MC News
Madison’s Luther Memorial Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. The church, located at 1021 University Ave., is known for its Neo-Gothic Revival style architecture, historical society spokeswoman Kara O’Keeffe said. The style’s characteristics can be seen in the church’s steeply pitched roof, buttresses and pointed-arch openings.
PAICINES, Calif. (RNS) — Sometimes a tomato isn’t just a salad ingredient. Sometimes it’s a call to action. That’s the revolutionary idea of about 40 farmers who gathered for a first-of-its-kind interfaith weekend at a working ranch in the rolling green hills 60 miles southeast of San Jose. Christians, Jews, Muslims and the spiritual-but-not-religious united to seek nothing less than a complete disruption of how food is grown, distributed and even served. “We never ask questions when it comes to a handout model of food ministry,” said Venice Williams, a Lutheran lay minister who came to the conference from Milwaukee,…
The Handwritten Bible project began back in August 2010 by Len Lindsay. How many pages would the Bible be when it is handwritten by over 300 different people? 4,000 pages! All the chapters were handwritten right here in the Madison area. However, people from all over: Texas, Boston, Puerto Rico, and even Australia wrote chapters during their time in Madison. The River Food Pantry was one of the first partners with the Handwritten Bible project seven years ago.
Whether it’s welcoming a new life, preparing for a life to end or dealing with the anguish or uncertainty of injury, surgery or disease, patients and families often turn to hospital chaplains for help with their mind, body and spirit. Despite a national decline in church attendance, or perhaps because of it, hospital chaplain programs are on the rise. More than 65 percent of hospitals in the U.S. had chaplains in 2016, up from 53 percent in 2002, according to the American Hospital Association. Madison’s four main hospitals have had chaplains for years.
New research from Barna Group showcases the breakdown of the most Catholic and Protestant, both mainline and nonmainline, cities in America as part of its ongoing tracking of religious demography. The cities report, which was released last week, examines the distribution of the denominational makeup of American cities and towns and uses data based on online and telephone interviews with nationwide random samples of 76,505 adults conducted over the course of seven years, concluding in 2016.
My APB for 17 missing children—all wanted by First Presbyterian—resulted in two sightings and the discovery of a 173-year-old family tree, full of life and legacy of faith. Little Josh, last seen in our Sunday school in the 1990s pushing just 4-ft tall, now fills the door at church, to say: I am one of the “missing children” you have been searching for!
The presentation was titled “How to Talk about God without Starting a Fight” but it could just as well have been called “How to Report on Cat Cults and Snake Handlers.” Veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana was at Upper House on the University of Wisconsin campus and he brought along tales of the unusual stories he has covered over the years.Smietana is senior writer for Facts and Trends, a publication under the Southern Baptist Convention umbrella. Prior to that he was at Christianity Today, and six years as the Nashville Tennessean’s religion writer. His recent freelance writing include articles on…
MADISON (WKOW) — After years of work to end homelessness in Madison, local organizations say they’re finally seeing results. Although shelters in the area have been at capacity for years, many families who have no home have been able to turn their lives around as those resources helped them. Organizations like The Road Home, The Salvation Army and the YWCA are now collaborating on their programs to make the best use of the resources and give people one centralized place to go for the help they need.
“Even though violence is at an all-time low, these events are on the rise,” Madison police officer Matthew Magolan told members of Westwood Christian Church on a recent evening, as a special meeting was held at the church to learn how to respond to an active shooter. Churches as well as schools and businesses have been the scene of these shootings, which have become more and more common since the Columbine school shooting on April 20, 1999. Learning how to respond to such an event is prudent, and the Madison Police Department offers the training free as a public service…
Just two days after (Madison-based) InterVarsity Christian Fellowship filed a lawsuit against Wayne State University, the Detroit school decided to let the chapter regain its official status on campus once again—one of the quickest initial victories in a string of legal battles over Christian groups at public colleges. Last year, InterVarsity lost its recognition as a student group at Wayne State, the third-largest school in Michigan, over requirements that its leaders affirm the organization’s Christian beliefs. The school viewed the belief requirement as a violation of its nondiscrimination policy.