This year offers many possible obstacles to giving thanks next week. For instance, some in power have suggested that families not travel or gather for Thanksgiving. David Eggert and Rachel La Corte, writing an Associated Press story titled, “Governors ratchet up restrictions ahead of Thanksg…

They say we’re in for a long, dark winter. COVID-19 cases are surging out of control. Many states are breaking records and the U.S. single-day case count exceeded 180,000 on Nov. 13. It has been a long, difficult and wearisome journey since the first U.S. COVID-19 case appeared on Jan. 21 in…

I normally begin my day outdoors where I spend time in prayer. When winter drops the temps and the sun rises late, I bundle up and find my place on our back deck, under the stars.

When COVID-19 first hit us in February, we thought perhaps it would be short-lived. As it raged through Europe and set its sights on the United States, we accepted the “stay-at-home” initiatives, hunkered in our houses, gave up shopping and eating out. When the NBA postponed its season, we k…

Cotton previously pastored at Goodwill Baptist Church in Pineland. He learned the art of leading from his father, the Rev. Reggie L. Cotton.

They call it COVID fatigue. I think I have it. I’m tired of wearing a mask to enter a store. I like to see the smiles on people’s faces. Or, are they smiling? Maybe they’re frowning. Or smirking. It’s hard to read what people might be thinking behind those masks.

When I listen to the insults and accusations political candidates continue to level against their opponents, I want to throw up my hands. I find myself wishing for an earlier era when politicians were more civil, when the world was stable and people were in agreement.

My neighbor was walking down the street and greeted me with a wide grin. He had just bought a new bicycle for his 11-year-old daughter. “Is it her birthday?” I asked. “No,” he replied, almost giggling. “I realized she had outgrown her bike and decided to buy her a new one. She hasn’t stopped…

I grew up in a small town in north central Texas. Our family never traveled far. I sometimes tell people that my first visit to a foreign country was across the Red River into Oklahoma.

Galveston County churches were quick to pitch in with assistance to help Louisiana residents in multiple ways.

Recently, the number of deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 200,000. Experts predict that this number could double by the end of the year. Had we known these numbers in the spring we would have been staggered.

The political cauldron is beginning to boil. Presidential and congressional candidates are in full campaign mode.

When I listen to myself pray, and when I listen to others pray, it seems that most of what we say to God revolves around what we want.

We’ve been dodging the coronavirus for more than six months. In the early days, when we first came to grips with the pandemic sweeping our world, we literally shut down our cities and our neighborhoods.

This upcoming Monday will be Labor Day. The scorching heat of summer has broken. The air is light with the first hint of fall. The lakes are still warm enough to ski, and the fishing is good.

Drive-in movies are more or less relegated to nostalgia now, but for a creative response to COVID-19, you can choose to drive in for worship at Dickinson’s Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1725 State Highway 3.

Guten morgen. Buenos dias. bon dia. buongiorno. Selamat pagi. Dobroe utro.

Editor’s note: This special three-part series will provide an overview of the challenges faced by the faithful, the best-available solutions offered by various experts and lastly, the technical options for online services to our local community.