Author: Gordon Govier

For the past month 37 area artists have had their unique artistic creations on display in 18 different galleries in the Madison area, all to benefit Habitat for Humanity. The art displays end this Saturday, Oct. 29th. The art is created from salvaged materials, and the proceeds from their sale go to benefit Habitat for Humanity. In 2012 Habitat for Humanity of Dane County will be celebrating its 25th anniversary.

This week, Nashotah House will install a new dean and president, the Right Rev. Edward Salmon. A retired South Carolina bishop, Salmon will have to balance the school’s traditional mission against shifting economic and technological forces, and lead it at a time of great division within the Anglican Communion. “Our vision is to continue to do, impressively and strongly, what we’ve done for 170 years,” said Salmon, a longtime Nashotah House trustee, who will be installed during a convocation Friday – where former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey is scheduled to speak.

MADISON — After decades in which “women’s ordination” was openly discussed, Pope John Paul II declared, in the encyclical Ordinatio Sacerdotalis in 1994, that priestly ordination is reserved to men and the Church has no authority to change this. To this day, however, many Catholics remain puzzled as to how or even whether the question has been fully resolved. If anything, public dissent is growing stronger with high-profile cases of priests and others declaring opposition to the teaching. The Diocese of Madison invites all to attend a St. Thérèse of Lisieux Lecture on Tuesday, Nov. 8, in which Sr. Sara…

Methodist Bishop Linda Lee, who has led the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church since 2004, has announced plans to retire, effective Sept. 1, 2012. In a letter to members of the conference, she said she continues to feel God’s calling in her life and plans to pursue future service to God in the church.

Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has asked priests in the diocese to move toward using only bread during regular communion services, reserving the use of both bread and wine for more solemn or special occasions. The change would be a significant departure from current U.S. Catholic custom, although bread-only is the norm in many other parts of the world.

Andy and Jenny Czerkas have been recognized nationally for their holistic approach to free food distribution. Andy Czerkas, an information technology instructor at Madison College, is one of five finalists for the national AARP Hunger Hero Award, which carries a $15,000 donation.

I’ve been asking myself that question a lot recently. I’m a junior living in the dorms. That doesn’t make sense. At least that’s what people tell me. At the University of Wisconsin – Madison, it’s widely understood that once you finish your freshman year in the dorms, you’re out of there. In fact, freshmen start signing leases for apartments within a month or two of arriving on campus. Dorms are a rite of passage for freshmen, but generally students don’t choose to live in them for a second, and certainly not a third, year. So why am I living in the…

The headline seemed more suited to The Onion than “Scientific American” magazine: “Religious experiences shrink part of the brain.” But the article was real, as was the recent study by researchers at Duke University. I reached out to the study’s lead author, Amy Owen, whom I recognized from her research on forgiveness at UW-Madison.

Clara Franklin had no idea she was about to cause such a ruckus when she took the stage May 1 at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Madison. The historically black congregation was celebrating its 100th anniversary with a special service, and Franklin, 86, the church’s first female deacon, was asked to give a few reflections. She was just a couple of minutes into her remarks when she faltered, then crumpled.

CHAMPION, Wis. – Philip and Barbara Hesselbein came to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help to pray for a grandson who has an inoperable brain tumor. Darlene Searcy prayed for her family and for herself; she has cancer. Mary Spakowicz, who also has cancer, came “because God will hear me here.” The afflicted and the faithful have long made pilgrimages to the quiet country site east of Green Bay where Belgian immigrant Adele Brise said in 1859 that she saw the Virgin Mary three times. For the past few years, maybe 30 or 50 people had trickled in…