MC News
MADISON, Wis. – The Salvation Army of Dane County, located on E. Washington Avenue is working on plans to build a $25 million homeless facility on Madison’s east side. The plans include a five-story building with an emergency shelter, transitional housing, a gym, auditorium, chapel, a playground, an apartment complex, mental health facilities, a dental facility, a medical facility, a multipurpose room, shelter bed spaces, laundry rooms, lounge spaces, office space and more.
Rev. Dr. Marcus Allen is still new in town. “I still use the GPS to get around the city,” he says with a laugh. “Some roads I haven’t traveled down there in Madison. Some people I haven’t connected with. And still learning the city.” Yet in his three years as pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church, one of Madison’s oldest and most storied African American churches, he’s impressed enough of his colleagues that he’s been named president of the African American Council of Churches in Madison (AACCM).
Bishop Harold Rayford is leaving town after 13 years. Rayford, 52, has accepted the call to lead Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith in Columbus, Ohio. “Coming to Madison for many people has been a blessing and it’s been a blessing for me,” said Rayford, who came to Madison in 2006 to lead The Faith Place in Sun Prairie..” I love it here. You know, I enjoyed living here. My son is here, my grandchildren are here. The only reason I’m leaving is because I felt compelled to take this additional assignment.” In an exclusive interview Thursday, Rayford said…
A brief break in Monday afternoon’s off-and-on rain showers allowed young volunteers to nail additional layers of plywood to the roof of Pauquette Park’s shelter and restrooms. They were doing God’s work, according to their supervisor, the Rev. Scott Dadam, pastor of Portage’s River of Life Church, 102 W. Franklin St.. And, in the mind of City Administrator Shawn Murphy, they were a godsend.
The Madison Catholic Diocese’s new bishop, Donald Hying, delivered a message of love and a promise of openness Tuesday during his installation as spiritual leader of 182,000 parishioners. “Please don’t ever be afraid to approach me, challenge me, tell me hard truths,” Hying told hundreds of parishioners and priests during the two-hour celebration at Saint Maria Goretti Church on the city’s Southwest Side.
For Uchenna Jones, it’s all about family. As a labor and delivery nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital, she helps start new families. And as the organizer of the Madison Gospel 5K, the Motivated Females walking group and the Sole Sisters Run Madtown running group, she helps keep those families healthy. The first-ever Madison Gospel 5k will take place on July 20 and include a full-fledged health fair, as well. “My whole thing is family health,” she says. “Look at all these programs that we have that say, ‘Okay, we have to focus on the kids.’ The kids are only as…
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…