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Over the past 8 months, I’ve been part of a cohort of learners in an initiative called “Missio Madison” or Mission Madison. The goals of Missio Madison are to bring together pastors and church leaders from a variety of denominations to build kinship, learn from one another, and foster collaboration.  During our time together we’ve focused on discerning 3 questions: “Where are we?”  “What is God up to here?” “What might He be inviting us into?” When I think about my church, the answer to the “Where are we?” question is an area of Madison known as the Triangle.

It began in 1980 as a “Middleton Outreach Mission” to all the apartment dwellers moving to the westside of that Madison suburb. Soon the mission became more than one church could handle. So, in 1984 its founding church, St. Luke’s Lutheran, welcomed St. Dunstan’s Episcopal, Middleton Community Church UCC, and St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in reforming itself as a nonprofit, named “Middleton Outreach Ministry” or, more fondly, MOM. It is now a major organization in the community focusing on providing food and housing security through both action and advocacy so that, as it says in its mission statement, it helps create “a community where everyone…

(RNS) — Jeff Weddle, a 46-year-old, wise-cracking, self-deprecating, Bible-loving, self-described “failing pastor” from Wisconsin, was already thinking of leaving the ministry before COVID and the 2020 election. He was, as he put it, fed up with church life after two decades as a pastor. Then, what he called “the stupid” — feuds about politics and the pandemic — put him over the edge. People at church seemed more concerned about the latest social media dustup and online conspiracy theories — one church member called him the antichrist for his views on COVID— than in learning about the Bible.

After a one-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual National Day of Prayer Observance returns to the Wisconsin State Capitol on the first Thursday of May. A full schedule of events has been released by the Wisconsin National Day of Prayer State Coordinator.

Rev. Karla Garcia, pastor of S.S. Morris Community AME Church in Madison, was stunned in February when a contact with Rev. Marcio Sierra, Jr. of Lighthouse Church led to an unexpected financial gift to her congregation. Now, almost three months later, she continues to be stunned by the generosity of several other congregations whose gifts have accelerated a campaign to meet some of the urgent physical needs of the far east side congregation located at 3511 Milwaukee Street.

Last year’s Wisconsin Film Festival was essentially canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers hope that in spring 2022 the Wisconsin Film Festival will return to theaters, but for 2021 film-lovers will be able view at home. Nathan Clarke is part of the team that created “The Passing On,” praised as “intimate and loving” by Wisconsin Film Festival judges. Born in Madison, Clarke grew up on the East Coast. In 2002, he and his wife moved back to Madison when he got a position in the communications department at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Clarke is a video producer and filmmaker whose…

(RNS) — The first time coffee showed up in church, things did not go well. First developed in the Muslim world in the mid-800s, coffee was initially greeted by the Vatican, according to traditional stories, as a “hellish” brew meant to tempt Christians. “For Christians to drink it, was to risk falling into a trap set by Satan for their soul,” wrote William Harrison Ukers in his 1922 book, “All About Coffee.” Thankfully, said the Rev. Tim Schenck, Pope Clement VII, who ruled in the 16th century, had a better idea.

When Monica Warren learned her church, Mt. Zion Baptist, planned to host an in-person tutoring program during the school day to supplement online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she knew she had to get her 11-year-old son enrolled. Jeremiah Warren, a normally shy and introverted student, blossomed in the church’s Schools Without Walls program, she said. He began to come out of his shell and strike up conversations with other students. After schools closed in March 2020 and before Mt. Zion launched Schools Without Walls, Jeremiah struggled with online learning.

MADISON — “I think we all have seminal people in our lives who transcend mentorship,” he told me, as he sipped a Diet Coke. “They sort of draw you in because they not only talk the talk, but they walk the walk.” For former Madison Police Chief Mike Koval, that person was his Uncle Sean Riley. Recently, I sat down with Koval to hear stories of his service, to get his take on the portrayal of police in today’s media, and to learn how his Catholic faith played a role in his many years of service to the Madison Police…

CHIPPEWA VALLEY, Wis. (WEAU) -103.7 WWIB Chippewa Falls together with Markquart Motors and other local businesses, challenged their listeners to fill ‘Wisconsin’s Biggest Tip Jar!’ to in turn give back to local restaurants and wait staff that was adversely affected by the closures and restrictions of the past year. “We started off with $3,660 in our tip jar from our generous sponsors and then we asked our listeners would you match this?” says Caleb Svendsen, WWIB promotions director.