3+ week, 4+ day ago (193+ words) Norwood United Methodist Church will once again serve a free Thanksgiving meal to Washington County residents, offering pickup and delivery options for those in need on Nov. 27. The annual community meal is available for pickup or delivery only, with delivery limited to six meals per address. The church expects to deliver more than 300 meals and is seeking volunteers and donations to support the effort. Drivers are needed to deliver meals beginning at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Volunteers are also needed to assist with food preparation starting at 1 p.m. Nov. 26 and at 7 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Additional details are available on the church's Facebook page. Reservations will be accepted from noon Nov. 22 through noon Nov. 26 by calling 740-374-5606. Callers should be prepared to specify the number of turkey or ham meals, choice of pumpkin or apple pie, and provide their name, address and phone number....

1+ week, 5+ day ago (560+ words) Archbishop Luis Javier Arg'ello Garc'a told reporters in St. Peter's Square that the conference hierarchy had discussed the case with Leo during an audience Monday. Arg'ello confirmed a report in El Pa's newspaper that a canonical investigation into C'diz Bishop Rafael Zornoza, 76, had been opened two weeks ago. It is believed to be the first publicly known church investigation of a Spanish bishop accused of abuse since the Spanish church began reckoning in recent years with a decades-long legacy of abuse and cover-up. The diocese of C'diz has denied the accusations against Zornoza but confirmed the investigation was being carried out by the church court in Madrid known as the Rota. In a Nov. 10 statement, the diocese said Zornoza was cooperating with the investigation and had suspended his agenda temporarily "to clarify the facts and to undergo treatment for an…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (346+ words) This time of year brings with it one of America's most enduring stories " one we tell ourselves to feel better. The story of the "First Thanksgiving," as many of us learned in school, is false in nearly every detail. The myth tells of colonists and Native Americans meeting peacefully to share a meal. The truth is far more complex " and far more painful. Without the help of the Native nations they encountered, the Pilgrims would not have survived their first years. Yet the alliance soon gave way to centuries of violence, displacement, and genocide. For many Native Americans today, Thanksgiving is not a celebration " it is a National Day of Mourning. "Even before the Pilgrims landed, explorers captured Indians and sold them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored Cape Cod before they robbed the graves of…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (824+ words) By Mark Wilmoth One reason for the lack of civility in American discourse is that Americans have forgotten the courtesies of personal conversation. One commentator noted that, in a generation, we have gone from sitting on the front porch and visiting with neighbors to sitting on the back deck surrounded by a privacy fence. In [] Let's recover the art of hospitality One reason for the lack of civility in American discourse is that Americans have forgotten the courtesies of personal conversation. One commentator noted that, in a generation, we have gone from sitting on the front porch and visiting with neighbors to sitting on the back deck surrounded by a privacy fence. In many instances, interpersonal communication occurs mostly through email, texting or social media, leading to messages that are misunderstood or perhaps worded more strongly than intended. It's much…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (266+ words) PARKERSBURG " A local cemetery that is the final resting place of 75 veterans, 35 of them from the Civil War, will have an American flag raised and flagpole dedicated. The Knights of Columbus Assembly 1187 in Parkersburg will hold the dedication at 11 a.m. Saturday in the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cemetery at 14th and Dillaway streets. The group focuses on patriotic service activities, including driving veterans to appointments, donating medication organizers for veterans and replacing flags at cemeteries, Catholic schools and churches, said Michael Pollock, the group's faithful navigator. They also do spring cleanups at Catholic cemeteries and have made similar improvements at some of them, including recently installing a dusk-to-dawn solar-powered light at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. But when they learned how many veterans were interred at the St. Francis Xavier graveyard, "it kind of took on a life of its own," Pollock said. "We…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (379+ words) Duka died early Tuesday at a hospital in Prague, the Prague Archdiocese said in a statement. He was 82. The cause of death was not given. He was born as Jaroslav Vaclav Duka on April 26, 1943, in the city of Hradec Kralove. After the Communists took power in 1948 in Czechoslovakia, the Catholic Church and other churches faced fierce persecution from the state. Churches were seized, outspoken priests jailed or even executed and those allowed to lead services did so under the watchful eye of the secret police. Duka secretly joined the Dominican Order in 1968 and adopted the name of Dominik in its honor. He was ordained two years later but was banned in 1975 from performing priestly funcitions. He still continued in the church activities for which he was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 1981. Duka was jailed in the Bory prison in…...