Month: May 2021

20 Palm Beach schools will use bottled water after high levels of algae toxins found in tap water

The county has been giving out water bottles to residents affected and first warned against drinking their tap water late Friday after high levels of a toxin caused by blue-green algae, known as cylindrospermopsin, were found in the water supply. Health officials said those who should use caution include children under 6, pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with pre-existing liver conditions, the elderly and those receiving dialysis treatment. ... Read More

Boat with 11 immigrants comes ashore in Pompano Beach

The U.S. Border Patrol has taken custody of 11 immigrants who arrived by boat in Pompano Beach on Monday, May 31, 2021, in what is being described as a “maritime smuggling event.” Broward Sheriff’s Office officials said the boat came ashore near Hillsboro Inlet Marina in the 2700 block of North Riverside Drive. U.S. Border Patrol said the immigrants from Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Haiti have been detained. (Joe Cavaretta) ... Read More

Want to ride out a hurricane on the 40th floor? Probably not.

Since South Florida’s last direct hit in 2005, when Hurricane Wilma swept across the state, the number of high-rise buildings has multiplied, altering the skylines of Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Hallandale Beach, Miami Beach and other cities. Constructed to the toughest building code of any state exposed to hurricanes, they are unlikely to suffer significant structural damage from even the strongest storms, experts say. But that doesn’t mean they are a good place to stay in a hurricane. ... Read More

How Seven Soldiers Carried One Bible into 11 Combat Tours

A gift from the Gideons was a good luck charm—and then something more. Jesse Maple first carried the Bible because his mother taught him to respect the Holy Book. Then he saw the Scripture as a kind of good luck charm. But soon enough, Maple saw it as evidence that God loved him and was with him in the jungles of Vietnam. In all, seven US soldiers have carried that same small book since 1967. By 2019, they had brought it with them through 11 combat tours in five countries. For each of... Read More

20 Truths from ‘Madness and Grace’ by Matthew S. Stanford

“A Practical Guide for Pastoral Care and Serious Mental Illness.” Madness, or what today we call serious mental illness, has been part of the human experience throughout recorded history. (p. 1) In the United States, one out of every five adults (48 million) will experience mental illness in a given year. Perhaps a more disturbing statistic is that almost 60% of adults diagnosed with a mental illness receive no treatment. (p. 3) There are simply not enough mental health-care... Read More

Florida reports 2,338 new COVID cases and 41 more deaths

Palm Beach County: Test results for residents were reported , leading to a daily positivity rate of %. That’s from % the previous day. Broward County: Test results for residents were reported , leading to a daily positivity rate of %. That’s from % the previous day. Miami-Dade County: Test results for residents were reported , leading to a daily positivity rate of %. That’s from % the previous day. ... Read More

Tulsa Church Ledger Preserves Stories of Faith After Historic Massacre

For 100th anniversary, the Museum of the Bible restored the “Book of Redemption.” The book might look like it’s just a list of names and numbers, but Robert Richard Allen Turner, pastor of Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, knows it’s more than that. “It’s a ledger of our history that we still need to know today,” Turner said. “It’s a story of faith and folks who had faith in God.” The city of Tulsa will pause on... Read More

The Neglected Tools of Evangelism, Part 2

Useful tools for the ongoing task of witness into the world; prayer, listening, and thanksgiving. In the first part of this three-part series, we considered prayer as being a neglected tool for evangelism. In this second part, we will explore another practice all too often neglected in our witness to the world: listening. Neglected Tool Two: Listening Have you ever been in conversation with someone where you couldn’t get a word in edgeways? In You’re Not Listening Kate Murphy... Read More