Dear Editor,

It has become painfully aware to me that we have a deadly crisis in Demopolis and elsewhere in America. The crisis is in the family.

In the seats of the Church I pastor, and in every church, sit families in crisis. They go to Church, sing the hymns and live in hell at home. They “secretly” need healing – they are messed up and can’t tell anyone. That is mainly because they can’t trust most people in church not to talk about it.

We cannot touch the lives of those in our circle of life that are divorcing, compulsive and deranged because we find ourselves dealing with the same issues. But instead of confronting the problems, we try to keep them a secret and put on a front, all the while dying inside.

Looking back on 33 years of ministry, I see that most couples getting married today will get a divorce within 30 months! Forty percent of those staying together will not be truly happy in their marriage! Only 10 percent will be truly happy!

We at Church Aflame have developed a strategy to do something about this crisis. Every Sunday Morning at 10:30 we are going to give out practical information on how you can keep your family together – if you apply it to your marriage.

Mickey Green, Pastor, Church Aflame World Outreach Ministries, Demopolis

Dear Editor:

The Christmas on the River “Fair in the Square” activities for 2004 was a huge success for the Demopolis High School band.

We, the members of the DHS Band Boosters, take this opportunity to thank each of you for helping us realize this success.

As you know, our DHS band was in Mobile accompanying the Tigers at a playoff game, and we had to engage the assistance of numerous volunteers.

These include our local fire and police departments, Lucille Carpenter and the Street&Sanitation Department, RSC (provided flood lights), John Deere (provided gators), Alabama Power (supplied water).

A special thanks goes to Mr.&Mrs. John Hasty for their tireless volunteer assistance as well.

Linda Julian, Chairperson

COTR, “Fair in the Square”