The longest night

This is a season for joy, good cheer and celebrations. Yet, not all people feel jolly around the holiday season. For someone who has experienced a recent loss of a loved one, a divorce or separation, illness or the loss of a job can bring stress, anxiety and depression.

Respect and dignity – or redefinition and shame?

The Orwellian-named “Respect for Marriage Act” passed the Senate by a 61-36 vote on Nov. 29, with 12 Republicans voting for the measure – including both N.C. Senators (outgoing Richard Burr and Thom Tillis).

The first search

Over the years, I have been asked a number of times how I got started in search and rescue, mainly for persons lost in the woods.   Actually, you might say it came about by accident. In my early years with the U.S.

‘Stir-Up Sunday’

Stir-Up Sunday is fast approaching. This is the affectionate name of a Sunday that comes a few Sundays before Christmas. The name comes from a collect or prayer read on worship on Sunday morning.

Give God thanks this holiday season

“Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance by law on June 14, 1954. The original pledge was written in 1892, in light of the nation recovering from the Civil War – that brings a lot of context to the words “with liberty and justice to all.

Thanksgiving Day: back then and now

There is a vast difference between Thanksgiving Day now and earlier days in Graham County – even up to the time I came along and for years to come. Thanksgiving Day wasn’t a day off on the farm, as is now the case in most situations.

Organ donor Sabbath

On my driver’s license is a small red heart. It is not there because of my driving record or because the state loves me: it is there because many years ago, I shared that if I died, I wanted to donate my organs and tissues to help other people.

What is wrong with the world

“History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity. “We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.

Veterans Day stirs memories

Veterans Day brings an assortment of memories to many. There is a sense of pride for those who have served in the armed forces, especially during times of war.

Examining a 90-year-old examination

The Rev. Dr. J.M. Ormond was a rural pastor and later Professor of Practical Theology at Duke University. In 1931 he wrote the book, “The Country Church in North Carolina: A study of the Country Churches of North Carolina in Relation to the Material Progress of the State.