By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
NORTH POLE - Santa's paying special attention to military families this year.
Now through Jan. 1, signs reading 'Official Santa Landing Zone' will decorate the lawns of the U.S. Fisher House lodges for families of military members undergoing medical treatment.
The beneficiary of this year's Operation Santa Sign, the Fisher House Foundation will also receive $2 from every Santa sign sale that takes place throughout the naouttion.
Costing $12.99, the signs will be available at www.OperationSantaSign.com through Dec. 31. The signs measure 24 inches wide by 18 inches high, and the purchase includes a stake for display purposes.
Operation Santa Sign is an annual charity project of YourNameUniversity.com, an online store for personalized academic apparel.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Standing on the promises: Grove church celebrates 125 years
By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
St. Paul Lutheran Church at The Grove has been partying since January.
“This year is very important to us,” said Pastor John Heckmann. “We’re celebrating our 125th anniversary.”
To commemorate the occasion, the church has heard special programs from former pastors.
“They’ve given a special service every other month,” Heckmann said. “The point was to highlight church life.”
Topics were fellowship, nurture, stewardship, worship and service.
“Everything we’ve been doing has been leading up to Oct. 26,” Heckmann said.
Oct. 26 is the date set for the official 125th anniversary celebration. There will be two special worship services, festival activities and a barbecue meal at noon served with Westphalia noodles.
Telegram Staff Writer
St. Paul Lutheran Church at The Grove has been partying since January.
“This year is very important to us,” said Pastor John Heckmann. “We’re celebrating our 125th anniversary.”
To commemorate the occasion, the church has heard special programs from former pastors.
“They’ve given a special service every other month,” Heckmann said. “The point was to highlight church life.”
Topics were fellowship, nurture, stewardship, worship and service.
“Everything we’ve been doing has been leading up to Oct. 26,” Heckmann said.
Oct. 26 is the date set for the official 125th anniversary celebration. There will be two special worship services, festival activities and a barbecue meal at noon served with Westphalia noodles.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
More than a little blue turning 50
By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
Most of us learned about the little blue people on TV.
The Smurfs, turning 50 this month, had their own show 1981-1990. Papa Smurf was the boss, Smurfette was the girl and Gargamel was the bad guy.
But the Hanna & Barbera cartoon studio wasn't where the cheery mushroom dwellers were born.
The Smurfs surfaced Oct. 23, 1958, as supporting characters in a cartoon strip called 'Johan and Peewit' by a Belgian artist named Pierre Culliford.
Always having 'gnome-like adventures,' the Smurfs - or the Schtroumpfs as Culliford called them - quickly became an entity of their own. Under the penname Peyo, Culliford authored several Smurf books.
As the stories circulated, the Smurfs captured an international audience.
The world's languages developed their own words for Smurf. In Spanish, a Smurf is a Pitufo; in Germany, they are Schlumpfs; the Nam Ching Ling are Smurfs in China; and a Smurf is called a Dardassim in Hebrew.
This was in the '60s and '70s when it seemed here a Smurf, there a Smurf, everywhere a Smurf Smurf. The cartoon was still a decade into the future; and the movie 'The Smurfs and the Magic Flute' didn't hit the silver screen until 1982.
These days, as they celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Smurfs aren't as popular as all things Harry Potter, but they're by no means an endangered species.
Telegram Staff Writer
Most of us learned about the little blue people on TV.
The Smurfs, turning 50 this month, had their own show 1981-1990. Papa Smurf was the boss, Smurfette was the girl and Gargamel was the bad guy.
But the Hanna & Barbera cartoon studio wasn't where the cheery mushroom dwellers were born.
The Smurfs surfaced Oct. 23, 1958, as supporting characters in a cartoon strip called 'Johan and Peewit' by a Belgian artist named Pierre Culliford.
Always having 'gnome-like adventures,' the Smurfs - or the Schtroumpfs as Culliford called them - quickly became an entity of their own. Under the penname Peyo, Culliford authored several Smurf books.
As the stories circulated, the Smurfs captured an international audience.
The world's languages developed their own words for Smurf. In Spanish, a Smurf is a Pitufo; in Germany, they are Schlumpfs; the Nam Ching Ling are Smurfs in China; and a Smurf is called a Dardassim in Hebrew.
This was in the '60s and '70s when it seemed here a Smurf, there a Smurf, everywhere a Smurf Smurf. The cartoon was still a decade into the future; and the movie 'The Smurfs and the Magic Flute' didn't hit the silver screen until 1982.
These days, as they celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Smurfs aren't as popular as all things Harry Potter, but they're by no means an endangered species.
Love of Smurfs runs in family
By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
There's a Smurf drawer in her house.
That's where Patsy Daniel of Temple keeps her Smurfs - all 88 of them.
But on Monday they weren't in the drawer. A sea of blue faces littered her kitchen table.
There was Farmer Smurf, Chainsaw Smurf, Halloween Smurf, Mermaid Smurf and Smurfs with every accessory imaginable.
'They're for the kids,' Ms. Daniel said. 'They love to play with them.'
Telegram Staff Writer
There's a Smurf drawer in her house.
That's where Patsy Daniel of Temple keeps her Smurfs - all 88 of them.
But on Monday they weren't in the drawer. A sea of blue faces littered her kitchen table.
There was Farmer Smurf, Chainsaw Smurf, Halloween Smurf, Mermaid Smurf and Smurfs with every accessory imaginable.
'They're for the kids,' Ms. Daniel said. 'They love to play with them.'
Fundraiser will benefit study of premature birth
By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
Mommy goes to the hospital, has her baby and takes him home.
That's generally how it goes unless the baby's born premature.
If that's the case, Mommy's a powerless person sitting on the sidelines as a team of doctors prepares her child for life in an incubator.
That's how it was for Ashley Jones of Robinson, the keynote speaker for the Oct. 23 March of Dimes fundraiser. Her son Braxton weighed 15.2 ounces when he was born.
'He had to stay in the incubator for 3 months,' Mrs. Jones said. 'We took him home Dec. 15, his due date.'
In the first months of her son's life, Mrs. Jones and her husband Luke waited and watched.
'You live hour by hour,' Mrs. Jones said. 'One minute he's doing wonderful, but the next he's taken a step back.'
While he was in the incubator, Braxton couldn't breathe on his own.
'He was on a ventilator, and then he was breathing with treatments like they give for people with sleep apnea,' Mrs. Jones said. 'But then there was a step back, and he was on the ventilator again.'
Those long months proved productive. A bright-eyed, healthy Braxton turned 1 on Sept. 11 - without any sign of having been born premature.
'We were really lucky,' Mrs. Jones said. 'He didn't have any of the heart problems or brain bleeds that are associated with being born premature. Just one eye surgery to fix his sight.'
Telegram Staff Writer
Mommy goes to the hospital, has her baby and takes him home.
That's generally how it goes unless the baby's born premature.
If that's the case, Mommy's a powerless person sitting on the sidelines as a team of doctors prepares her child for life in an incubator.
That's how it was for Ashley Jones of Robinson, the keynote speaker for the Oct. 23 March of Dimes fundraiser. Her son Braxton weighed 15.2 ounces when he was born.
'He had to stay in the incubator for 3 months,' Mrs. Jones said. 'We took him home Dec. 15, his due date.'
In the first months of her son's life, Mrs. Jones and her husband Luke waited and watched.
'You live hour by hour,' Mrs. Jones said. 'One minute he's doing wonderful, but the next he's taken a step back.'
While he was in the incubator, Braxton couldn't breathe on his own.
'He was on a ventilator, and then he was breathing with treatments like they give for people with sleep apnea,' Mrs. Jones said. 'But then there was a step back, and he was on the ventilator again.'
Those long months proved productive. A bright-eyed, healthy Braxton turned 1 on Sept. 11 - without any sign of having been born premature.
'We were really lucky,' Mrs. Jones said. 'He didn't have any of the heart problems or brain bleeds that are associated with being born premature. Just one eye surgery to fix his sight.'
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Jail ministry plans annual banquet: Millionaire will share success story
By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
Inmates are in jail. They're not dead.
Their spirits are alive and hurting, needing support and care just like anyone else, said Steve Cannon, executive director of J.A.I.L. Ministry - a Christian volunteer group that provides spiritual nurture to area juveniles and the inmates of Bell County Jail.
The weekly J.A.I.L. schedule overflows with activities. Evenings alternate with worship services, Bible studies and one-on-one encouragement sessions.
Man power is no problem. The group routinely welcomes new volunteers.
'But there's always a need for supplies and new Bibles,' Cannon said. 'And a need for funds to pay our administrative costs.'
The J.A.I.L. budget relies on contributions from the community, the bulk of which comes from J.A.I.L.'s annual fund-raising banquet.
This year, the banquet will take place Oct. 28 at the Bell County Expo Center.
Telegram Staff Writer
Inmates are in jail. They're not dead.
Their spirits are alive and hurting, needing support and care just like anyone else, said Steve Cannon, executive director of J.A.I.L. Ministry - a Christian volunteer group that provides spiritual nurture to area juveniles and the inmates of Bell County Jail.
The weekly J.A.I.L. schedule overflows with activities. Evenings alternate with worship services, Bible studies and one-on-one encouragement sessions.
Man power is no problem. The group routinely welcomes new volunteers.
'But there's always a need for supplies and new Bibles,' Cannon said. 'And a need for funds to pay our administrative costs.'
The J.A.I.L. budget relies on contributions from the community, the bulk of which comes from J.A.I.L.'s annual fund-raising banquet.
This year, the banquet will take place Oct. 28 at the Bell County Expo Center.
Nazarenes celebrate 100 years
By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer
Sunday's a big day for the Nazarenes.
More than 21,000 churches worldwide are planning to celebrate the denomination's centennial.
No matter the church, country or time zone, the celebratory sermon and video will be the same.
'It'll all be coming from the same passages and same scripture,' said Gary Hocker, pastor of the Cove Church of the Nazarene. 'It's the same theme.'
The centennial sermon is entitled 'The Church as a Holy People.' Its author is Jesse Middendorf, the general superintendent of the Nazarene church. A PowerPoint presentation accompanies the sermon, giving pastors the option to refer to animated images for emphasis.
In order to give the celebration service an identity common to all Nazarenes, the General Board of the church has also designated a centennial set of scripture readings and music selections.
The 10-minute video that will play at the centennial services is entitled 'Out of Many One, Out of One Many: The First 100 Years of the Church of the Nazarene.' It highlights the heritage, message and mission of the Nazarene church. A companion video designed for children will be available as well.
Some of the local Nazarene churches have added unique festivity to their individual celebrations of the centennial.
Telegram Staff Writer
Sunday's a big day for the Nazarenes.
More than 21,000 churches worldwide are planning to celebrate the denomination's centennial.
No matter the church, country or time zone, the celebratory sermon and video will be the same.
'It'll all be coming from the same passages and same scripture,' said Gary Hocker, pastor of the Cove Church of the Nazarene. 'It's the same theme.'
The centennial sermon is entitled 'The Church as a Holy People.' Its author is Jesse Middendorf, the general superintendent of the Nazarene church. A PowerPoint presentation accompanies the sermon, giving pastors the option to refer to animated images for emphasis.
In order to give the celebration service an identity common to all Nazarenes, the General Board of the church has also designated a centennial set of scripture readings and music selections.
The 10-minute video that will play at the centennial services is entitled 'Out of Many One, Out of One Many: The First 100 Years of the Church of the Nazarene.' It highlights the heritage, message and mission of the Nazarene church. A companion video designed for children will be available as well.
Some of the local Nazarene churches have added unique festivity to their individual celebrations of the centennial.
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