Is Genesis History? Do Science and the Bible contradict? How old is the Earth? Join us as we consider these important questions and more with Drs. Del Tackett and Steve Austin and filmmaker Thomas Purifoy. No admission will be charged. The conference runs August 24 through August 26. See details at www.briarwood.org/genesis.
Saint George’s 38th Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival will take place at Saint George Melkite Catholic Church, near UAB at 425 16th Avenue South. The hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. The festival offers a convenient drive through service between the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tours of the beautiful Byzantine church will be conducted daily until 8 p.m. Middle Eastern song and dance will be performed on Friday evening, and throughout the day and night on Saturday. Vendors will feature handmade jewelry, Byzantine icons, olive wood artifacts from the Holy Land and a Middle Eastern cookbook featuring recipes of foods sold at the festival.For further information visit www.saintgeorgeonline.org and follow the Festival Event on Facebook: St George 2019 Middle Eastern Food Festival.
Education Extra
Maggie Von Hagel, a 7th grade student at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic (OLS) School, was honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award. The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was granted by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Hagel assisted teachers and campers of all ages during summer camps at the McWane Science Center. She also performed science experiments at various stations, helped guests, and answered visitor questions. “It is always inspiring to see such dedication and compassion in our students who set a great example for all of us to help others and leave a positive example for everyone to follow,” said Principal Dorn. â€
Best Books
Caylin Louis Moore was a child of Compton, a city well-known for poverty, gangs, and crime. His single mother shared a bed with Moore and his two siblings. The plumbing was broken, rodents scampered behind the walls and hunger was a constant affliction. The sound of gunfire was a nightly event and gang violence was a perpetual threat. The schools were underfunded, jobs were scarce, and a spirit of despair saturated the city. Years later, Moore became a 2017 Rhodes Scholar, doing graduate studies at the University of Oxford, Jesus College.
A Dream Too Big is the story of a remarkable young man’s rise from poverty and despair. Moore is a man of exceptional intelligence. He worked and studied hard, exercising intense self-discipline and dedication. But Moore’s story is not about how a child of Compton rose from the ashes on his own. Time and again, Moore’s climb from poverty was aided by men, women and institutions who offered not only inspiration, but also tangible assistance. The hands that reached out to him are varied. His mother, a woman of deep faith, taught him to respect himself and trust God. A sixth-grade teacher at his inner-city school took the time to point him in a new direction. The rapper Snoop Dog started the football league in which Moore excelled. A private, academically rigorous Jesuit high school offered him free tuition and a chance to play football. Colleges offered him assistance and a banker took time to mentor him. Moore did not climb out of Compton on his own.
Alongside the people who directly impacted Moore is the cloud of witnesses which paved the way for his journey. Preachers and poets, athletes and activists, writers and rappers – these are the people which comprised the village of support for Moore. He was inspired by them. He was taught by them. He was supported by them. As he says in the final pages, “One must have boots in order to pull themselves up from their bootstraps.”
Moore knows that a concept of the gospel which is not concerned with advancing social justice, peace and the well-being of our communities is foreign to the New Testament. Jesus didn’t only preach a message of spiritual salvation. He also healed people. He gave them food. He identified himself with prisoners, the poor and the outcasts. Jesus knew what it was like to be hungry, unjustly oppressed, and to live in poverty. Jesus was, and still is, a Compton man.
–Darrel Holcombe, Owner
Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts
Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
205-663-2370
Best Books
It started as a journal. Ace McKay never planned for his thoughts and prayers to transform into a book titled, Just Chill.
McKay is a native of Birmingham and a graduate of the University of Montevallo. “While I was at Montevallo, I started working in radio and that is when I got the early bug for broadcasting,” he shares. McKay’s passion for radio took him to cities like Nashville, Huntsville, Grand Rapids and back to Birmingham two years ago. McKay is now using his gifts to co-host the morning talk show “Roxanne and Ace, Bold and Unashamed” on 93.7 WDJC with Roxanne Richardson. He is also the proud father of two teenage daughters, Lennon and McCartney.
After moving back to Birmingham, McKay shares, “I was going through some growing pains and was trying to figure out what God was doing.” As a way to work through the situations facing him, McKay started to journal. He explains that he felt God urge him to submit his words for publishing. After a lot of prayer, he did just that. “I did not write it for the purpose of publication. I wrote it for the purpose of my own healing because God was doing a lot in me very quickly,” McKay reflects.
McKay hopes that readers learn from Just Chill to rest in the Lord and trust His unique plan for each of us. “No matter where you are in your walk. No matter what you think God has for you. I want people to be in a very peaceful mindset when they are in their walk with God,” explains McKay, adding that by God’s power we don’t have to live life in fear or worry.
-Melissa Armstrong
“Sometimes when we lose focus or forget to breathe properly, God puts us back in the incubator so that we can get stronger. Sometimes we see it as if we are being punished for something we did wrong, but really it’s God’s way of loving us. He pulls us out of fires all the time so that we can find sanctuary in Him. Some incubation periods are years and some just weeks or days…”
-Excerpt from Just Chill by Ace McKay, available for purchase wherever books are sold.
Legal Matters
Presented by: Bradford & Holliman, Estate Planning, www.bradfordholliman.com
While you’re packing dorm linens and electronics, remember to pack the legal documents that you hope your child never needs during college.
Contact Info. Make sure your child has every possible contact means for you in his or her wallet and in their cell phones, perhaps under ICE (In Case of Emergency). If you are a blended family, keep in mind who has legal custody and the legal right to make healthcare decisions.
If your child’s college is in a different state, check to see what age is considered an adult. If it is lower than Alabama, your child will be considered an adult, so you should set up a healthcare power of attorney. While in college in Boston, one young Alabamian was side-swiped by a car when crossing the street. Fortunately, he was not hurt badly and could speak for himself at the hospital, but what if he couldn’t? In Alabama, as an 18-year-old, he was considered a minor and his parents could make healthcare decisions, but in Massachusetts, he was considered an adult.
Exchange contact information with all roommates’ parents. In one very sad instance, when a college student committed suicide, his roommates and their parents had a very hard time getting in touch with the parents back in Arizona.
Power of Attorney. Consider setting up a comprehensive durable power of attorney in order to handle your college student’s financial affairs and other assets.
Will. If your college student has substantial assets, you may want to set up a will, particularly if you would not want those assets added back into your estate. Alabama’s laws for those with no wills (dying intestate) are not what you want to have specifying who gets what in the case of a tragedy. And of course, copies of these legal documents should be with your student’s belongings and your own files.
If you carry an umbrella, it usually won’t rain, right? Hopefully, if you make these preparations, you will never have to use them. Meet with a qualified estate planning attorney long before you pack the car for college.
-Melanie B. Holliman, JD 
Partner, Bradford & Holliman
Estate Planning, Trusts, & Special Needs
No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.
Money Matters
First thing is to determine what type of assets you’ve inherited, you need to evaluate your short-term and long-term needs and goals. For example, in the short term, you may want to pay off consumer debt such as high-interest loans or credit cards. Your long-term planning needs and goals may be more complex. You may want to fund your child’s college education, put more money into a retirement account, invest, plan to minimize taxes, donate to a charity or travel.
Inheriting an estate can completely change your investment strategy. You will need to figure out what to do with your new assets. In doing so, you’ll need to ask yourself several questions:
Once you’ve considered these questions, you can formulate a new investment strategy. However, if you’ve just inherited money, remember that there’s no rush. If you want to let your head clear, put your funds in an accessible interest-bearing account such as a savings account, money market account, or a short-term certificate of deposit until you can make a wise decision with the help of advisors.
-Hal B. Holland, Jr., RFC®
Vision Financial Group, Inc.
4505 Pine Tree Circle, Birmingham, 35243
205-970-4909, www.vision-financialgroup.com
Investment Advisor representative of Investment Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor and a division of ProEquities, Inc. Securities offered through ProEquities, Inc., a Registered Broker-Dealer, Member FINRA & SIPC. Vision Financial Group, Inc. is independent of ProEquities, Inc. 2018 Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
Legal Matters
If you or a loved one suffered an injury or injuries as a result of being given a wrong prescription by a pharmacist, then it is extremely important to contact an attorney as soon as possible. Under Alabama law, pharmacists are seen as health care providers, just like doctors, and are held to the same standards as doctors. Pharmacists are tasked with being a link between the doctor and the patient in dispensing medications to the patient prescribed by the doctor. If pharmacists fall short of their task, they and the pharmacy itself can be sued for medical malpractice among other things.
Upon discovering that you have been given a wrong prescription that has made you sick, immediately go to the emergency room. Next, call the pharmacy to notify them of the error. It is important to find out the name of the drug that was given to you, instead of the one you intended to pick up at the check-out counter. If you receive no information from the pharmacy, then you should call your own doctor so he/she can determine the mystery drug’s name. Next, try to find out the name of the person(s) who directly gave you the prescription. If the person, who gave the prescription, did not tell you that there was a different drug in the prescription bottle other than the one you intended to pick up, that fact opens the person and the pharmacy to being liable for medical malpractice. Also, take note of the physical and mental effects of the wrongful prescription and let your doctor know. If your doctor determines that these effects would not have happened if you had not been given the wrongful prescription, then it helps your case. Do not forget to keep the prescription bottle of the wrong drug.
It is important for your attorney to have as much evidence and documentation as you can gather so he or she can provide the best legal strategy on how you can proceed with your case. Such information includes: medical history, history of filling prescriptions with the pharmacy (if one exists), and medical records. Your attorney will ultimately need a medical opinion from your treating doctor on the wrongful prescription and its adverse effects to your health.
Frank S. Buck, P.C., Attorneys at Law have been offering professional legal services and serving Alabama citizens for over 44 years. We have experienced trial attorneys who have over 100 years of combined trial experience. You can reach us 24 hours a day at (205) 933-7533 or visit us at www.franksbuck.com. Please call us for a free consultation.
Education Extra
Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic (OLS) School 5th grader Violetta Rohr recently competed in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was one of only five Alabama students, and the only one from the greater Birmingham area, who was privileged to qualify and attend the competition in the Washington, D.C. area. “We were so excited for Violetta to represent our school on the national level,” said OLS School Principal Mary Jane Dorn. “She is the first OLS student that we are aware of that has ever attended the National Spelling Bee.”
Rohr advanced through both rounds of the oral competition but fell short to qualify as one of the 50 finalists. The final 50 were determined by taking the top scores from a written test given to all 562 national participants on the first day of the competition. When asked how it felt to be in the national spotlight she said, “I didn’t really think about being in a national competition; it kind of just felt like a normal spelling bee. I felt more pressure competing in front of all my school peers than I felt at Nationals!” This years’ experience has only motivated her to work harder for next year’s contest. “I’ve already started studying hard for next year!” she said. “My goal is obviously to go back and make it to the Finals…and maybe even win!” â€
Healthy Living
For more than thirty years, Samaritan Counseling Centers have emphasized the value of healthy families. Today, Samaritan counselors offer nondirective play therapy to children, teenagers, adults, couples and families as a safe way to express and work through unconscious conflict.
Since its conception, Nondirective Play Therapy has been a treatment method most often used with young children ages two to twelve years old. Today, Nondirective Play Therapy is an accepted treatment for teenagers, adults, couples and families struggling with negative mental and physical health outcomes due to exposure to early traumatic events. Studies show that children exposed to divorce, substance use, mental illness and domestic violence are at increased risk for being arrested as juveniles, becoming teen parents and dropping out of high school. Studies also show that children exposed to abuse, neglect and household dysfunction are at an increased risk for smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse and engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors as teenagers and young adults.
Nondirective Play Therapy can help clients explore repressed thoughts and emotions and address unresolved trauma, which in turn may lead to personal growth and more effective ways of dealing with exposure to early abuse, domestic violence, change in environment, etc. Nondirective Play Therapy is based on the belief that every human being has an internal drive to achieve wellness and is capable of directing their own process of healing.
Samaritan Counseling Centers also offer educational services on request. Samaritan counselors believe knowing the mental and physical reactions to exposure to early adverse childhood experiences can lead to early treatment and improved mental and physical health outcomes for many children, teenagers, adults, couples and families.
For any parent, adult, couple or family needing help dealing with exposure to adverse childhood experiences and looking for a safe, sensitive and respectful place that offers hope, Samaritan Counseling Centers are there to help. Samaritan Counseling Centers offer faith-based professional counseling, coaching and educational services in multiple locations in the greater Birmingham area, including Homewood, Pelham, Alabaster, and Highway 280 in Hoover. For more information or for an appointment, call 205-967-3660 or visit www.samaritancc.org and complete the online contact form. After-hours or weekend appointments may be arranged by special request.
-Beverly Myers, Med, NCC, PhD
Associate Licensed Counselor
Samaritan Counseling Centers of Greater Birmingham
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