The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Mental Illness: Healing the Unseen Wounds” (which was written by a freelancer). If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: The tragic death of actor and comedian Robin Williams in the summer of 2014 relaunched our nation’s ongoing conversation on mental health. How could a man who brought such joy into our lives and inspired so many people with his amazing talent take his... Read more
You might expect a school for children who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI) to be a sad or somber place, but I found a different reality when I visited the International Academy of Hope (a.k.a iHope) last week. In fact, this converted nightclub above a Conway’s department store on the corner of 116th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard offers a vision of heaven in Central Harlem. iHope is New York City’s first and only school to provide individualized education plans... Read more
Today, Father Jonathan Morris shares his insights on making Bible reading a part of our daily lives. It might seem to daunting a task to tackle the entire book right away, so he suggests starting with the Gospels in small doses. And it’s not enough just to read the words. Father Jonathan offers ideas on helping you go a little deeper into what you’ve read and see how it can apply to your life today in a transformative way. Read more
Atticus Finch’s change from “To Kill a Mockingbird’s” social justice/civil rights role model to “Go Set a Watchman’s” resident racist may be the most drastic character development since the Yippee-shouting young Anakin Skywalker became the throat-crushing Sith Lord Darth Vader. Readers who embraced Finch’s nobility – and who have even named their children after him – are understandably disturbed by this revelation. As Megan Garber writes in “The Atlantic,” “What are we—we readers and watchers and admirers of Atticus Finch... Read more
Blogging has been light lately because I’m working on The Christophers’ annual “Three Minutes a Day” book of daily stories and reflections (Pre-orders will start soon). Yesterday, I came across a prayer written by St. Thomas More that seems an appropriate way to start your morning, so I’m sharing it here (as well as in our upcoming book): “Father in heaven, you have given us a mind to know You, a will to serve You, and a heart to love... Read more
The groundskeeper at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in downtown Manhattan told the pastor there, Monsignor Sakano, that he was thinking about retiring. How, he wondered, would the priest tend to the grass and bushes when that came to pass. “I’ll get sheep,” responded Msgr. Sakano. And so he did. They’re named Mulberry, Elizabeth, and Mott after the streets that border the church. And they’re quite popular with the community. Channel 7 Eyewitness News shares the story: (Photo property of Eyewitness... Read more
(All photos and artwork property of Katy Betz Studio.) Like a lot of kids, Katy Betz grew up admiring the illustrations she saw in popular books like “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Berenstain Bears,” but it wasn’t until a trip to Europe as an 18-year-old college student that she realized she wanted to make art her career. During an interview on “Christopher Closeup,” she recalled, “Going to Italy, seeing the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel – and even... Read more
The following is the text of the Christopher News Note “Appreciating Our Elders” (which was written by a freelancer). If you’d like a pdf or hard copy, see the end of this post: “A people that does not have care for [the elderly], that does not treat them well, has no future: such a people loses its memory and its roots.” —Pope Francis In our stay-young-at-all-costs world, it would be easy to look at old age as a stage of... Read more
At the age of 31, John Schlimm was at a crossroads. He had spent his 20s working in public relations for the White House, and then, for country music stars in Nashville. From a worldly perspective, he had it made. Yet, he felt restless and empty, as if there was something deeper that needed to be fulfilled in his life. That quest for meaning led him to leave his job and return to his hometown of St. Marys, Pennsylvania. It... Read more
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries and Martha Williamson were kind enough to donate DVD copies of their Christopher Award-winning movie “Signed, Sealed, Delivered for Christmas” for our gift bags at the awards ceremony last month. We have a few DVDs left so I wanted to give our blog readers and fans of the show the opportunity to win a copy. (To read my brief review of the movie, click here.) Just leave some kind of comment below saying why you’d like... Read more
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