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(St. Louis, Missouri) – Urbana 18, the 25th triennial student missions conference for Madison-based InterVarsityi Christian Fellowship, has drawn over 10,000 college students and others to St. Louis for a 5-day conference focused on world missions. For 75 years the Urbana conference has challenged each generation of college students to find their place in God’s mission for the world.

The Wisconsin State Journal asked a cross-section of area Christian clergy members to share with readers excerpts from their sermons they plan to deliver this Christmas season.

DE PERE – A Brown County judge has determined a De Pere ordinance barring discrimination based on gender identity infringes on the religious freedom of local churches. The ordinance, approved by the De Pere City Council last year, prohibits employers, businesses and landlords from discriminating against people based on gender identity or expression. The protections cover those who identify as transgender and gender non-binary. A group of five churches and Lakeshore Communications, which owns Christian radio station Q90FM, filed a lawsuit in February seeking exemption from the ordinance. The churches that are party to the lawsuit are Hope Lutheran, Crosspoint, Destiny, St. Mark Lutheran…

I voiced my anger because white Madisonians did not seem to understand the depth of the racial disparities in this city, how they affected even a middle-aged pastor and nonprofit leader who happened to be black. The article was called “Justified Anger,” and I was not sure what the reaction would be, among either whites or blacks, in our community. People can get uncomfortable with anger, particularly when it comes from a black man. The article set off a tidal wave of reaction, particularly in the white community, as people came face-to-face with the racial realities of Madison in the…

As a combat photojournalist for the Vietnam war, David Giffey was not only a soldier for the U.S. Army, but documented the war through photographs and stories, too. Because of guerilla warfare tactics, everybody felt endangered at all times, according to Giffey.“I was terrified in Vietnam,” Giffey says. “It was the most frightening experience … That’s what I remembered — the fear.” After the war, Giffey explored ways to heal emotionally and mentally from his experiences in Vietnam. He began to explore activism, artistry and, finally, religious communities as well. For Giffey, beginning a spiritual journey fulfilled a need in…

Author Muriel Simms remembers living on Lake and Dayton streets as a little girl, where many students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison now reside. She played with the neighbor’s children during the week and with the church youth on Sundays. “That neighborhood was a predominantly white neighborhood,” she says. Simms understood skin color; however, at the time, she did not quite understand racism or racial prejudices. She lived a normal life of a young girl, although she describes her playmates as “sometimey.” Simms does remember playing and dining with a young Jewish girl in her neighborhood.

It’s a holiday tradition that’s more than 20 years old on the east side of Madison. This weekend, S.S. Morris Church’s Annual Christmas Bazaar will be the place for people in the community to come to look for arts, crafts, and jewelry and other unique holiday gift ideas and eat traditional homemade foods and desserts … all while helping to raise money for S.S. Morris Church. “It’s normally a one-day event, but this year we are hosting it for two days. It will be open after church this Sunday, too,” says Barb Thomas, a retired O’Keeffe Middle School teacher and…

For those who have never lived in the Midwest and don’t know what it’s like to stay, Meghan O’Gieblyn’s essays can help. For those who have faith in Christianity and don’t know what it’s like to lose it, the Madison writer’s essays can also help. The Midwest and Christianity entwine throughout the essays in “Interior States,” O’Gieblyn’s new collection.

It didn’t take long for Terry Fulks to find the next stop on his journey. Fulks resigned as lead pastor at Crosspoint Community Church on Oct. 21 after serving the Oconomowoc church for 26 years. “I did not want to retire,” Fulks said. “People that know me, they go, ‘How long are you going to do this?’ I’m a guy who’s going to die with his boots on.” On Nov. 15, Fulks announced on a Facebook Live post he would be starting a new church called Thirst.

Bishop Robert C. Morlino died Saturday at St. Mary’s Hospital, the Catholic Diocese of Madison said. He was 71. Morlino died at 9:15 p.m. following a “cardiac event” on Wednesday, according to the diocese.