Posts Tagged ‘Beyond Belief’
Vietnam War Refugees Succeed — and Struggle — in Kansas City
When American troops made a chaotic, embarrassed withdrawal from Vietnam in April 1975, the flood of terrified Vietnamese refugees to Kansas City began. Ty Bui, who had spent seven years in the Vietnamese military, escaped his country in August that year and, after staying in a refugee camp in Arkansas, came to Kansas City in…
Read MoreClergy Group Looking To Improve Education In Kansas City
After decades of frustration over education in Kansas City, area clergy are joining together to try to fix it. “We need the community to help us,” Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell told me, “because the failure of this school district is a community failure. We understand that we can’t do it alone, and…
Read MoreOffering More
With more and more gluten-free options for breads available in grocery stores, last month, the Vatican reminded Catholics to be wary of the alternatives for altar bread. At Pope Francis’ request, the July letter reminded Catholics around the world that the bread they use for mass should contain wheat and water only, and to be…
Read MoreKC Clergy Stood Fast With Anti-War Stance
He’s 84 now, and has been retired since 2003 from his role as pastor of a United Methodist Church in northern California, but the Rev. Phillip Lawson vividly remembers all the trouble he stirred up in Kansas City in 1970 by speaking out against the Vietnam War. He went to Hanoi and, in a radio…
Read MoreSwaying to the Music
At happy moments, Jim and Leslie Donigan often find themselves dancing to “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” the Andy Williams hit that has been their song since they first met at a pizza joint in Mission, Kansas, decades ago. One of those dance-worthy occasions took place late last year, at the end of a long…
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