News
Mr. Middleton. The very best of our community. The right Dad for MOM. The kindest person you will ever meet. Role model. A community hero, and friend. Those are just a few of the words that have been used to describe Al Ripp over the past weeks. Our hearts broke when we heard that Al Ripp, Executive Director of Middleton Outreach Ministry, passed away unexpectedly on June 14, 2017.
A growing Christian school on Madison’s west side held a “building blessing” on June 22nd to mark the beginning of renovations to its first dedicated school building. Currently operating from Lighthouse Church at 5202 Regent St, Lighthouse Christian School plans to occupy 6400 Schroeder Road (formerly owned by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) by the 2017-2018 school year.
Luria Sampson had plans Saturday morning, and they didn’t include prayer – not at first. Driving east down West Center Street in Milwaukee, he was on a course for his daughter’s house, his thoughts focused on her safety in a city suffering through a surge in shooting deaths. But when he slowed for the stoplight at 51st Street, an unexpected sight gently altered his morning travels. Sampson, 59, stopped his car, and prayer found its way into his plans.
Habitat for Humanity of Dane County volunteers have been busy this spring with new housing developments in the City of Fitchburg. On April 18, about 15 volunteers from the Navy Recruiting District Chicago worked on houses at 2504, 2508 and 2514 Equity Lane to help “build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter for families,” according to a news release. On May 5, Steve Stricker and more than 150 employees and volunteers from American Family Insurance and The Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation framed two Habitat homes, one of which will be located on Unity Lane in Fitchburg, with future…
Pastor Josh Miller says his heart breaks when he reads political discussions on social media. “We have gotten really good at sharpening our knives,” said Miller, who leads a South Side church called The Bridge. That’s one reason why Miller joined with two other community leaders to create Selfless Ambition, a new faith-based organization that aims to bring together members of Dane County’s churches, along with business and nonprofit officials, in an effort to tackle some of the area’s thorniest issues.
Two congregations in Fitchburg had to set up overflow seating for worship June 4, but Pentecost wasn’t the only special occasion being marked with music and a potluck that day. All Saints Lutheran Church heard Rich Johnson preach his last Sunday service, and Memorial United Church of Christ held its centennial celebration with pastor Phil Haslanger, who will retire later this month.
From band teacher to pastor to leading Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Inc., David Larson has always made plans. Around a year and a half ago, Larson began formulating what he called his next rolling, five-year plan, trying to figure out where he might take the nonprofit. His wife, Judy, listened and suggested that perhaps he might want to consider something new: retirement.
A Madison couple who moved to Minnesota lost more than $200,000 in a sophisticated email scam authorities say is sweeping the country. “People in other countries are using our system – our banking system – to rob U.S. citizens,” says Steve Tadevich.
Tim Mackie’s friends in Portland, Oregon, have no clue about how awesome Madison’s Brat Fest celebration can be. Mackie is a pastor at Portland’s Door of Hope church and teaches Old Testament at Western Seminary. He developed a local following while he was studying for his PhD in Hebrew at the University of Wisconsin and was a teaching pastor at Blackhawk Church a decade ago. Mackie said he had a lot of conversations with Portland friends about going to Madison for the weekend to preach a sermon at Brat Fest’s Sunday morning community worship service. “I couldn’t convince people that…
It’s relatively easy to sit in a large room with 250 folks – most of us white – and listen to the stories of slavery and segregation and civil rights and to feel horrified and then ashamed and then inspired. It’s not so easy when all that history bumps up against today’s realities.