MC News
In Detroit, a group of Catholics borrowed the idea of flash mobs for “Mass mobs” to help revitalize urban churches. Every month, a group called Detroit Mass Mobs picks a church, spreads the word on Facebook — and just like that, it fills up and buzz with the energy it once had.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis and his bishops got a wake-up call Tuesday (Oct. 7) from a Wisconsin couple who said the Catholic Church was failing to deal with the collapse of the traditional family. Jeff and Alice Heinzen of La Crosse told the pope and 180 bishops attending a synod devoted to family issues that they were alarmed by the number of young people born out of wedlock or living with divorced parents. The couple are one of 14 married couples invited to give their testimony.
In the aftermath of the furor over the video showing Baltimore football player Ray Rice knocking out his fiancee in an elevator, a Twitter campaign called #whyistayed exploded online. Women explained why they could not leave an abusive relationship. Their stories were many and varied, but one thread cited religious beliefs and religious leaders that kept them from leaving.
Faith leaders from across Wisconsin implored prison officials at a state Capitol rally Wednesday to end what they said is an over-reliance on solitary confinement, calling the practice torturous, costly and ineffective. They urged a federal investigation of abuses in Wisconsin’s use of isolation units.
In Appleton, Wisconsin, Marge Christensen labors tirelessly to share the Gospel. In her eighties, Marge is active in her church and has been promoting biblical citizenship for more than twenty years. She and her husband are ambassadors for the Alliance Defending Freedom and have been working lately to encourage churches to promote marriage with greater boldness. Recently, Marge shared with a colleague of mine that churches do not seem to sense the urgency of teaching on matters of marriage, family and especially religious liberty.
A Chicago church came into some money following a decades old real estate deal. What to do with the extra dough weighed heavily on the pastor’s mind. Then she decided to do something crazy. She wanted the church to tithe and give 10% of the money away. That may not sound so crazy, but here’s the hitch, she gave it back — all $160,000 of it–to the congregation.
At a community worship service last weekend in remembrance of homicide victim Ashlee Steele, the Rev. Jeff Meyer drew upon both ancient biblical texts and current events. It was the only reference during the 45-minute service that hinted at the circumstances surrounding Steele’s death.
Paul Ryan doesn’t yet know if he is going to run for President, but his latest policy proposal looks like something he can campaign on. “I realized we have an economy of exclusion not participation,” the Wisconsin congressman told me from Capitol Hill last week. And since “it’s clear that we’re not going to get the debt crisis solved with this President,” Mr. Ryan drew up perhaps the most serious anti-poverty plan put forward by a Republican.
A vicious circle is playing out across the religious landscape, to hear church musicians tell of it. Fewer young people are studying the organ, which has led some churches to remove the instrument for lack of practitioners. And without the physical presence of an organ to spark interest, even fewer young people are considering the possibility of learning to play it.
The rosary beads next to the foosball table in Sam Gagliardi’s apartment suggest he has both fun and faith on his mind this school year. The UW-Madison junior is one of the inaugural tenants of Lumen House, the unusual campus housing project undertaken by three Downtown Madison Catholic congregations. The merged congregations are together known as the Cathedral Parish.