Author: Gordon Govier

In summer 2010, McFarland United Church of Christ went into “turnaround” mode. Founded in 1967 with its current home built in 1985, the church faced dwindling attendance and financial giving as well as diminished hope. State UCC officials matched an energetic new Janesville pastor, Kerri Parker, with the congregation. They clicked.

(Madison, WI) — InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is moving our national office on the west side of Madison to 635 Science Drive. The move this month is the eighth in InterVarsity’s 74-year history and is prompted once again by the growth of InterVarsity’s ministry—now with 949 chapters on 616 college and university campuses across the U.S.

Sonam Dolma with her son, Tenzing Teleay, 20, left, attend the blessing of their Habitat for Humanity home on the North Side of Madison, Wis., Friday, May 1, 2015. This is the 15th home that has been built since the UW-Madison Habitat for Humanity of Dane County Chapter was founded in 1993.

Few things are as central to understanding Scott Walker as his relentless political calculus and his evangelical Christian faith. Those two facets of the governor are coming together as never before in his all-but-certain bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. They will be on full display Saturday when the two-term governor joins fellow would-be presidential candidates at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition 2015 Spring Kickoff. So far, Walker’s folksy mix of faith and politics has resonated with evangelical Christian voters, a key constituency for Republican candidates.

Madison— Hundreds of people from across Wisconsin marched around the Capitol on Wednesday, some hoisting signs saying “Black Lives Matter” and “Living Wage Jobs,” and shouting “This is what religion looks like.” The interfaith gathering, which drew an estimated 800 people to the Capitol, was part of the biennial effort by religious leaders and faith-based organizations to shape the state’s 2015-’17 budget and legislative priorities. As in past years, Wisconsin’s religious advocates and lobbyists will lend their voices to a broad range of issues this session — from abortion and human trafficking to food stamps and health care for the…

A Wisconsin Catholic church’s 45th annual Original Pig Rassle fundraiser has been canceled after an animal rights group documented alleged signs of injury and abuse during the event which they claim violates the state’s fighting and child endangerment laws.

DES MOINES — Scott Walker, the son of a Baptist preacher, learned a lot about being a politician by going to church. He was introduced to glad-handing while greeting worshipers beside his father after Sunday services. His confidence as a public speaker began at 2, when he delivered a Christmas greeting from the pulpit, and it blossomed when he preached occasional sermons as a teenager. And now, Mr. Walker’s lifelong church involvement may be a powerful asset as he positions himself to run for the Republican presidential nomination and focuses on early primary and caucus states dominated by evangelical voters.

A Madison priest known for pointed commentary is offering what he says is a path forward for businesses opposed to participation in same-sex weddings.

Thousands of churches will join “Stand for Marriage Sunday” on April 26 – just two days before the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the definition of marriage. Pastors across the nation are being asked to distribute a bulletin insert and show church members a brief video explaining the importance of the pending decision and the impact it will have on everyday Americans who seek to live out their faith.

A broad coalition of religious organizations representing thousands of Wisconsin congregations is calling on the Legislature to reject Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to drug test some public aid recipients, calling it punitive, discriminatory and not in the best interest of the state. “In our respective religious traditions, poverty and joblessness are not indicators of bad character,” says the letter to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, signed by the representatives of the Wisconsin Council of Churches, the Wisconsin Catholic and Jewish conferences, WISDOM and five other organizations.