Month: November 2022
Daniela Jaime – Wisconsin State Journal – Imagine a Madison where the isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona is a seeping wetland. Where cornfields stretch from Wisconsin Avenue to James Madison Park. Herds of deer gather on State Street, and waterfalls pour from Wiicawak Bay (formerly Squaw Bay) into the Yahara River. Before the first white settlers arrived in Madison in 1837, that imaginary place was real and called “Teejop” (“four lakes”) by the Ho-Chunk people, said Janice Rice, Clan Mother and Peacemaker of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Dozens of Indian mounds dotted the landscape, from Lake Mendota to Lake Kegonsa,…
A seminary-level preaching class – co-taught by two local pastors – is coming to Madison beginning this January. The class is being offered by the Madison Learning Community (MLC), an initiative of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Beginning with this class, Proclaiming the Word of God, MLC will be offering one seminary-level course each semester to Madison-area pastors, church leaders, and others eager to deepen ministry skills. The faculty for this first preaching course will be Rev. Dr. Marcus Allen, pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church, and Rev. Dr. Jessica Patchett, pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church. Both new and…
By Jim Polzin – Wisconsin State Journal – They are separated by only 14 yards rushing in the University of Wisconsin football record books. There’s Brent Moss at No. 9 in program history with 3,428 career yards and Terrell Fletcher one spot below him at 3,414 yards. There’s an entire generation of UW fans who either were not yet born or too young to appreciate the greatness of that special tandem. They may not know this: There was a time the Badgers had seven individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons; that number is now 35, a surge that began with Moss and…
By Gayle Worland – Wisconsin State Journal – If you’re tussling with a turkey and side dishes to serve to a Thanksgiving crowd — and are happy that you only do it once a year — just think about Michelle Ogilvie. Ogilvie, as a volunteer, cooks about 150 hot, full, hearty meals every week, then gives them all away. They go to feed people who are experiencing homelessness, often serving as their best meal of the day. Ogilvie does the meal planning, recipe-hunting, grocery shopping and all the cooking and baking in her Fitchburg home kitchen. On her days “off,”…
By Rob Thomas – The CapTimes – “Go tell it on the mountain,” as the spiritual goes. Don Wickstrum, a Monroe businessman and assistant pastor at Grace Church in New Glarus, has devoted his life to spreading his faith and telling his story of overcoming personal adversity. Only when Wickstrum goes up the mountain to tell his story, he’s traveling at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour. Wickstrum, 43, is also an auto racer (known as the “Fastest Pastor”) who for years has competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, a twisting, 12-mile uphill race in Colorado…
By Fred Grossenbach – Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic church hosted a city-wide Thanksgiving Service on Monday, November 21, 2022, that drew close to 1000 people from many different denominations to worship, pray, give thank offerings and enjoy fellowship. This service was co-sponsored by 26 different organizations. In this era of conflict and division it was heartwarming to see people from different perspectives and traditions come together for one purpose: to give thanks to the One who has blessed us all. Bishop Donald Hying of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison gave a message of Reflection. He pointed out…
By Melissa Perry – Wisconsin State Journal – More than 30 years ago, the Rev. Alex Gee had a proposal for his friends, a group of young, Black recent and soon-to-be graduates of UW-Madison, as they each looked ahead to their respective futures. Gee asked them to stay. He argued that they could forge a space for themselves and Black residents in Madison. “I had this vision of creating something that could make Madison an exciting place for young Black professionals to hang out,” Gee recalled. “What I was noticing in Madison is that the Black population was growing, but…
By Gordon Govier – Before COVID, the average church size in America was 137 people. Today it’s 65, according to veteran religion writer Bob Smietana, who shared some thoughts about the future of the American church in an UpperHouse forum, Friday, November 18, 2022. Smietana has been one of the top religion reporters in the country for over two decades and is currently National Reporter for the Religion News Service. Smietana’s book, Reorganized Religion – The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters, just out in August, provided the focus for the forum, which attracted a diverse group…
By Gayle Worland – Wisconsin State Journal – More than 20 Christian congregations will gather Monday evening for the first Madison-area ecumenical Thanksgiving service in recent history. Church leaders from the Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, Evangelical and African American communities helped plan the one-hour service, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, 418 Holly Ave. The prayer service has room for more than 1,000 people and will emphasize commonalities across denominations, said organizer John Schmitz. Read more of this story.