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America’s oldest state celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. takes place every third Monday in January at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Befitting Dr. King’s status as a religious leader, the faith factor has always been unapologetically a large part of the ceremony. "I am here today because of the power of God that lifted me up," said this year’s guest speaker, Victor Woods. Woods went to prison at age 19 on an armed robbery charge and returned to a life of crime on his release. Imprisoned a second time on charges of orchestrating a 40-million dollar credit card fraud…
Twice in the past ten years Madison churches have emerged from their separate silos and worked broadly together to accomplish a greater goal to benefit the entire community. Most recently it was church members from all across the community who helped finance the building of Elizabeth House, a residential home for pregnant single women. Before that it was pastors from these churches who signed the Madison Community Marriage Covenant in 2002. “That we have pastors from liberal churches, conservative churches, black churches, white churches, Catholic and Protestant, coming together to say we are going to take extra steps to…
Jenny Hakes is not an artist, but about a year ago, she put felt-tip markers to poster board and set down her thoughts in wobbly letters.The mother of five carries that sign — “Pray to end abortion” — every Saturday morning on the sidewalk in front of the Madison Surgery Center, 1 S. Park St.Since news leaked one year ago that UW Hospital, its doctor group and Meriter Hospital were proposing to add abortion procedures to the surgery center, which they jointly own, opponents have kept up a near-daily presence at the site and begun measures intended to hurt the…
INTERVIEWWashington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary invites you to start 2010 right by curbing the need to consume. She lays out a 21-day financial fast to curb debt and stress in her book, The Power to Prosper.
APPLETON, WISCONSIN (ANS) — Two missionaries from a Calvary Chapel in Wisconsin credit God’s hand of protection for their narrow escape from danger in the Port-au-Prince earthquake.Pastor Huguener “Bastia” Bastia and his wife Betty minister at a Calvary Chapel located in rural Caneille, Haiti. They had arrived in Port-au-Prince to celebrate their wedding anniversary on the day the earthquake struck, according to Mary Danielsen, a secretary at their home church in Wisconsin.
Obama’s faith council is finalizing its draft report this week, and one of the key debates that emerged from the phone conference yesterday was whether there should be rules requiring religious groups to cover up religious symbols if they receive federal funding for services. For example, if a church gets money for a soup kitchen, would it have to remove or put a cloth over all crosses, pictures, etc., every time it gets ready to feed the hungry?
One of the nation’s largest churches has begun the new year with an emphasis on strengthening families.At a time when a lot of people are disillusioned about marriage, Willow Creek Community Church’s Bill Hybels wants Christians, at least, to know that the institution of marriage was designed by God.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict linked the Catholic Church’s opposition to gay marriage to concern about the environment, suggesting that laws undermining "the differences between the sexes" were threats to creation.He issued the admonition in a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, an annual appointment during which the pontiff reflects on issues the Vatican wants to highlight to the diplomatic corps. The main theme of the address was the environment and the protection of creation.
A half century ago, Dr. Pat Robertson took a leap of faith to follow God’s call to spread His Word like never before. Since then, the Christian Broadcasting Network has grown into one of the largest television ministries in the world. But it was no easy feat getting there.
The liberal tide in The United Methodist Church has been receding and the evangelical and orthodox influence is steadily increasing, observes one retired pastor.