Author: Gordon Govier

MADISON — Falls Baptist Church just wants to bring its faith family together for outside Easter Services — in as safe a way as possible amid the COVID-19 outbreak. But Gov. Tony Evers and his ever-expanding emergency orders curtailing civil liberties aim to put an end to such sacred gatherings. The Menomonee Falls church hopes to hold drive-in-style worship , in which parishioners tune into the Easter services  on their vehicle radios in Falls Baptists’ parking lot. They would be together in spirit and body, but a safe distance apart with their car windows up. It would seem they would…

Spiritual practices tether us to God. That’s why we do them. We don’t engage in spiritual practices so that we will become more spiritual or so that we might attain more wisdom or love from God, we practice being with God so that we can be with God. The long-term effects of practicing being with God are profound. As we expose our (real) selves to the Lord, a healing work churns through our bodies, through our thoughts and through our emotions. Sometimes it’s a slow grind and other times it feels something like a miracle—a sharp movement from darkness to light…

When Francis Schaeffer released his How Shall We Then Live book and video series in 1976, the evangelical community didn’t know what to do about popular culture. Few people attempted to make connections as Scheaffer did with his history-based critique. Today, there are lots of voices to help guide Christians in how to live in contemporary culture. Alan Noble, editor-in-chief at Christ and Pop Cuture website, is one of those. He is an English professor at Oklahoma Baptist University and spoke at Upper House in Madison recently on the topic, “Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age.”

Helen Ergen oversees the children’s ministry at Southbrook Church, 11010 W. Saint Martins Road, Franklin. For the past three years, the church has held a Special Friends Easter Egg Hunt for children with special needs. The event was designed for children and caregivers who have autism, spectrum issues or mobility limitations, according to Jonathan Misirian, lead pastor and Franklin police chaplain. However, this year, concerns over the coronavirus pandemic forced the event’s cancellation.

Making sacrifices during the Lenten season has taken on new meaning in recent weeks for Christians anxious to observe upcoming Holy Week and Easter celebrations, which for many are the most important faith events of the year. Meanwhile, faith institutions everywhere are quickly establishing new routines and practices, many of them involving online services and “virtual” gatherings, all prompted by social distancing restrictions and other rules put in place to slow the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We now have 8-track churches in a streaming world…the church is struggling to adapt,” is how the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III put it in his sermon on Sunday morning for Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Notice I said “sermon for,” not “sermon at.” Because like churches all across the nation, Sunday worship is now coming through Facebook Live or You Tube or Zoom or some other video platform, beamed into people’s homes. I have spent the past three Sundays surfing worship (that’s the worship nerd in me), trying to get a sense of how churches are doing this,…

What does it mean to be the church when we can’t touch each other? During the physical distancing of COVID-19, I can see and hear you, individually, but I can’t be with you. We can hear a message, but not simultaneously share the reaction. We can sing, but not hear each other as a choir.

Bethany Evangelical Free Church has had its roots on Madison’s near east side since it started as a Norwegian-speaking church in 1906 (when the church’s name was “Betania”). Now it has become home to four small communities of Christ-followers—many of whom are first-generation immigrants speaking four different languages. Bethany has been quietly shaping the church landscape in the Madison community for over a century. Its influence has been significant and far-reaching. In the 1960s, Bethany planted two churches—one on the west side of Madison and one on the east side. Those churches are alive and well today. The west side…

“It’s not what you know. It’s who you know.” We’ve all heard the saying, typically in reference to finding a job. But when it comes to serving others, sometimes it’s both what and who you know that makes a world of difference. The story of Pacifique, his wife Francine and their four young girls is a wonderful example. The two parents were recent refugees from the Congo, resettled in Madison last year after spending years in a refugee camp in Burundi. The girls were all born in the camp. All had become Christians through a missionary witness and regularly attended church…

Dancing to their first song as a married couple in a church parking lot encircled by friends in cars was not the wedding Sarah and Josh Bruecken imagined. But celebrating love amidst a pandemic requires flexibility. After planning a ceremony and reception with more than 300 people for May 2, the Brueckens became increasingly concerned as they followed early pandemic news out of Italy, where they were set to honeymoon. When it became apparent they would have to delay their large celebration, they didn’t want to wait to be married and felt their window for doing so was closing.