60 Years of A Charlie Brown Christmas

Last updated on: December 31, 2025 at 8:40 pm By Dorothy Sanders Wells

December 1965. It was 60 years ago, in December 1965, that Charles Schulz’ classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, first hit the airwaves. The half-hour animated show gave us an unusual story: an elementary-school-aged child isn’t satisfied with his friends’ lengthy gift lists, desire for over-the-top decorations, celebrations, and even a desire to be named a Christmas Queen. He thinks Christmas must mean more, and he is willing to share that his heart isn’t satisfied. He longs to learn the true... Read more

Memphis, Mercy, and the Men We Remember

Last updated on: May 27, 2025 at 1:14 pm By Dorothy Sanders Wells

The Hand That Wasn’t There… Just after Tyre Nichols died in Memphis in 2023, I took a look at photos that this aspiring photographer had posted to his website. Nichols had taken lots of photos of bridges around Memphis, and it was eye-opening to see how this Memphian saw his community through the lens of his camera. But one photo in particular struck me: a photo of the monument to Tom Lee, in the park named for him on the... Read more

The Cost of Looking Away: Who Is My Neighbor?

Last updated on: March 3, 2025 at 8:00 am By Dorothy Sanders Wells

On Mercy… One hour, twenty minutes. That’s how long Hugo Tale-Yax lay on a sidewalk in New York, in front of shops and businesses, in the path of passersby. One hour, and twenty minutes during which dozens of people walked past Tale-Yax, some staring, some mocking, but most seeming to pay no attention at all as he lay dying on that sidewalk on an April morning in 2010. One hour, twenty minutes, during which time it simply was too easy... Read more

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…

Last updated on: February 10, 2025 at 12:38 am By Dorothy Sanders Wells

Prudence Crandall is recognized as the State Heroine of Connecticut. As a young teacher, in 1831, she had set about the business of forming the Canterbury, Connecticut Female Boarding School, a private school where young women throughout New England might come and be educated. The following year, a family of freed black persons sent their daughter, Sarah Harris, to the Canterbury Female Boarding School. The Harris family was a fine, upstanding family of freed people, and as they were... Read more

Fighting for My Daughter’s Health in a Broken System

Last updated on: December 16, 2024 at 8:37 am By Dorothy Sanders Wells

When Ear Infections Become a Battleground When our older daughter was about six months old, she began experiencing a wave of ear infections. It seemed that we scarcely recovered from one before another had set in, leaving her constantly crying and pulling at her ears. We found ourselves with appointment after appointment with our pediatrician, and prescription after prescription for antibiotics, none of which seemed to resolve the problem. Like any parent, I was worried: worried about how her hearing... Read more

An unexpected gift of family…

Last updated on: April 19, 2024 at 4:48 pm By Dorothy Sanders Wells

26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. [John 19:26-27] More than a few years ago, a man who lived alone took note of neighbors who lived in the house across the way – a husband, wife and young son. Even from... Read more

Twelve Inspiring Films to Watch in December

Last updated on: December 4, 2023 at 8:47 am By Dorothy Sanders Wells

0 Comments

It’s that time of year…long, chilly December evenings seem to be meant for movie watching. Before you settle down with your popcorn and hot coffee/tea/chocolate, please take a look at this list of twelve inspiring, food-for-thought, movies to watch for messages of love, peace, and hope to carry with you through this season and beyond. The films were chosen because of their contemplative nature, and the thoughtful messages these films offer for any of our lives. A note from the... Read more

The Scars of Conflict…

Last updated on: November 20, 2023 at 7:38 am By Dorothy Sanders Wells

0 Comments

Genesis 25:7-10: 7 This is the length of Abraham’s life, one hundred and seventy-five years. 8Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah. This is... Read more

A September to Remember: Hearing Shared History from the Voices of the Disenfranchised

Last updated on: September 7, 2023 at 12:18 pm By Dorothy Sanders Wells

0 Comments

On September 4, 1957, Black students who would later be called the Little Rock Nine made their first attempt to enter Little Rock’s Central High School under a desegregation order. When the students were not allowed to enter, President Dwight David Eisenhower issued executive orders for the students to be enrolled, but the orders were ignored by Arkansas authorities. On September 24, President Eisenhower ordered the National Guard to enforce desegregation of the school and admission of the students. An... Read more

From fear and hatred…to love: Remembering Khalid Jabara

Last updated on: September 6, 2023 at 8:54 am By Dorothy Sanders Wells

0 Comments

Fear drove the Jabara family from Lebanon. Khalid, Rami and Victoria Jabara’s parents feared for their family’s safety in a place where bombs were falling and violence had become a way of life during a civil war that began in 1975 and continued for fifteen years. The Jabaras are Christian – adding to their fears about persecution in a majority Muslim country. So they decided – along with an estimated one million other Lebanese citizens – to give their... Read more

Whose sheep did David care for before he became king?