Several weeks ago a local organization generated national headlines by convincing a federal judge to rule the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. But lest you think that that represents Madison, like a lot of people might, you should see what I saw the last few weekends.
This last Saturday Habitat for Humanity dedicated three more homes, built almost totally by local residents who volunteered their time. Some, like me, put in a few hours on just one day. Others put in hundreds of hours on multiple days, for a grand total of 10,762 volunteer hours. Having worked on a handful of Habitat projects over the years, it was fun to finally see the final product receive the official blessing.
Volunteers from at least 30 different churches participated in this project: Catholic, Main Line Protestant and Evangelical. As Don Lund said, speaking of the Apostles Build program, "We don’t just build houses, we build community. We have a variety of faith communities who have worked together to honor the scripture, ‘love thy neighbor.’"
Every Habitat work day, and every home dedication, includes prayer. Each new home owner is presented with a Bible. A total of 169 homes have been built in Dane County by local Habitat volunteers. God is glorified through the work of Habitat for Humanity. Few other organizations bring so many different people together in God’s name.
Another organization that comes close is CareNet of Dane County. Two weeks ago CareNet celebrated its 25th anniversary. It’s beautiful east-side building, containing CareNet offices and Elizabeth House — a ministry for unwed mothers, was built with donations from members of dozens of local churches, Catholic and Protestant. And the support continues. CareNet’s annual budget is a half million dollars, and it offers its services for free.
Another dimension of Madison’s vibrant faith community was displayed a week ago last Saturday at a "Celebration of Life Service" for Minister Lucille Badger, of New Beginnings Alliance Church. Lucille lost her battle with cancer at the age of 53 but left behind a legacy that touched many parts of the Madison community. Lucille and her husband Rick Badger pastored a multiethnic congregation on Madison’s east side, in partnership with the Victory Hmong Alliance Church, which uses the same building.
Pastors of at least seven different African American churches participated in a moving way in the "celebration service." It was not only a celebration of Lucille Badger’s ministry and dedication to God, but also a celebration of the life and vitality of the African American churches in the Madison area. Many individuals and families are nurtured by these churches each week.
There’s much more that happened the last two weeks that I did not witness personally, such as Blackhawk Church’s Love Madison service day Sunday. More than 2,700 people participated in a great variety of service projects around the community.
And on Saturday, as thousands of men and women crowded into the isthmus for the Mifflin Street block party, there was a church service right in the middle of it, at Advance K’s Furnace IHOP at 555 W. Mifflin Street. A follow-up report posted online stated:
"We went out onto the streets and did prophetic face painting, dream interpretations, destiny words (kind of like spiritual readings, except they’re encouraging words from God instead…), treasure hunts, dancing, and prayer walking. We also sold pizza, had worship going on inside all day, and had a prayer ready to pray for anyone who came in to use the bathroom."
That’s what’s happening in Madison. And a whole lot more. Stay tuned to madisonchristians.com. And let us know what’s happening in your area.