Author: Gordon Govier

As I watched the Netflix series “When they See Us,” I can only testify, “It could have been me.” Ava DuVernay did an excellent job bringing to life the horrific trauma of what five teenagers, four black and one Hispanic, endured when they were arrested, charged, and convicted for crimes they did not commit. October 4, 1999, may have been one of the worst days of my life. Early on that Monday morning, my mom knocked on my bedroom door telling me that the police were at the house for me. I questioned her, “For me?” She responded, “Yes.” I…

The Catholic Diocese of Madison said Wednesday that private investigators have been hired to review personnel files in a probe of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy. “The Diocese of Madison reaffirms its commitment to protect children and young people, as well as to be open and transparent with victims, faithful Catholics and the larger community,” the diocese said in a statement.

Habitat for Humanity of Dane County is hoping to embark on its largest project yet — a 62-acre development in fast-growing Sun Prairie that will include some 48 Habitat homes spread among four phases along with homes sold by traditional, for-profit home builders. But as with any other developer, the opportunities for such large single-family-home projects could grow scarce as land prices rise with the Madison-area population and elected officials put more emphasis on denser, multifamily housing that is better for the environment and more amenable to mass transit.

Kim Phúc will always have the scars, but the woman whose suffering as a girl after the napalm bombing of her village became an iconic image of the Vietnam War has found peace and forgiveness. Phúc, known as the “napalm girl” from Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that captured her naked and in agony, was on the UW-Madison campus with him Saturday to share her story of a past of hate and bitterness replaced by a life of happiness and forgiveness. “I believe peace, love and forgiveness will always be more powerful than bombs,” Phúc said. The ability to forgive…

MADISON, Wis (WMTV) – Members of the Madison community and beyond are still grieving the loss of UW-Madison Assistant Basketball Coach Howard Moore’s wife and nine-year old daughter, who died in a car crash over the weekend Howard and Jennifer Moore’s heart for their children, Jaidyn and Jerrell and for others, showed in their dedication to the community. The family’s pastor, Matt Metzger of Blackhawk Church Downtown, said the Moore’s attended there for around three years and their selfless love for others was apparent.

A ’57 Chevy had a prominent role in the sermon by Bob Lenz at the sixth annual community worship service at Brat Fest. Lenz is the founder of Life Promotions, which not only sponsors the Lifest Christian music festival in Oshkosh every July, but also his Dignity Revolution campaign in the nation’s public schools. Lifest also sponsors one of Brat Fest’s three music stages for the Sunday schedule to showcase Christian bands and musicians. Adjacent to the Christian music stage and new this year was the Ministry Marketplace tent, sponsored by the Madison Christian Giving Fund. More than a dozen…

The Salvation Army of Dane County is restarting a bid to redevelop its current building and perhaps surrounding properties on the Near East Side for a roughly $25 million project that would deliver a new homeless shelter, transitional housing units with support services, and income-based and non-subsidized apartments. The nonprofit Salvation Army, which operates two distinct homeless shelters in its current building, the former St. Patrick’s Catholic School at 630 E. Washington Ave., had introduced preliminary redevelopment plans for that site in 2016, but pulled back as it worked with its regional hierarchy.

After four-and-a-half years, Redeemer City Church finally has a place to call its own. “It’s a great space,” Nate Hobert, one of the congregation’s two pastors, said. On April 14, the church held its first service at its new-to-them building at 5356 King James Way, former home of a design company, after being hosted at Chavez Elementary since its inception in 2015.

CHICAGO (RNS) — Lutherans are speaking out and gathering in prayer after a student pastor at a church in Racine, Wis., was arrested last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Betty Rendón, who came to the United States from Colombia, was arrested by ICE on May 8 after her application for asylum was rejected. Rendón is a lay minister in the mainline Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, according to the denomination’s presiding bishop, the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton.

It’s two o’clock on a Monday afternoon and Roger Baker is online. He’s not checking the weather forecast or how the Bucks did last night. He’s looking for young men and women who are being trafficked in the Madison area. On that particular Monday, Baker, a detective with the Madison Police Department, found nearly 300. “It’s hard to know how many people are trafficked any given day,” Baker said. “It used to be on a street level—and it still is in some bigger cities—but here it tends to be online. And even though we’re looking for them and trying to…