Author: Gordon Govier

Ours is a pluralistic society where various cultures, ideologies, and religious perspectives vie for attention in the marketplaces of ideas. Historically, the university campus has been a place where robust pluralism is most evident. It is a tragic loss that one of those voices — orthodox Christian faith — is now being muted.

Nearly 300 couples will renew their wedding vows in Milwaukee churches this Sunday as part of Black Marriage Day, a national initiative aimed at bolstering marriage in the African-American community.

A crowd of more than 400 people from several area congregations gathered Downtown over the lunch hour Friday to protest a federal plan that would require employers, including churches and church-affiliated enterprises, to pay for contraceptives in their health care plans. Part of a nationwide protest, the rally filled the plaza in front of the federal court building, 120 N. Henry St. Bishop Robert Morlino spoke to the crowd, exhorting them to fight the rule, part of President Barack Obama’s health care plan, that goes into effect in August.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, one of the nation’s largest Christian denominations, issued a draft statement Thursday calling for reform of the nation’s criminal justice system. The statement comes as Wisconsin interfaith leaders, including those of the ELCA’s Greater Milwaukee Synod, are mobilizing in support of similar reforms in Wisconsin.

For the first time in history, a criminal court has ruled on a case of antiquities forgery. One antiquities collector has been acquitted of all charges and another has been acquitted of all but several minor charges. The verdict is still out on the validity of an inscription that ties an ancient relic to the family of Jesus of Nazareth, although many Bible scholars say they have made their own decision.

Zenan was such a small place it scarcely rates a mention in the Bible. It’s included in a list of sixteen towns and villages in the southwestern foothills of the tribal region of Judah reported in Joshua 15:37-41. It may also have been mentioned in Micah 1:11 (spelled Zaanan). Madison resident Jeff Blakely may know the location of Zenan. He believes he started excavating there last summer, at a site today called Khirbet Sumeilly. Khirbet Sumeilly is just four miles from where he launched his career in archaeology four decades ago.

WAUNAKEE — One of the common myths of our time is that the Catholic Church is on the decline: that the faithful are a dwindling minority, becoming more and more irrelevant. But when one attends a celebration such as the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, held in the Diocese of Madison on February 26 at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee, the joy and determination of the people who have come seeking to join the Catholic Church make that myth seem absurd.

Like other parishioners at Blackhawk Church on Madison’s Far West Side, Hunter Koeshall heard the Rev. Chris Dolson issue a bold challenge late last year: Read the entire Bible in 2012. “I was like, ‘Oh man, this is going to be tough,’” said Koeshall, 17, a senior at Middleton High School. “I honestly didn’t think I could do it. I kind of hoped they would offer a shorter version.”

What started in January with children tossing quarters into collection cans finished Saturday with more than 60,000 meals packed and ready to ship to needy families locally and abroad. “For me, it’s just been an inspiring and humbling experience,” said organizer John Ranthum of 6:8 Ministries of Prairie du Sac, who led the effort with his wife Sarah and five Madison-area Catholic parishes as a shared Lenten mission.

MADISON — As Lent begins, we again focus on the three pillars of the Lenten journey: fasting, praying, and almsgiving. Even before I cared or knew much about fasting and prayer, I understood the necessity of assisting those in need, including material donations or acts of service. I felt compelled to serve others and that eventually taught me how to serve God and discover His will and plan for my life.