MC News
A federal appeals court today ruled 3-0 that dismisses a lawsuit against the National Day of Prayer. The decision overturns last year’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb that ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Freedom From Religion Foundation did not have standing to bring the lawsuit against President Obama.
As the Sesquicentennial license plates on my car testify, it was 13 years ago that we celebrated the 150th anniversary of Wisconsin Statehood. Now, it’s the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War that’s underway. The first shots of that war were fired 150 years ago today. Although historians still debate the reasons behind the war, the end result was the end of the institution of slavery in the United States. At least that’s what we learned in school. The statistics say otherwise. Statistics say that there are 27 million people enslaved in the world today, far more than in the 19th…
Some people have given up Facebook and Social Media for Lent. But one pastor in training thinks people should use Facebook more during Lent, not less.
The Middle East in turmoil, newly discovered ancient texts carried across borders and offered for sale to the highest bidder: It reads like the Dead Sea Scrolls story. Only this is now and some people say these texts could be a Christian type of Dead Sea Scrolls if they are authentic. That’s a big if.
“It’s a perceived tension, but not a real tension,” said Blackhawk church teaching pastor Tim Mackie, as he welcomed 450 people to Blackhawk’s Science and Faith seminar last Saturday morning. “We believe there is no inherent conflict between a deep religious faith and science.” Yet the perception persists. Mackie, senior pastor Chris Dolson, and University of Wisconsin professors Jeff Hardin and Cynthia Carlsson all talked about working through the tension, or helping others work through it. But the daylong series of presentations featuring top University of Wisconsin faculty offered strong evidence to counter some of the typical tension points.
A spate of headlines last month reported on a Northwestern medical research study that linked obesity and church attendance. Medical researchers are on to something but exactly what is open for debate. TIME magazine did not present the report in the most positive light with their headline, “Why Going to Church Can Make You Fat.” At least the story acknowledged that going to church can be linked to many positive outcomes. A year ago we reported on local Madison-area churches working together to help people lose weight in the Million Pound Challenge: “The idea is simple: for every pound of weight you…
About 30 religious leaders from around Dane County met with three staff people of Governor Walker today. The political realist in me wonders if it was worth the time. Three low level staffers listened and responded with pre-arranged talking points. Our group has little influence, no money, and few significant political connections to make a difference in the current budget and policy decisions being made. The religious leader and populist in me found several reasons to be hopeful and encouraged.
Mennonites from Wisconsin and Canada started coming to Louisiana in the weeks after Katrina, and they’re still coming.
Russell Arnett was ordained the first married Catholic priest in the Milwaukee Archdiocese on Saturday at St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc. His journey in life and faith wasn’t the ending that Arnett originally imagined. “I spent years running from the call,” Arnett said. Growing up a Southern Baptist, the earliest prayer he can remember was at 7 years old: “I remember saying, ‘Lord, I’ll do whatever your will is, just don’t ask me to be a preacher,’ ” Arnett said.
Chaplaincy training is being offered May 2-6, 2011, here in Madison. Crisis Response Wisconsin and Capital Chaplains are hosting International Fellowship of Chaplains (I.F.O.C.) to provide Basic Chaplaincy Training. The purpose of the Basic Chaplaincy Training is to provide core training for workplace chaplains, first responders and church-based crises teams in the area of Critical Incident Stress Management, Death Notification, and Spirituality and Trauma. Additional topics to be covered include how better to serve those dealing with Depression, Grief and Loss, Death and Dying and Suicide.