By Dr. Mark Waters I’m concerned about the new IRS ruling that allows houses of worship to endorse political candidates. Endorsing candidates from the pulpit is packed with dangerous risks. A hidden risk that could have unintended consequences is that, unlike secular 501(c)(3) nonprofits, churches and affiliated organizations are not required to file IRS form 990. This publicly available form
Read more
By Jim Nichols There is a specific question that I have been asked for most of my adult life. Knowing that I was trained academically as a scientist (and a biologist at that) and that I was also a Christian, questioners have probed me as to whether that creates conflicts of understanding and practice for me. “How can you be
Read more
By Darryl Tippens “Surreal” is a much over-worked descriptor, but sometimes it’s the right word. My recent Fourth of July weekend on the Guadalupe River with my family was bewildering, traumatic, and surreal. For the last several summers we have vacationed in the Rockies, either in New Mexico or Colorado. This year, everyone’s calendar was unusually complicated, so we agreed:
Read more
By Loretta Fulton They swirled and spun to the music, all moving in a circle as they shook their shiny green maracas. Their unofficial name is Danza Guadalupana de St. Francis of Assisi, named for Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Francis Catholic Church, where they originated. Their “unofficial” name most likely will become their official name, said Maria Hernandez,
Read more
By Loretta Fulton “It remains to be seen,” is the way Ronnie Kidd put it. Betty Bradley is relieved for now but waiting to see what happens next. The reactions came after the federal budget bill was signed into law July 4, affecting local feeding programs like Kidd’s Food Bank of West Central Texas and Bradley’s Meals on Wheels Plus.
Read more
By Glenn Dromgoole I was weeping by the time Dee Romines, our music minister, finished the second verse of his offertory solo of “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” I remembered a story my father told me many years ago related to that hymn. When my dad moved to the small town of Sour Lake, Texas, in 1944, an
Read more
By Jim Nichols A good boss is hard to find, especially if you are sixteen years old and it is your first job with an outside-the-family boss. Do you remember your first boss? Not the neighbor who wanted you to mow the grass or watch the children for a few hours. Not your uncle or aunt who wanted you to
Read more
By Nancy Patrick I used to love playing with kaleidoscopes. I hardly ever see them these days, probably because people can do so many entertaining things on the computer. The kaleidoscope is small, personal, and physically manipulated by the user. The kaleidoscope never bored me because every time I twisted the end cap, all the bits of colored plastic rearranged
Read more
By Danny Minton “I heard what sounded like laughter at first, and then it turned into a terrible scream. They all sounded like beaten dogs.” Emmett Kelly. June 6, 1944, brought hope to war-torn nations that “Operation Overlord” and the storming of Normandy would be the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. The hopes and dreams of
Read more
Spirit Of Abilene 