My time in Russia has been a time of great faith building and a time of great faith testing. I have been in a crisis of faith on a number of occasions and each time the Lord shows a way through it. I bless the Lord for this knowledge and want to share some with you because there are many of you who are in a crisis, coming out of a crisis or ready to go into a crisis and have no idea what to do. I have cried out so many times these words: “God help me!”
Father Jules Jette (1864-1927) made good on his high standards. As a missionary priest coming to Alaska in 1898, his primary role meant conversions and baptisms among the Athabaskans, but as a scholar, he wanted to chronicle the multitudinous complexities of the Koyukon Athabaskan language and culture. As a humanitarian who loved the Ten’a people, the melding of those two vocations meant Father Jette was uniquely able to bestow a lasting gift on Alaska’s unknown future:
A bill aimed at giving parents greater freedom in directing the education of their children, including the right to opt out of standardized tests and controversial sex instruction classes, has been amended to prohibit Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions from teaching in public schools.
On Thursday, April 16, Theology and Brew in Anchorage will host a talk entitled, “Judgment & Grace: God’s Desire for Our Salvation.” The presentation will be delivered by Oblate priest Father Arthur Flores.
Today, I will look at marriage as a case study involving huge social attitude changes over the past few years and the task we face in the future. I will look at mistakes that have been made, the impact that rapid changes in the social order have had on society and individuals and I will suggest an approach for preaching on marriage when it is “out of season.”
A bill ensuring a parent’s rights to direct the education of their child in regards to any instruction relating to “human reproduction, health, or sex education,” is scheduled for a public hearing in the Alaska Legislature on April 9 at 9 a.m. Introduced by Sen. Mike Dunleavy, Senate Bill 89 requires local school boards to adopt policies that “promote the involvement of parents in the school district’s education program.”
bill to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide in Alaska has been scheduled for public testimony, via teleconference, on Thursday, April 9 at 3 p.m. House Bill 99, sponsored by Anchorage Democrats Rep. Harriet Drummond, Rep. Andy Josephson and Rep. Max Gruenberg, would permit doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients for the purpose of suicide.
Dave Belanger, the much loved and longtime manager of Catholic cemeteries for the Anchorage Archdiocese, passed away on the morning of Good Friday (April 3, 2015) after a nearly year-long struggle with cancer. A funeral for will take place on Thursday, April 9, beginning at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla.
The following reader responses were published in the April issue of the Catholic Anchor.
A recent Gallup poll confirms previous reports that Alaska is one of the nation’s least religious states. According to the most recent poll, nearly three out of four Alaskans say they do not attend weekly religious services and almost 60 percent say they seldom or never attend religious services.