Author: Gordon Govier

Pastor Joshua McHenry Miller is a relative newcomer to Madison. In the last four years, though, he has jumped in with both feet, seeding a new church in the Leopold neighborhood and forging strong and deep partnerships with Leopold Elementary and a number of other organizations.

Rev. Alex Gee begins a new video column about life in Madison on Madison 365 website:  

DES MOINES – On a 90-degree Sunday morning in June of 2010, a group of Zion Lutheran Church members followed their traditional service with their first-ever outreach to a local apartment complex. Lugging boxes of fried chicken, beans, potato salads, and chips to feed more than 100 people, the church also brought soccer balls and craft projects to share with the building’s younger tenants. While adult residents curiously observed from their doorframes, children bounded out to play: hanging on to the volunteers, dancing, and wolfing down the food. What appeared in the moment to be a generous but simple gesture…

Two weeks ago there was a gathering of Christians on the mall in Washington DC that drew a crowd of up to a half-million worshipers. One who was there was the Rev. David Bryant, a former Madison resident who went on to found Concerts of Prayer International.

Judge Everett Mitchell was sworn in as a circuit court judge at the Dane County Courthouse July 22. Mitchell was sworn in by Judge Paul Higginbotham, the first African-American judge elected to office in Dane County. Rev. Mitchell, a well-known advocate for racial justice in Madison, has become the third African-American judge in the Dane County Circuit.

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – A prayer service sponsored by the African American Council of Churches of Greater Madison brought together local faith leaders, people of many denominations and local law enforcement. The hour long service was centered around a theme of peace, unity, safety and hope.

The severe heat in Madison has people running for their homes, and their air conditioning. Those who don’t have a home were welcomed Friday at the First United Methodist Church.

When Ashley Thomas graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012, she found herself at a crossroads. A star defender for the Badgers basketball team, Thomas had from an early age planned on playing professionally. At the same time, Thomas — a lifelong Christian — had actively explored her spirituality in college, and was drawn to be of service in a larger way.

It’s been a heavy week. We are both lamenting the death of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and the death of Philando Castile in Minnesota, both killed at the hands of law enforcement. We are both also lamenting the deaths of Brent Thompson, Patrick Zamarippa, Michael Krol, Michael Smith, and Lorne Ahrens, the five police officers killed by a sniper in Dallas while they were protecting protestors. And we are lamenting again the longstanding existence of racial conflict in the U.S.—the sinful physical, emotional, and mental abuse African Americans, in particular, have suffered under since our nation began; the often volatile…

Jim Stevens is on a mission. Actually, he’s on two missions. First, the 64-year-old Town of Cottage Grove man is in training for his fourth Ironman Wisconsin event. Second, he’s campaigning to raise at least $5,000 for World Vision in its quest to provide clean drinking water for people in Africa.