‘Please, God. I’m only 17’

The following is the work of John J. Berrio, written after a friend of his son died in a car accident. It is said that Coach “Bear” Bryant used to read it to every freshman class on opening day of classes. “The day I died was an ordinary school day. How I wish I had taken the bus.

BIBLE VERSE

Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray. —Proverbs 22:6 (NRSV)

CHURCH NEWS

The Reporter welcomes news of special events at local area churches. Email bill@rockdalereporter.com or fax to 512-446-5317. RSBC to celebrate 111th anniversary on Sunday Rising Star Baptist Church, 1055 Texas Street, Rev. Royal Johnson, pastor, will celebrate its 111th anniversary at 3 p.m.

We need to start earning those stars again

How do we measure our faith? What’s our metric? How do we know how we’re doing as Christians? We used to celebrate people’s attendance, bring them in front of the church and give them a pin. That’s not bad, especially in today’s culture where regular church attendance has become 3 out of 6 Sundays.

ROCKDALE CHRISTIAN SERVICES

RCS food pantry Rockdale Christian Services operates a food pantry at 224 West Cameron Avenue, open 10 a.m. until noon weekdays. Donations of non-perishable food items are welcome, especially one-pound bags of rice, pinto beans, macaroni and cheese, canned soups and peanut butter.

Tips to improve skills in reading for your student

This week Rockdale Intermediate School Principal Kathy Pelzel has some tips on improving your child’s reading skills: • Kids who read often and widely get better at it. At Rockdale Intermediate students are required to read every night for at least 20 minutes.

ROCKDALE’S TURN—

The Rockdale Rotary Club continued its project of donating dictionaries to third graders in Milam County Schools last week with a visit to Rockdale Intermediate school.

EDUCATION NOTES

Rockdale Elementary Wednesday—First grade PLC Meeting, 7:30 .m. Thursday—Kindergarten PLC Meeting, 7:30 p.m.; Gold Out Pep Rally, Rockdale High School; wear Gold Out Shirts. Rockdale Intermediate Wednesday—Specials PE; PALs, 1 p.m. Thursday—Specials, PE; Gold Out Pep Rally, 9:30 a.m.