News
By Barry Adams – Wisconsin State Journal – The pews are gone. So, too, are the altars, baptismal font and the pipe organ. The concrete floor will soon be removed in favor of a thicker slab and the roof replaced with thousands of imported Luigi Italian tiles. Two pre-World War I pipe organs are being readied in Missouri, new pews are being built in Rochester, New York, while the furnishings — like ornate railings, the sprawling and towering high altar, and the bishop’s chair, referred to as the “cathedra,” will be hand-crafted from oak in a garage on Madison’s East…
By Barry Adams – Wisconsin State Journal – A void created by an arsonist nearly two decades ago is finally being filled. St. Bernard Catholic Church, long considered the “Mother Church of Madison’s East Side,” will become the cathedral for the Diocese of Madison after being approved by the Holy See, the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome. Read more of this story.
By Gayle Worland – Wisconsin State Journal – On Christmas Eve the church was filled with candlelight, carols and the sound of a brass quartet. On Friday, members of Luther Memorial made their way past the soaring stone arches and ornamental windows to celebrate Twelfth Night Epiphany Eve, the 12th and final night of the Christmas season, with Holy Communion. A cheery reception would follow. It’s been a festive year at Luther Memorial, the elegant, towering neo-Gothic church at 1021 University Ave. that has just marked a century in Madison. Read more of this story.
By Phoebe Murray – WESTFIELD, Wis. (WMTV) -At Stone Chapel in Westfield, it’s lights, camera, action for 83-year-old Father Dale Grubba. “We have the best little chapel by a dam site and it’s true,” Grubba laughed. “God bless you and thanks for being here,” addressing the close friends attending mass. After nearly 60 years of priesthood Father Grubba is turning the page. Some would call it retirement, but for Father Grubba, the work of the Lord continues. “In fact, I read an obituary in the Milwaukee Journal, of a priest who retired, and he was retired for 30 years,” Grubba…
YADA is a store, and also a ministry, working with women and their children who are in need of love and support following deep trauma. “We are clear that although we can provide for some of their physical needs, it is Jesus who can bring the love and hope they are searching for. “We have prayed with many of the women…the response to a sincere prayer moves most of them to tears and many have asked to be prayed for again. A few have been open to going to church with us. This has led to deeper spiritual conversations. “We…
By David Dahmer – Madison 365 – Some amazing Gospel artists will be performing at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Madison’s South Side on Friday, Dec. 8, as PeBoGa Productions hosts the 19th Annual Fall Gospel Fest. “Year 19. That’s amazing, isn’t it?” says Clyde Gaines, the organizer of the 19th annual Fall Gospel Fest. “It’s amazing to be around that long because when we first started, we were just doing this event to bring Gospel music at that level to Madison and not really thinking we would be doing it for 19 years. It’s been an incredible run.” Read…
By David Dahmer – Madison 365 – Mt. Zion Baptist Church, the largest African-American congregation in Madison, is an important institution on Madison’s South Side. Over the years, Mt. Zion has provided numerous important programs and services to support people in the greater Madison community. Much of that community work that they do now is under the MTZ Charitable Organization, established in 2021, which operates programs for underprivileged and impoverished youth in Madison to advance equity and accelerate their academic achievement. In an effort to let the community know more about MTZ, Mt. Zion will host “Building Hope Together: Introducing…
For the second year in a row, a broad spectrum of more than two dozen Madison churches and Christian ministries gave thanks to God in an ecumenical Thanksgiving service. The service was held Monday evening, November 20, at City Church on Buckeye Road. Foregoing their significant theological differences, participants chose instead to agree on their unifying faith in Jesus Christ and the blessings of faith that called for thankful praise. “Gratitude is our response to the gift of life,” said Madison Catholic Bishop Donald Hying in his Call to Worship. “Thanksgiving isn’t to be held to the fourth Thursday of…
Madison, Wisconsin, is home to one of the three international offices of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). (The others are in Oxford, England and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.) The work of IFES is featured in an article by Amy Lewis in the November 18 issue of World magazine. Zelalem Abebe took a circuitous route to the meeting of campus ministers he had traveled hundreds of miles to encourage. First stop, a hotel. But partway there, he switched cars. He had to make sure he wasn’t being followed. From the hotel, he drove to the meeting in a house. He…
By Abbey Machtig – Wisconsin State Journal – The Holy Name Heights apartments on Madison’s West Side could be the new home for St. Ambrose Academy, a local Catholic secondary school. St. Ambrose hopes to convert nearly 24,000 square feet of office space in the former Catholic seminary building on High Point Road into classrooms for a new school. The school would also use the parking lot, chapel, gym and outdoor fields already onsite. The new location would mean the school could increase its enrollment from 160 students to almost 300 over time. Read more of this story.