Salvation

Freshman year at Auburn could have been the effective end of Ben Grubbs' football career. Like many small-town prep stars, he'd been the alpha dog on any field he'd ever played on - big enough to squash his strongest foes, quick enough to catch his swiftest. But when he reached college, everything changed. He couldn't learn Auburn's complicated defensive sets. He felt uncomfortable playing from a down position instead of on his feet as a linebacker. Good grades in the classroom didn't come as easily as they had at Elmore County High.

On Wednesday, January 7, 2007, HARRY FRIEDMAN of Silver Spring, MD, beloved husband of the late Rose H. Friedman, devoted father of Roberta F. (Jacque) Labovitz and Jacqueline L. Friedman, loving brother of Tess Jarvis and the late Rose Schneider, Sara Bass and Celia Wolf and loving grandfather of Michelle and Michael. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, January 14 at 11 A.M., DANZANSKY-GOLDBERG MEMORIAL CHAPELS INC., 1170 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 301-340-1400. Interment Tzemech Sedek Cemetery, German Hill Road, Baltimore, MD. The family will be in mourning at his late residence through Tuesday, January 16. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army or to the Wheaton Rescue Squad.

PHILADELPHIA -- The nation's largest Lutheran body took a major step yesterday toward healing the breach with Roman Catholics by approving a joint document that would end more than 400 years of mutual condemnation between the churches.Unlike the contentious debate a day earlier on whether the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) should forge closer ties with the Episcopal Church -- a proposal narrowly rejected -- the vote on the Lutheran-Catholic pact was swift and sure, with just 25 dissenters out of the more than 1,000 voting ELCA members.

MORE THAN FOUR centuries after the Reformation splintered Western Christianity, even people in the pews have a hard time understanding the urgency of questions that could get people branded a heretic and burned at the stake.Do the bread and wine of the Eucharist actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, or is Christ merely present with the bread and wine of the sacrament? Does a person win salvation -- and thus escape the fires of an eternal damnation virtually everyone believed in -- by faith alone, or do good works also play a role?

The last Governor's Gambling Task Force Hearing is over! When I got home, I made sure homework was done, loaded the dishwasher, ensured teeth were brushed, prayers said and watched the news. I'm exhausted.As my boys headed to bed, my 12-year-old said, "Mom, I'm really proud of you. What you're doing is great!"I fear I haven't done enough.One of the proponents inferred that casinos would bring salvation to the single, black mother who would be on welfare without a job that only the casinos can provide.

A Corner 'Carol'As its annual holiday production, Fell's Point Corner Theatre is presenting Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," directed by Edward Hammond and featuring a cast of experienced actors and students from the theater's Training Institute. A Christmas Bazaar offering arts and crafts, toys and baked goods will be held concurrently to benefit the institute and the theater's scholarship program for city youth.Curtain times at Fell's Point Corner Theatre, 251 S. Ann St., are 8 p.m. today and Dec. 7; 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 9; and 7 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 10. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $9 for students and seniors, and $5 for children under 12."

"Thomas Mann: A Life," by Donald Prater. Oxford University Press. 554 pages. $35 Silence was unthinkable for Thomas Mann. Single-minded in his devotion to his craft, he wrote every day during a career that stretched more than 60 years. His work proved his salvation ` his buttress against the chaos that has disturbed the 20th century as well as his anchor against oblivion.In 1929, five years after the appearance of his magisterial "The Magic Mountain," Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

25 Years Ago (Week of Nov. 24-30, 1968):* A double arrest at the Brass Buckle Boutique on Ellicott City's Main Street led to the confiscation of 20 pounds of marijuana and $100 worth of hashish. The state's attorney handling the case stated that these arrests eliminated a "major supply" of narcotics.* The Howard unit of the Salvation Army announced the opening of the seventh annual Christmas Clearing House, to provide help for less fortunate county residents during the holiday season.50 Years Ago (Week of Nov. 28-Dec.

Canary/#Billie Holiday's burned voicehad as many shadows as lights,a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano,the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.Now you're cooking, drummer to bass,magic spoon, magic needle.Take all day if you have towith your mirror and your bracelet of song.)Fact is, the invention of women under siegehas been to sharpen love in the service of myth.If you can't be free, be a mystery.The Transport of Slaves from Maryland to Mississippi(On August 22, 1839, a wagonload of slaves broke their chains, killed two white men, and would have escaped, had not a slave woman helped the Negro driver mount his horse and ride for help.

Paris. -- President Clinton met Salman Rushdie at the White House at the end of November ''to make the point that . . . freedom of speech includes especially the willingness to respect the rights of people who write things we do not agree with.''He had unfortunately to call in the press soon afterward to explain that he had not meant to endorse Mr. Rushdie's blasphemous treatment of Islam, a religion, the president rather unexpectedly added, whose culture and history he has been studying for more than 20 years.

On June 4, 2009, NANCIE E. SHORTT. She was born June 1, 1947. Memorial service to be held on Saturday, June 13th at 1 PM at The Salvation Army, 1601 W. Baltimore Street. Condolences can be sent to 613 S. Payson St, Baltimore, MD 21223.

The Salvation Army is celebrating a move to new, larger quarters in Howard County that leaders say will enable the agency to be open more days, serve more people in need and provide more after-school and summer care for children. "This allows us to meet the needs," said Windy Kidd, director of the new 4,200-square-foot center at 9017 Red Branch Road, off Route 108. The old center in King's Contrivance was isolated, not on a bus route and less than one-third the size of the new one, she said.

Angelo Boer is disturbed by what he sees happening. As the ranks of the jobless have swollen, more and more people are running out of food and money to pay bills. An emergency fund for utility cutoffs and evictions that was supposed to last the winter has already been depleted. He's no less bothered, as development director at Catholic Charities of Baltimore, by what he isn't seeing: donations. In past downturns, giving has risen. Not so far this year. With contributions off 5 percent, the agency is on pace to miss its fundraising target by $500,000.

Even before the mercury fell and the economy tanked, thousands more Marylanders were seeking help with utility bills than in years past. "We've had an upswing since probably last April," said Peggy Vick, director of family and volunteer services for the Salvation Army. Given the rising costs of food and fuel, "as soon as the BGE rates went up, people ... were hard-pressed in order to pay their bills." But help from state programs, nonprofits and charities is available for struggling families who meet income guidelines.

On July 29, 2008, JAMES J., SR.; beloved husband of Alice Dodson Kidwell; loving father of five children and their spouses. Also survived by 16 loving grandchildren. A funeral service will be held at the Lassahn Funeral Home, Inc., 7401 Belair Road, on Friday at 11 A.M. The family will receive friends on Thursday, 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M. Interment Parkwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Arnolia United Methodist Church, 1776 Joppa Road or the Salvation Army.

On June 14, 2008 Ralph S. Wolf Funeral Services and Interment are private. In lieu of flowers, Salvation Army, 814 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. Arrangements by Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc.

Irene R. Eaton, a retired elementary school teacher who set up a financially successful store at her retirement community, died of old age June 7 at Oak Crest Village. She was 93. Sometimes called the "Queen of Oak Crest," she raised nearly $900,000 for projects and charity work at the Parkville retirement village. Born Irene Rollins in Rutherford County, N.C., she earned a bachelor's degree at Appalachian University in Boone, N.C. She moved to Carroll County, and while living and teaching in Sykesville met her future husband, Warren Eaton, an auto mechanic.

On March 29, 2008, RITA L. GEMMILL, beloved wife of Robert M. Gemmill. A memorial service will be held at a later date to be determined. Interment private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Salvation Army, Division Headquarters, 814 Light St., Balt., MD 21230. Arrangements by the family owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 13312 Cain Road, Tampa, at 11 am on Saturday, April 5. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Community Concern for Animals, 7701 Gardener Road, Tampa, FL 33625; The Humane Society of Tampa Bay; and The Salvation Army.

March 10 1629 England's King Charles I dissolved Parliament; he did not call it back for 11 years. 1880 The Salvation Army arrived in the United States from England.