News

The view is tranquil. The quiet is calming. A step on the path is meant as the start of a journey toward inner peace. Meet the brick labyrinth on the Middleton farm known as Hillsong Ridge. It is only the latest of nearly 20 labyrinths to spring up in and around the Madison area over the past decade, part of a growing movement to counter modern-day stresses with an ancient and mysterious tool.

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Thirteen Elmbrook members arrived in Oklahoma City last week to volunteer with the international Christian relief agency Samaritan’s Purse. Part relief workers, part Christian evangelists, the volunteers are part of Elmbrook’s disaster relief ministry, which grew out of its work in the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina.

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MADISON (WKOW) — Mother’s Day was extra special for one woman, who has overcome homelessness for her children thanks to the help of a Madison organization. Breanna Mitchell-Johnson was essentially homeless at just 14-years-old, and gave birth to her son just before her 18th birthday. The Elizabeth House, a nine-month program for pregnant woman, took Breanna in and she stayed there until she got back on her feet.

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There’s a big difference between the movie, Not Today, opening in Madison Friday, May 31st, and the typical Hollywood summer blockbuster. The blockbuster’s purpose is to funnel millions of dollars into the coffers of the Hollywood producers. Not Today’s purpose is to invite you to care about a global issue effecting millions of vulnerable women and children, and their families: human trafficking.

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At Asbury United Methodist Church in Madison, Ken Witte was known as “Mr. Opportunity.” Tall and burly, he’d rise during the morning announcements and cheerfully bellow, “Boy, do I have an opportunity for you.” Parishioners knew what that meant — they very soon might find themselves collecting excess produce at the Dane County Farmers’ Market or delivering a carload of strawberries and potatoes to a food pantry. Witte, who died April 25 at age 87 of respiratory failure and a stroke, was always cajoling friends and strangers into helping him put food on other people’s tables.

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Washington – Can a public high school hold its graduation ceremony in a local church? The Supreme Court has been pondering that question in its private conference for six weeks, discussing whether to take up a Wisconsin case that could reset the line separating church and state. Last year, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that the Elmbrook School District, near Milwaukee, violated the First Amendment and its ban on “an establishment of religion” by holding a high school graduation ceremony in the sanctuary of an evangelical Christian church.

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    “As the Executive Director of the Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County, I’ve learned that many things can be delegated but prayer cannot,” said Liz Osborn, speaking to a small crowd of about 100 that gathered on the capitol steps in downtown Madison this noon to observe the National Day of Prayer.”Prayer transforms us because it brings God near,” she also said. And she likened prayer to a Coast Guard ice cutter which forges a path through the thick ice so other ships can easily follow.

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