Anointed Thoughts

If we would do it for a dog…

by Rev. Roxanne Cardenas, M.Div
I have a wonderfully naughty dog named Smidget Smuckens. Explaining his name would take a separate article so suffice it to say that his first name came from observing his stature and the second name came from my mother’s inability to remember his first name. Smidget is bad. Not bad like a regular dog, bad like a three year old on all 31 Flavors at one time! Smidget is afraid of the dark therefore, at night we can let him out to use the bathroom without a leash and he will never leave our property. However, in the daytime, when he has the light of the sun to see the neighborhood; if he escapes, only the sound of our car alarm can summon him home. To his credit, the 20-pound escapee, who has learned how to open the front screen door by himself, always has a well thought out plan when he does manage to get outside. ... Read more

Church Weekly Announcements

General Baptist State Congress Christian Education sessions

The General Baptist State Congress of Christian Education will hold its annual July study session from July 6 to 10 at two local churches. There will be study sessions for adults, children and youth on Monday and Tuesday, 6-8:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 6-7:15 p.m.; Thursday, 6-7:15 p.m., followed by the annual address by the president of Christian Education; Friday, 6-7:15 p.m., followed by a youth rally. Adult classes will be held at Way of the Cross Missionary Baptist Church, 401 W. Hadley St. where the Reverend Daryn Crenshaw is pastor. Children and youth classes will be held at Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, 2975 N. 11th St. where Dr. John F. Johnson is pastor. Carolyn Davis is the director. ... Read more

Clinton: Christianity won’t be majority religion in USA

Former President Bill Clinton said by 2050 the U.S. will no longer have a majority of people with European heritage and that in an interdependent world “this is a very positive thing.” Clinton made the statement during his speech last week to an audience of about 1,000 people at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s annual convention. The former president also said the U.S. is no longer just a Black-White country, nor a country that is dominated by Christians and a powerful Jewish minority given the growing numbers of Muslims, Hindus and other religious groups in American. Clinton, who wasn’t paid for his speech, spoke in a wide-ranging 35-minute address that focused on people's identity in an interdependent world. He said the U.S. can’t rely on its military might in global relations. ... Read more

The Whispers go Gospel

Grammy-Winner Fred Hammond to produce on legendary R&B group’s first Gospel CD

Kingdom Records (recording home to Shekinah Glory Ministry of “Praise is What I Do” and “Yes” fame) has signed the legendary R&B group, The Whispers, to record its first gospel CD. Gospel star Fred Hammond has been tapped to produce a handful of tracks for the highly anticipated project that is tentatively scheduled for a fall 2009 release. “We’ve been wanting to do this for ten years. God has been really, really good to the Whispers,” says founding member Nick Caldwell. “He was looking out for us even when we were ignoring Him. He allowed us to live long enough to do this inspirational CD that we want to use to inspire people to get closer to God.” With almost 50 R&B chart singles, The Whispers are one of the most successful vocal groups in soul music history. Twin brothers Wallace and Walter Scott (aka “Scotty”) formed the group in 1963 with Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson and Gordon Harmon (replaced by Leaveil Degree in 1973). ... Read more