MC News
Last night in Oshkosh, I participated in a candelight prayer vigil for persecuted Christians in Iraq. Hot wax dripped through the bottom of the cup into the palm of my hand as beautiful prayers ascended to heaven. Waves of rain beat softly on the roof of the sanctuary. Gentle rain filled the silence between petitions. A wave of rain would subside, and then Pastor Wiley of Wesley Church would intone, “Lord, in your mercy …” We answered, “Hear our prayer!” The Iraqi children I sat near were in seventh heaven, not because of the prayers they are too young to…
Mount Zion Baptist church is a vital institution in south Madison. It has contributed in many important ways to the south side community. Any of us who have grown up in south Madison know Mt. Zion. It seems like the church has always been here. But, that is not the case. The story of Mt. Zion begins in June of 1911.
Think you’re having a bad day? Is something keeping you down? Need to be inspired? Rich Dixon may just have the right message for you. The Fort Collins, Colo., man taught math to teenagers – from a wheelchair. Today, after 35 years as a public high school math teacher, he’s a freelance writer and an inspirational speaker who rides around the country on a specially designed cycle – using only his hands. Paralyzed from the chest down due to a freak accident in 1987, he will begin his Wisconsin Hope Tour 2014 on Tuesday, Sept. 2, in Madison. This…
Last October, Madison City Council members approved an ordinance change allowing religious institutions and nonprofit organizations to host people in tents or other temporary portable shelters on their premises. One impetus was the “tiny house” movement, the effort by Occupy Madison Inc. to build a series of small structures on wheels for homeless people. The houses can be parked on city streets, but only if they are moved every 48 hours. Through the ordinance change, churches and other worship communities could provide longer-term sites. Ten months later, no church is yet hosting a tiny house or homeless encampment, but it’s…
Wisconsin Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls) converted to Catholicism in a quiet ceremony at Milwaukee’s St. Francis de Sales Seminary on Monday — a private affair reportedly attended by at least two Wisconsin bishops and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.
Building shelters for vulnerable children around the world is a longstanding mission for Hovde Properties and the company’s charitable-giving vehicle, the Hovde Foundation. Brothers Eric and Steve Hovde started the foundation in 1998 to support two central missions: clinical research to find a cure for multiple sclerosis, and to provide charitable relief for those in desperate need. Read more of this story.
MADISON — It was a day of thanks and celebration as 121 married couples packed the Bishop O’Connor Center chapel. The August 10 occasion was the Mass of Thanksgiving for couples celebrating 50 years or more of marriage. To fully illustrate the years of dedication, prayer, and devotion, there were about 7,000 combined years of marriage being celebrated.
It’s been an unsettling summer with a world full of problems pushing at us for our attention. It’s hard to know how to respond or whether there is anything we can do in response to troubling news on the other side of the world. Madison-based WE International has a suggestion.
COTTAGE GROVE — “This is going to be the best week of your life” is a bold promise from the team members of Totus Tuus, but for most of the participants at all levels — it was indeed one of the best weeks of their lives. Totus Tuus is a summer Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship.
“We the people” is not just a nice saying; it’s a statement of responsibility. We as citizens have the duty, the obligation, the honor of participating actively in our government. As Christians, I believe we have a stewardship responsibility in this area. Taking a pass, sitting it out is not the answer.