News
The first Monday of May is celebrated as the National Day of Prayer and in the year 2020 there is a lot to pray about. But unlike other years, there will be no large gatherings at the state capitol building in Madison. This year’s theme, “Pray God’s Glory Across the Earth”, is based on Habakkuk 2:14, and reminds us that this promise, “for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” is for us today. National Day of Prayer (NDP) Task Force President, Kathy Branzell, said,“Unprecedented times call…
Once upon a time – before the growth of evangelical and non-denominational churches, before the surge of people identifying with no particular religious tradition – an organization known as the Wisconsin Council of Churches was at the heart of connecting and representing mainstream Protestant denominations in this state. Today, it is at the heart of the movement among churches to connect in new ways, to not let the institutional and even theological differences that can divide people get in the way of finding ways to work together to serve the community – and to better reflect the ideals when people talk…
Thanks to a connection from local grocer Tim Metcalfe, Boys and Girls Club of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson was able to score a large quantity of surgical masks and is already distributing them to Black churches and other community organizations. Johnson received a donation of 10,000 masks from Metcalfe’s Markets co-owners Tim and Kevin Metcalfe. He is making those available free of charge to health care facilities and community centers. Additionally, anyone who works at a nursing home or assisted living facility can go to any Boys and Girls Club, show work ID and pick up 10 free masks.
The Spring 2020 ALTERNATIVES newsletter from Care Net of Dane County announces that longtime CEO Liz Osborn is stepping down. On April 1, 2020, she was succeeded by Sara Patterson, who has been in leadrship with Care Net for the past four years. Care Net operates out of a two story building on Mac Arthur Road on Madison’s east side, a building that contains not only a medical clinic that offers free services but also The Elizabeth House, a safe home where pregnant women can live free of charge. Last year Care Net also began operating a mobile clinic, serving…
MADISON, Wis. A Madison pastor said his mom is recovering after a fight with covid-19, but he says he’s concerned about her treatment. His mom, Gloria Allen, lives in Milwaukee. Marcus Allen lives in Madison and is the pastor of Mt. Zion Church. Allen took to Facebook a week ago expressing his frustrations with his mom’s experience. “My mom has the Coronavirus and I’ve been down by it. It’s been real painful,” Allen said in a Facebook video.
As I write this, we are a month into the Stay at Home order in the state of Wisconsin and many of us have resorted to working from home. For myself as a pastor, I have transformed our guest bedroom/wife’s craft room back into a home office reminiscent of the early days of our church plant before we moved into our current building in Fitchburg. From here I have conducting many Zoom calls, recorded devotionals, and even preached Sunday sermons. This is the life many of us have come to know and will continue to know for the next month…
Marcio Sierra Jr, pastor at Lighthouse Church, has seen close to half of his congregation lose their jobs in the economic tidal wave that has accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. Marcus Allen, pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church and president of the African American Council of Churches, talks with members and neighbors whose precarious financial position has been upended by the current economic calamity. And most of those with jobs do not have the kind of work that lets them work from home, so they are more exposed to the virus. Sierra and Allen reflected on the words of Psalm 46 – “God is our…
TOWN OF BURKE — Many of the Reindahls are buried here.Their farmland is now covered by East Towne Mall and Reindahl Park along East Washington Avenue.One of them, Knute Reindahl, who in 1867 immigrated to this rural pocket of Dane County from Norway, went on to become a famed violin maker before dying in 1936. Some of the earliest graves in the Burke Lutheran Cemetery are Bosbens. They began attending church on this ridge in the 1870s and continue to worship on this 39-acre tract hidden from the sprawling American Center Business Park juxtaposed just over the hill to the…
In recent years, SSM Saint Mary’s Hospital-Madison has cut down on overhead notifications in hopes of creating a more peaceful, healing environment — but during the COVID-19 pandemic, two daily announcements have offered just that. Each morning and afternoon, the hospital’s chaplains broadcast a short prayer, maybe a minute or two, throughout the building. When Sister Pam Moehring walks through the hospital’s corridors, staff sometimes stop to thank her for the prayer. This small routine is one of many changes hospitals have made to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, as chaplains like Moehring have adapted to calling instead of visiting…
For members of Stoughton’s LakeView Church, coming together Sunday to celebrate Easter was somewhat akin to going to a drive-in. Churchgoers never got out the cars that congregated in the parking lot. Instead, worshipers listened to the service over FM radio, honking their horns and blinking their lights to acknowledge various parts. Some had signs with Easter messages affixed to their cars.