“It was a record by Sam Cooke that really got me into music,” Johnson said. “It was his voice. There is literally no one who sounds like Sam Cooke. He can sing anything and it’ll be great. You go back and listen to some of the songs and they weren’t overly wordy, it wasn’t extremely […]
church
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Time after time
At 10 a.m. Monday, members of First Lutheran Church of Oklahoma City, 1300 N. Robinson, will unearth and publicly display the contents of a time capsule buried 100 years ago under the church’s basement. The 6-foot-long, 3-foot-wide chest reportedly contains historical photographs, American Indian relics, newspapers and the like. As long as it doesn’t contain […]
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Over the Rainbow
Scott Booker, circa 1988 Photo: Scott Booker Today’s world is a virtual playground for music lovers. There’s no shortage of avenues to learn about breaking bands, download new songs or unearth a rare track. And there is little to no effort needed to find what you want or stumble upon the unexpected. All you need […]
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Marriage ‘Pains’
According to the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, 32 percent of marriages in the state have ended in divorce — one of the highest divorce rates nationwide. As many Sooner couples find themselves saying “I don’t” more often than “I do,” one unlikely man has taken it upon himself to save these remaining marriages: former teen heartthrob-turned-evangelist […]
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Don’t drop the communion wafer
Credit: Brad Gregg We’d say that depends on the church. If it’s, say, Westboro Baptist, please direct us to the nearest detention facility. Muskogee County District Judge Mike Norman did not sentence 17-yearold Tyler Alred to attend a specific church. Alred is free to choose whichever place of worship he’d like, so long as he […]
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Vesper recipe
With two albums surveying themes of hope, redemption in Jesus, and supernatural healing to their name, it’s no surprise that The Vespers are a band of Christians. But are they a Christian band? A closer look at the college-aged siblings’ output and business acumen suggests they’re aiming for the former. “When we got together, we […]
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Like a prayer
In a news release, Ritze cited the 2005 assault on a Tulsa reverend; the 2009 killing of an Anadarko pastor; and recent bomb threats against Edmond’s Fairview Baptist Church after its pastor, the Rev. Paul Blair, spoke out against an Oklahoma City Council resolution prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Conspicuously absent in the release […]
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Divine digs
That house of worship relocated in 1956, leaving the facility without a church family until Citychurch moved in in the early 1990s. Now, 100 years after the first congregation occupied the facility, a new pastor — who was once affiliated with Citychurch — and a new church are calling the three-story limestone structure “home.” Frontline […]
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Denomination divisions
The proposed change, Amendment 10-A, was approved at the General Assembly in July 2010 but could not go into effect without ratification by a majority of presbyteries, which refers to the regional governing bodies. Tallying will continue until all U.S. presbyteries have voted, but the amendment is slated to go into effect in July of […]
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Why do liberals love Islam, hate Christianity?
I have several comments regarding Kurt Hochenauer’s Feb. 9 Gazette Commentary “Counterpoint: Separation anxiety.” Hochenauer worries that discussing religious ideas could “dumb down” our students. As dumbed-down as our public schools already are, it’s hard to believe that discussing anything could dumb them down any further. Two million American children are currently home-schooled. Most Americans […]