News

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV)– During his visit to Madison on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence gave a shout out to a local private school for their work with choice students. Pence was in Wisconsin’s capital city in part to voice his support for private school vouchers. Wisconsin was the first state to have a private school voucher program.

BARABOO (WKOW) — Governor Tony Evers is paying special recognition to a Baraboo pastor, who’s made it his mission to help his community. Rev. Dave Mowers has led the charge to find a new homeless shelter for his community after the only one in the area closed in 2018. “I felt like it was something that I could do that my faith compelled me to do,” Mowers told 27 News. Mowers says 70 percent of Wisconsin’s homeless population lives in rural areas, so the Sauk County community has stepped up to help him create a brand-new non-profit to tackle homelessness.

Blackhawk Church in Middleton has canceled its sixth annual Chinese New Year event amid growing concerns over a respiratory virus that originated in Wuhan, China, and may have sickened dozens in the U.S. The event celebrating the Chinese New Year is put on by the Blackhawk Chinese Ministry, a congregation of Chinese-speaking people under the umbrella of Blackhawk Church. Charles Huang, the Chinese ministry’s pastor, said the event was canceled as a “precautionary action” because several members of the congregation often travel back and forth to China, where authorities say the virus has killed at least 26 people and sickened…

What is something we can do together to better serve our schools?  This was a question at the center of the first School+Church Affinity Group back in September of 2019.  The answer that came out of this meeting was something that seemed like a simple food donation drive, but in reality is something unique and powerful because of the collaboration around the event. Collaboration for this specific event comes through six different churches who are conducting their own food collections.  Some churches are coming up with fun ways to get people to give such as trying to match the weight…

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) — The Salvation Army Emergency Shelter in Dane County sees around 134 families and women every night, but during the winter season that number rises as the need increases. When the temperature drops below 20 degrees the Salvation Army shelter does not turn anyone away. Melissa Sorenson, the Social Services Executive Director, said the need is greater this year. “We had 152 staying when the first winter storm hit and we’re expecting the same number for the next storm.”

Amidst the many ways that congregations have found ways to collaborate with each other and local agencies to serve the community, food has emerged as one common theme.

Formerly incarcerated individuals face many, many challenges. To raise awareness and to educate the community about the challenges and obstacles ex-offenders face when they return to the outside world, Madison-area Urban Ministry (MUM) hosted a Prison Reentry Simulation on the UW-Madison campus on Jan. 8. The simulation is something that MUM, an interfaith non-profit organization that helps provide resources to people who have been newly released from the prison system, hosts from time to time. It is comprised of three parts: Introduction, Role Play and Panel. This particular simulation was led by Shawna Lutzow, MUM Volunteer & Community Engagement Coordinator,…

You are invited to come to the Wisconsin capitol on Thursday, January 16th, 2020, for National Religious Freedom Day.2020 is the Year of the Bible and I believe strongly we need to read and pray the New Testament through. We will be in room 400 NE from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The plan is to have the books of the New Testament written on an index card.  Participants would chose one card and when finished reading sign the back signifying they read the whole book or marking on the back where they ended so the next person can continue…

The Wisconsin State Journal asked a cross-section of area Christian clergy members to share with readers excerpts from their sermons they plan to delivery this Christmas. Below are portions of their messages.

PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. – Last week, Prairie du Sac resident Gene Weittenhiller shared his stage 4 pancreatic diagnosis with the world. For his last Christmas wish, he asked for as many Christmas cards as possible. When Milwaukee residents Markeith Powell, Marqwain Givhan and Earl Minley saw his story online, Minley said, “We took it upon ourselves to go out of our way two-and-a-half hours to see the smile on this man’s face. It was priceless.”