By DANNY MINTON One Sunday morning, I saw a bird trapped in the church building, flying back and forth, trying to find its way to freedom. It was a common ordinary sparrow, but it reminded me of my first sermon. I was nineteen years old and still remember sitting across the desk from our minister, Alan Sowders, reviewing some thoughts
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By LORETTA FULTON Two familiar faces at First Central Presbyterian Church gained special status Sunday, June 11, when they were named associate pastors. Carlo Sosa-Ortiz and Grace Sosa, a husband and wife team, already were serving positions at the church, but following the vote of the congregation on June 11, they will be ordained as ministers in the Presbyterian Church
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By JIM NICHOLS I could hardly wait until I was eight years old and eligible to play Cub Scout baseball. That was the earliest age at which boys in my city had the option of being in an organized league with dads as coaches, real bases with chalk lines, caps, and t-shirts with major league names on them for uniforms.
Read moreBy DANNY MINTON It used to be ordinary for traveling missionaries to go through areas of the African jungles and establish congregations of Christian worshipers. When first converted, many of these congregations were very strict and serious about following the way of the New Testament, especially when it came to giving to God. At many of these meetings, it was
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By LORETTA FULTON Abilenians are invited to join local refugees in celebrating World Refugee Day on Tuesday, June 20. The come-and-go celebration will be 4-6 p.m. at the Community Foundation of Abilene office, 850 N. First St. It will include dance lessons, traditional African games, and book readings in multiple languages. “This day honors the strength and courage of people
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By LORETTA FULTON The last time two historic Black Baptist associations gathered in Abilene it was a year before COVID disrupted the world. The 2019 meeting wasn’t planned to be the last for a while, but that was before COVID hit in 2020. So, the upcoming sessions will be a joyful reunion for the people gathering to worship, learn, hear
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By LORETTA FULTON Marty CashBurless returned to McMurry University as campus chaplain in 2017 and now it is time to move on. She won’t be leaving town right away, but the campus she has served and got her degree from will no longer be where she’ll spend time. CashBurless will retire as Director of Religious and Spiritual Life/University Chaplain effective
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By NANCY PATRICK Every group or organization I have ever belonged to had rules, sometimes called Codes of Conduct, Dress Codes, Bylaws, Constitutions, Codes of Ethics, Business Ethics, or Criminal and Civil Law. Most people accept socially approved laws because they realize their necessity to avoid anarchy and chaos. An old adage that has always puzzled me says, “All’s fair
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By JIM NICHOLS The call came saying that a patient had died, and the family had requested a chaplain. Sometimes, chaplain visits are repeated to the same patient, but usually they are single visits such as this. This was one of the larger patient rooms and, when I entered, the patient was lying in the bed right inside the door.
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Spirit Of Abilene 