing history this morning.” With those stirring words, Bishop Michael Sis of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo emphasized the significance of the dedication Mass for a new altar at St. Vincent Pallotti Catholic Church. The Mass was celebrated Dec. 26, which meant that members of the Abilene congregation got a
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK You probably remember a comedian named Jeff Foxworthy whose fame rests on his act that begins, “You know you’re a redneck when…” I have never thought of myself as a redneck, but neither had I realized that I might possess hillbilly blood until the recent Nexflix production Hillbilly Elegy aired. If you watch it, Glenn Close’s character
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Spirit Of Abilene 