For several years now, singer-songwriter PJ Anderson has been attending the March for Life in Washington, D.C., which commemorates the date the Supreme Court legalized abortion. Going back to the days he worked as a youth minister in Chicago, he would gather with thousands of young people at the annual Youth Rally and Mass For Life, praising God from the stands and singing along with the artists on-stage. This year will be a little different, though. Instead of being a... Read more
The following column was written by The Christophers’ Jerry Costello: Encouraging news of any sort is hard to come by in Washington these days, thanks mainly to the gridlock that keeps Congress in its grip. That’s why it’s a pleasure to report a bit of good news, even if it’s not of the earth-shaking variety. Fans of comedian Mark Russell (pictured above) will be glad to know that he’s come out of retirement at the age of 83. That’s wonderful... Read more
With Powerball fever sweeping the nation and people standing in line for hours to buy a ticket, the jackpot just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The likelihood of winning, though, is another story. Over the weekend, CBS News reported that you have a higher chance of getting struck by lightning than winning the Powerball. Then, they added another statistic: You have a higher chance at “achieving sainthood” than winning the Powerball millions (or billion, as the case may be). It’s... Read more
With the success of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” a 2014 interview with producer Gary Kurtz (“Star Wars: A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back”) was making the online rounds again and pointed out the fact that the phrase “May the Force Be With You” had a Christian influence. Here’s the pertinent part of the interview by Chris Taylor, author of “How Star Wars Conquered the Universe,” which also reveals how the idea of the Force evolved in the... Read more
Ninety-one-year-old actress Cicely Tyson was one of the honorees at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors (along with George Lucas, Carole King, Seiji Ozawa, and Rita Moreno). Tyson’s tribute by fellow performers brought a touch of Christianity to the proceedings because of the actress’s love of the hymn “Blessed Assurance.” She performed it as part of her Broadway role a few years ago in “The Trip to Bountiful,” and it proved so engaging that audience members started singing along. CeCe Winans... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Opening Yourself to God’s Grace” (which was written by a freelancer). If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: Grace has a way of sneaking up on us and, if we’re not paying attention, slipping right past us. Although it’s hard to define, we typically recognize grace after the fact, in the people and events that show up on our life journey just when... Read more
The following column was written by The Christophers’ Jerry Costello: Bells. Bells! Few sounds are so joyously teamed with Christmas as that of bells—happily ringing, singing to all that Christmastime is here once again. And one of our most beloved Christmas carols celebrates just that. I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men. The “lyricist” was none other than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,... Read more
As expected, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has done blockbuster business opening weekend, earning over $250 million. I also heard a statistic that said 71% of the people who attended were adults. To me, that suggests the movie’s popularity is about more than simple pop culture nostalgia, but something deeper. “Star Wars” is popular among 40-somethings like me because we saw the original movies when we were kids and it captured our imaginations like nothing had before. But we were... Read more
At the end of season one of JJ Abrams’ hit TV series “Alias,” a mysterious character tells a captive Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), “I’ve waited 30 years for this.” “Star Wars” fans like myself who are old enough to have seen the original trilogy in theaters will adapt that timeline to 32 years as we see the continuing adventures of Han Solo, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” directed and co-written by Abrams as well... Read more
Dove Award-winning singer-songwriter Laura Story recently released her first Christmas album, “God With Us,” and she’s the perfect person to sing about the joy and light that Jesus brings because she was in desperate need of it several years ago. Her husband Martin was diagnosed with a brain tumor and experienced complications post-surgery that left him with lifelong short-term memory problems. It was a dark time through which Laura struggled to adapt to this new day-to-day reality and questioned the... Read more
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