On a quiet street, across a gravel driveway and up a dozen or so wooden stairs sits a red bag with the words GrubHub embroidered in white letters. Inside, a knotted plastic bag holds white styrofoam containers that are filled with chicken, vegetables, or fish, chickpeas. Saba Ashfaq watches from […]
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If there was a seminary class on being a pastor during a pandemic, I missed it. That’s OK, because I have a substantial digital library of biblical commentaries, theological works, and assorted other Christian books. When I realized COVID-19 was a serious threat, I simply typed “pandemic” in the search […]
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West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice isn’t afraid to ask God to guide his state through the novel coronavirus pandemic. In a proclamation issued this week, Justice said that West Virginia’s “steadfast and abiding belief in God,” led him to declare March 25 a statewide Day of Prayer. But because of […]
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When Vincent Pallotti was ordained a priest in 1818, he wrote, “I ask God to make me an untiring worker.” He set about to offer “food for the hungry…medicine and health for the sick.” Pallotti, who lived simply, in Rome, his entire life, worked in fellowship. He established schools and […]
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West Virginia’s new Roman Catholic bishop was installed late last month at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling. Bishop Mark Brennan was previously auxiliary bishop of Baltimore. Pope Francis named the 72-year-old Brennan to replace Bishop Michael Bransfield, who resigned in September 2018 amid allegations of sexual and financial […]
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In “A Pure Heart,” the forthcoming second novel by Egyptian-American author and Appalachian Rajia Hassib, protagonist Rose struggles to reconcile her identities as both an Egyptian and an American after her sister is killed in a suicide bombing in Cairo. Rose married an American – a West Virginian– and immigrated […]
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