MC News
As an African-American woman in a denomination that’s nearly all white, the Rev. Viviane Thomas-Breitfeld says she hopes to make the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America more appealing to minorities. Thomas-Breitfeld, from Brookfield, was recently elected bishop for the ELCA’s South-Central Synod of Wisconsin, a region that includes Madison, Janesville, Beloit and many rural communities.
Like most Wednesday afternoons, organ music echoed through the historic Luther Memorial Church earlier this month.Bruce Bengtson, the church’s longtime music director, had led the free organ concerts — a tradition that predated him — since he began working at the church as a 24-year-old. But on this week he was showered with applause before and after the concert, handshakes and hugs by the approximately 100 people who attended the concert, more than would typically come to listen to him improvise his way through classic organ pieces.That’s because the concert was his last at Luther Memorial.
Robert Pierce has been passing on his farming skills for years, teaching urban agriculture to at-risk youth and the formerly incarcerated. Now, in a partnership with Madison-area Urban Ministry, he’ll expand his work with the formerly incarcerated, bringing a class of five to the farm. They’ll be paid for their time, learn to grow their own food and benefit from the dignity of work.
The Lifest at Brat Fest stage was a new venue this year, a big top tent. Very helpful if it rained (no rain in the forecast), or if the sun was beating down mercilessly, which turned out to be the case for 2018. The fifth annual community worship service drew a crowd of several hundred that filled the tent on Sunday morning. “I love the local church, but I also love the church universal,” said Bob Lenz, president of Life Promotions, as he welcomed the attendees. Lenz and his team are preparing for the Lifest Christian music festival, which will…
One of the best times to visit Brat Fest this Memorial Day Holiday weekend will be Sunday morning. Early in the morning, before it gets hot, the forecasters predict that the sun will be shining on the annual Community Worship Service on the Lifest at Brat Fest stage on Willow Island at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center. The service will run from 8:30am to 9:45am. This will be the fifth community worship service at Brat Fest, since the Lifest partnership was announced in 2014. The speaker will be York Moore, National Evangelist for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Although InterVarsity has its national…
According to WalletHub’s findings, Madison, Wisconsin, is the most caring city in the country with a 68.13 score. The city also claimed the top spot in the “caring for the workforce” category. Interestingly, Madison also donates the second lowest percentage of its income to charity (Memphis, Tennessee donates the highest), but its other caring qualities apparently balanced that out.
The minister’s housing exclusion faces its next battle in a 7-years-and-counting war with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A Wisconsin federal district court ruled in October 2017 that the housing exclusion for minister-provided housing is unconstitutional, a ruling that could ultimately strike down the allowance nationwide, resulting in nearly $1 billion in new taxes for ministers across the country. An appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals was filed by Chicago-area pastors in early February 2018. While the appeal will not reach the courtroom until later this year, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing pastors on the South…
Human nature is not basically good, conservative commentator and radio host Dennis Prager told a packed hall of friendly supporters on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Wednesday. “Goodness in humans is like gold in mines. You need to mine human goodness, you don’t need to mine human evil,” said Prager. He argued that the Judeo-Christian values that traditionally shaped life in the United States — but are under attack from the ideological left — kept baser human instincts in check. “It’s better that people fear God than they fear government,” he said.
Six weeks ago, Monona’s David Lippiatt was nearing the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. He was leading a group of 11 men on a mission to raise funds to support programs for women and children around the world who are affected by gender violence. “One of the greatest injustices of our time is that more is not being done by men to address sexual-based violence against women,” said Lippiatt, president of Madison-based WE International.
GREENDALE – A Greendale church is little by megachurch standards, but it has a mighty ministry that reaches out to radio listeners in Arabic, Chinese and more than 60 other languages with the message of Christianity. The Rev. Douglas Schroeder, pastor of Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, knows the radio waves are getting through, but he also knows the message is getting through. That’s because listeners in remote villages and in dense cities tell him so.