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My stock answer to those who ask me what I think about President-elect Donald Trump and the coming four years is, “I’m cautiously optimistic.” I am prepared to give President Trump the benefit of the doubt on this journey of making America great again. I believe as a result of this past election, America has been given yet another opportunity to right some wrongs and to get back on track in important areas. The question is how will we use this opportunity? Millions of Americans said with their vote that they are tired of what we’ve had the last eight…
In exploring the political fractures of the United States at the moment of Donald Trump’s inauguration, one of the challenges for journalists is to understand the religious fractures that are part of today’s divisions. Understanding the religious dimensions of America’s divides is not an easy task, especially when journalists treat it as a sideshow instead of something woven into the fabric of how Americans line up on public issues.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin have announced that Everett Mitchell and Carmen Porco are the winners of the combined City-County Humanitarian Award honoring the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The award winners, selected by the City-County Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, are community members who reflect the values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I was surprised and humbled at the same time when I found out that I was going to be the recipient of this award,” Mitchell tells Madison 365. “And then to have it partnered with Carmen Porco –…
MADISON (WKOW) — With the start of a new year, the Madison Area Jail Ministry is celebrating a 50-year partnership. The Madison Area Jail Ministry calls and funds chaplains who serve the spiritual needs of men and women incarcerated in the Dane County Jail. Regardless of religious or denominational affiliation.
“Where else but in Madison can you wake up at 7:30, have a brat in a pancake, and go to church?” That’s one way Brat Fest director Tim Metcalf describes the community worship service that has been a part of Madison’s Brat Fest for the past three years. But it was clear as Metcalf announced the new and returning features of Lifest at Brat Fest, it’s much more than that. About 50 faith based group leaders, Christian business operators, and volunteers gathered at Upper House last January for the announcement of the 2017 worship service speaker, some of the headliner…
The congregants at Grace Episcopal Church on the Capitol Square work tirelessly in service to the homeless. And Sunday, in a first-time event, parishioners made a practical as well as symbolic gesture by tying scarves to nearby trees offering additional warmth to anyone who might need it. Each winter scarf had a tag attached that read, “I’m not lost. Please feel free to take me with you if you are cold.”
This morning I attended the Memorial Service for Elizabeth Worth Alexander (Betty) at the Oakwood West Village Resurrection Chapel. About 200 people were there to honor the life and legacy of one of Madison’s Saints. Family, folks from her church, people from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship — an international evangelical Christian organization headquartered in Madison where her husband, John was President in the ‘60s, and friends like me. We all wanted to pay tribute to a woman and family who have laid a solid Christian foundation in Madison. John and Betty opened their home in University Heights to establish Bible Studies,…
Ever wonder about what God thinks about Donald Trump? Or what he thinks about the fighting that is tearing apart Syria? Or what he thinks about global warming or other issues that are debated in our time? Those are not exactly the perspectives being taught in the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course being offered once again in Madison, but the course does offer a good handle on figuring out what’s happening in the world in the context of God’s purposes.
Every year a select group of international actors presents a dress rehearsal, opening night, and final performance all at the same time, at the University of Wisconsin Badger Internationals Christmas dinner. The amateur actors dress for the part, and follow the script and the directions of the stage manager. For most in the audience and in the cast, it’s the first time they’ve heard the story of Jesus’ birth.
Thousands of miles away, in the little town of Bethlehem, a UW-Madison professor’s work is helping to keep the walls of a centuries-old church standing. The Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem was first built in 339 A.D. on what is said to be the location of Jesus Christ’s birthplace. The historic significance of such a long-standing structure and the religious significance of the church make it a major tourist attraction.