Author: Gordon Govier

On the first Thursday of May believers across our nation will gather and mobilize unified prayer for America. This year’s theme is “LOVE ONE ANOTHER” based on John 13:34. We are praying the love of God would permeate every sector of society and bring about godly transformation in the areas of government, military, media arts, business, education, church, family and for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. I, Joleen Helbig, WI National Day of Prayer State Coordinator invite you to join us in Madison, host your own prayer time, or attend one locally. The Madison National Day of Prayer…

Bishop Donald Hying has been named by Pope Francis to lead the Madison Diocese, succeeding the late Bishop Robert Morlino, who died in November, the Madison Diocese announced in a news release Thursday morning. Hying, 58, comes from the Gary, Ind., Diocese, where he has served as bishop since January 2015. Hying is a West Allis native and was ordained a priest in Milwaukee in 1989.

Katherine Hayhoe loves to talk about Jesus, which is not unusual for someone who was raised in an evangelical family and is married to a pastor. She also loves to talk about climate change, which is natural for an atmospheric scientist who directs the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. When she speaks she often combines the two topics, as she did last week at Upper House, on the University of Wisconsin campus. Which meant that a very religiously diverse audience heard a compelling Christian testimony, along with some compelling information on climate change. Her talk was co-sponsored by…

I was blessed with a surprise visit from Abdul and Jamal on Saturday. They had driven up from Chicago, Friday night and wanted to see me while they were in town. We met together for two hours at a coffee shop and were joined briefly by their brother Muhammad and his wife. Abdul and Jamal had viewed the two video links I’d sent them. One shared the faith journey of Al Fadi from Fundamentalist Islam to faith in Jesus. The other shared the faith journey of Nabeel Qureshi. They had never heard such testimonies before and were quite intrigued by…

Madison is not a news desert, like so many cities, journalist Judith Valente observed last week during her Upper House presentation on The State of the Media Today & What We Can Do About It. Madison area residents are served by more than one newspaper as well as multiple broadcast news outlets. But even cities that have newspapers are not well-served when distant corporate owners are obsessed with the bottom line. “When profits aren’t there, reporters lose their jobs and truth suffers,” she said.

PLOVER, Wis (WSAW) — On Tuesday afternoon, more than 100 community members arrived at the Springs United Methodist Church in Plover to say their final goodbye to a building that has been considered an icon in the village for several decades. Upon arrival at the vigil, the congregation was surprised to learn that the original church bible was recovered from the debris unharmed. This was the second time the bible has survived a massive church fire with their congregation.

A local Lutheran church was given the go-ahead by the McFarland Plan Commission on Feb. 18 for an expansion and site design work. Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 5001 Holscher Road, sought permission for a 4,817-square-foot addition to the west side of its building. Congregation President Chris Fredrick said the church would use the additional space for a fellowship hall, classrooms, kitchen and restrooms. The current building of 5,044 square feet is primarily worship space.

Two University of Wisconsin professors, who co-edited the book, The Warfare Between Science and Religion, subtitled it, “the idea that wouldn’t die.” As in, warfare, what warfare? Ronald Numbers is the Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine Emeritus at the UW, and Jeffrey Hardin is the Raymond E. Keller Professor and chair of the Department of Integrative Biology. Numbers grew up in the Seventh Day Adventist Church and now describes himself as an agnostic. Hardin said he’s been a Christian believer since middle school. The two met through the UW’s Department of Religious Studies and were co-founders…

Some United Methodist congregations are facing the prospect of severing ties with the denomination after the church’s decision-making conference doubled down on rules that ban gay clergy members and same-sex marriage. “Certainly that would be part of our conversation,” said the Rev. Jenny Arneson, pastor of the Sun Prairie United Methodist Church, which has about 750 members and about 250 more who participate in services and programs. “How do we stay within the denomination or do we make a move?”

A little more than three years after it moved into a much larger location, Holy Cross Lutheran School has expanded again. A wing of the school on the Far East Side has been extended, doubling its size. It went from five classrooms to nine — each measuring about 1,000 square feet — plus two locker rooms. “It’s cool to watch our school grow,” eighth-grader Mae Collyard said.