Author: Gordon Govier

After 46 years as an ordained minister, the last 19 at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison, the Rev. Bill White will preach for the last time Sunday before he retires. Don’t expect a lengthy look back.

Last month, the United Methodist Church issued an unprecedented, provocative call to its 7.8 million U.S. members, including the 81,655 in Wisconsin: give up alcohol for Lent. The challenge, borne of concern over alcohol abuse in society and among church members, confronted what one top church official called “the elephant in the room.”

Earth Day falls on April 22nd, which is also Good Friday this year. To some that is merely a curious coincidence. As if God really cares about our carbon footprint. Or does he? Would God, who cares enough for us that he sent his Son to die on the cross on the day that we celebrate as Good Friday, actually care about how we treat the earth that he created?

Few observers expected Swan to be a major contributor when he arrived, yet he became a two-year starter with 60 receptions for 1,046 yards and seven touchdowns in his career prior to a torn hamstring that ended his senior year in the sixth game. Abbrederis has been on an even faster path. He was a virtual unknown going into spring a year ago but caught 20 passes for 289 yards and three TDs last season with two starts. He is a projected starter this season. And then there’s perhaps the biggest similarity of all that bonds the two – their…

I recently read Yeats’s statement, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” But after attending Wisconsin Family Council’s Day at the Capitol, I disagree.

A federal appeals court today ruled 3-0 that dismisses a lawsuit against the National Day of Prayer. The decision overturns last year’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb that ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Freedom From Religion Foundation did not have standing to bring the lawsuit against President Obama.

As the Sesquicentennial license plates on my car testify, it was 13 years ago that we celebrated the 150th anniversary of Wisconsin Statehood. Now, it’s the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War that’s underway. The first shots of that war were fired 150 years ago today. Although historians still debate the reasons behind the war, the end result was the end of the institution of slavery in the United States. At least that’s what we learned in school. The statistics say otherwise. Statistics say that there are 27 million people enslaved in the world today, far more than in the 19th…

Some people have given up Facebook and Social Media for Lent. But one pastor in training thinks people should use Facebook more during Lent, not less.

The Middle East in turmoil, newly discovered ancient texts carried across borders and offered for sale to the highest bidder: It reads like the Dead Sea Scrolls story. Only this is now and some people say these texts could be a Christian type of Dead Sea Scrolls if they are authentic. That’s a big if.

“It’s a perceived tension, but not a real tension,” said Blackhawk church teaching pastor Tim Mackie, as he welcomed 450 people to Blackhawk’s Science and Faith seminar last Saturday morning. “We believe there is no inherent conflict between a deep religious faith and science.” Yet the perception persists. Mackie, senior pastor Chris Dolson, and University of Wisconsin professors Jeff Hardin and Cynthia Carlsson all talked about working through the tension, or helping others work through it. But the daylong series of presentations featuring top University of Wisconsin faculty offered strong evidence to counter some of the typical tension points.