The public is invited to take a stroll through the Lake Kirby Nature Park, followed by a time of spiritual reflection, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24. The program is a collaboration between Matthew Broyles, minister to emerging adults at First Baptist Church, and Rick Hammer, associate professor of biology at Hardin-Simmons University, and a member of the West
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Editor’s Note: Loretta Fulton’s biography, “Virginia Connally, M.D.: Trailblazing Physician, Woman of Faith,” is available at Texas Star Trading Co., 174 Cypress St., Abilene, or by contacting Loretta Fulton, editor@spiritofabilene.com Dr. Virginia Boyd Connally, Abilene’s first female physician, died at 7:34 a.m. Sunday, March 31. A grandson, Sid Roberts, texted that Connally had died in an inpatient hospice center in
Read moreMarch 14th By Travis Frampton A couple of years ago I was flipping through TV channels when something on C-Span caught my attention. Two lawyers were debating whether the Ten Commandments should be posted in federal and state court houses. The debate was lively. Both sides exchanged compelling arguments. But, as I sat there enthralled by their discussion, I thought
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By LORETTA FULTON In case guests had trouble remembering the name of the honoree at the annual Round Table Scholarship Luncheon, her name was spelled out–with details. By the time Judy Hancock finished descrbing M-I-C–K-E-Y Cassle, the guests in the packed dining room of the Abilene Country Club knew her well. Cassle received the Woman of Virtue Award, a honor
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By LORETTA FULTON When Bob Fink looks at a photo of poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil, he sees St. Francis of Assisi.Not literally, of course. The patron saint of animals and ecology died in 1226. But his spirit lives, and that is evident in some of Nezhukumatathil’s poetry. He also has a well-known prayer attributed to him. “For me,” Fink said in
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IDLE AMERICAN Commentary by Dr. Don Newbury They met in college at a time of comparative innocence. Father Knows Best was the rage on TV; Ken and Barbie weren’t yet a couple. The TV show and the famous dolls–one might suggest–were bookends for a real life romance that began 65 years ago on the campus of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. A 1953 graduate
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International Women’s Day Speech By MOLLY WARREN Hardin-Simmons University Five women are named in Jesus’ earthly lineage. Two were Canaanite; two were Jewish; one was a Moabite. One was a prostitute by trade (Rahab); two were used as prostitutes (Bathsheba & Tamar); one was shunned for false promiscuity accusations (Mary) and one was shunned because of racism (Ruth). All five
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By SUSAN PIGOTT Why did they name you Miryam, Bitter Sea? Did they know how bitter life would be eclipsed by your brothers? Little girl keeping watch over Moses’ basket on bloodied Nile waters. Fearless girl, bartering with Pharaoh’s daughter to pay your mother as wet nurse. Prophetess by the Sea of Reeds, leading the women singing and dancing, hand
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By LORETTA FULTON Appropriately, Bishop Michael Sis prefaced the Ash Wednesday liturgy with a bit of education. Appropriate because the setting was Logsdon Chapel at Baptist-affiliated Hardin-Simmons University. The education and the liturgy would be repeated later in the day at United Methodist McMurry University and at Abilene Christian University, with ties to the Churches of Christ. Before the actual
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Spirit Of Abilene 