MC News

For those who have never lived in the Midwest and don’t know what it’s like to stay, Meghan O’Gieblyn’s essays can help. For those who have faith in Christianity and don’t know what it’s like to lose it, the Madison writer’s essays can also help. The Midwest and Christianity entwine throughout the essays in “Interior States,” O’Gieblyn’s new collection.

It didn’t take long for Terry Fulks to find the next stop on his journey. Fulks resigned as lead pastor at Crosspoint Community Church on Oct. 21 after serving the Oconomowoc church for 26 years. “I did not want to retire,” Fulks said. “People that know me, they go, ‘How long are you going to do this?’ I’m a guy who’s going to die with his boots on.” On Nov. 15, Fulks announced on a Facebook Live post he would be starting a new church called Thirst.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino died Saturday at St. Mary’s Hospital, the Catholic Diocese of Madison said. He was 71. Morlino died at 9:15 p.m. following a “cardiac event” on Wednesday, according to the diocese.

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) — The Diocese of Madison is asking for prayers after Bishop Robert Morlino was hospitalized from “cardiac event” the day before Thanksgiving. “Unfortunately, matters have continued to turn for the worst and it is likely that our hope lays in a miracle at this point,” spokeman Brent King said in a post on the Diocese of Madison facebook page. The Diocese is holding an all-night vigil Saturday night at Holy Name Heights.

Vanessa McDowell was serving as interim CEO of the Madison YWCA when she was offered the position permanently. It was not an easy decision. She would be the first woman of color to lead the Madison organization in its 108 year history. “The weight of that was heavy,” she said, during an interview with retired pastor Phil Haslanger for the Faith in the Heart of the City series at Upper House. She was reading about Esther in the Bible and she also discovered that her mother had at the same age, 36, faced a similar decision to become the director…

A Catholic religious brother from Stevens Point who was killed in Guatemala in 1982 is being beatified by Pope Francis, only the second person from Wisconsin to be elevated to that step below sainthood. James Alfred Miller, who was known religiously as Leo William Miller, was slain in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, while working with indigenous youth as a member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

Exercising Power and Influence was the topic, as Gordon College president D. Michael Lindsay spoke at Upper House to a group of about eighty influencers. The luncheon talk was co-sponsored by Upper House and Made to Flourish, a local pastor’s network. Lindsay, who earned his PhD in Sociology, has extensively researched leadership and written two popular books reporting on his research. Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite, came out in 2007, and View From the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World, was published in 2014. The…

Some of the top quarterbacks in the NFL these days all happen to share one thing in common – they call Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord, and they’re not ashamed to talk about it. “I was modeled what Jesus Christ was all about when I was in high school and spent some time with a great organization called Young Life,” Aaron Rodgers said. “And that introduced me to what it means to live the right way.”

MATTESON, Ill. (RNS) – The Protestant Reformation was a little bit like social media, featuring charismatic influencers, cutting-edge technology and viral content, according to Michael Bridges. It started when a man decided to stay up late and update his status, posting 95 things on his wall. He hoped his friends would like, comment on or share them. Instead, as so often happens on Facebook and other social media platforms, a lot of people started arguing. “Little did he know, the church would unfriend him,” Bridges said.

Before Bob Wolniak entered the ministry, he worked as a mechanical engineer. According to Wolniak, the move isn’t quite the leap some might think. And, he said it’s not all that uncommon to think someone working in engineering 60-70 hours a week might want to do something different. “I think that partially explains it,” says Wolniak, who after the Rev. Larry MacKenzie retired, was installed as the lead pastor at Fulton Church this July. “But, there’s more to it.”