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News Briefs:
Rally for Life May 4
MADISON -- Pro-lifers from throughout Wisconsin will gather in Madison for Rally for Life 2002 set for Saturday, May 4, at noon on the State St. steps of the Capitol.
Pro-Life Wisconsin is planning the rally. Rally speakers include Representatives Glenn Grothman, Sheryl Albers, Mark Gundrum, Steve Kestell, and Wayne Wood, as well as Pastor Terry Hardison of New Berlin and Fr. Eric Nielsen, Footville. Cindy Flessert, teen political activist, will also speak.
Keynote speaker is Eric Eckenrode. Christian band San Guin will perform in a pre-rally concert at 11:30 a.m. Pro-lifers will conclude the rally by forming a human chain around the Capitol building.
For more information on the rally or how to contact a county coordinator, contact the Pro-Life Wisconsin state office at 262-796-1111; e-mail info@prolifewisconsin.org; or visit the Web site at www.prolifewisconsin.org
Catholic Daughters
WAUSAU -- The Catholic Daughters of Wisconsin will hold their 40th biennial convention at the Stoney Creek Inn here on April 19, 20, and 21 with the theme, "CDA Building Hope." The Catholic Daughters of the Americas is the oldest and largest women's organization in the Americas.
New officers will be elected at the state convention. Other business will be transacted. At the present time there are 20 local courts in the state with about 1,700 members. Membership is open to any woman 18 years or older who is practicing the Catholic faith.
Anyone interested in attending the convention or joining Catholic Daughters may contact Helen Jacobson at 262-248-6478.
Grief groups for children
MONROE -- HUGG (Helping Us Grieve and Grow), a series of grief groups for children ages five to 15, will begin meeting Saturday, April 27. The program will continue through October on the fourth Saturday of each month from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
HUGG, sponsored by The Monroe Clinic Hospice with support from The Dr. Scholl Foundation, offers young people the opportunity to learn about grief and ways to express their feelings in a safe environment. There is no cost to attend. Parents and their children are required to pre-register and to meet with the group's leader before attending.
Meetings will take place at the St. Camillus Center, 2101 Sixth St., Monroe. To pre-register, call Linda Rasmussen at 608-324-1143.
Taste of old Italy
CLINTON -- "Meatballs with a taste of old Italy" will be featured when St. Stephen Parish in Clinton presents the St. Paul annual spaghetti dinner on Sunday, April 21, from 12 noon to 5 p.m. in the parish family center.
The ethnic dinner continues a longtime tradition of spaghetti dinners originally served at the now closed St. Paul Church in Beloit. Tickets for the dinner are $6 for adults and $2 for children ages five to 12.
Tickets may be purchased in Beloit at: Action Travel Agency; Wal-Mart Blackhawk State Bank Branch; M&I Prairie Avenue Branch Bank, corner of Prairie and Alamo Drive; or by calling Frank DeSarbo at 365-5391.
DeSarbo urged patrons to purchase tickets in advance. They will be sold at the door only depending on availability. Proceeds go to the general fund at St. Stephen Parish.
Beloit Walkathon
BELOIT -- With its patriotic theme, "United We Step," and the opportunity for camaraderie, the 20th annual Brother Dutton and Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) Grade Schools Walkathon will take place Saturday, April 27, beginning at 9 a.m.
More than 500 students, parents, and friends are expected to participate in the 10-mile walk that extends into the countryside from its start at the west side school.
Each school aims to raise more than $10,000 from walkathon donations. A major fundraiser for both schools, walkathon proceeds are used for classroom materials and other needed school equipment. Refreshments and entertainment are provided following the walk.
Anyone wishing to make a donation may send it to: Brother Dutton School, ATTN: Walkathon Committee, 717 Hackett Street, Beloit, WI 53511.
Dementia education offered
MADISON -- The Alzheimer's Association South Central Wisconsin Chapter recently launched a new support group in Madison for adult children serving as caregivers and continues its dementia education series.
The support group meets the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Midvale Lutheran Church, 4329 Tokay Blvd. This brings the total number of Alzheimer's support groups in the eight south central counties to 16.
The public is also invited to attend the chapter's dementia education series from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays in April and May at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, 401 S. Owen Dr., Madison. Remaining dates include April 20, May 4, and May 11.
For more information on support groups or to register for the free education series, call the chapter at 608-232-3400 or 800-428-9280.
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Golden wedding anniversaries:
Couples in the diocese celebrate
(See also front page photo.)
By Julianne Nornberg
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
MADISON -- Many congratulations were in order when 102 couples gathered for a Mass of Thanksgiving April 7 to celebrate their golden wedding anniversaries.
Bishop William H. Bullock presided at the Mass, which took place in the chapel at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center.
"No one more than you realize the full significance of that enduring love and presence of God," said Bullock in his homily.
By your perseverance, you are living testaments that marriage can be lived in holiness and joy, the bishop told the couples. "We live in a time we can easily fall prey to the fads of the day and we also live in a throw-away society."
Thanks be to God for you who are living witnesses of the covenant of marriage, he said.
He spoke of the leveling of the New York towers on Sept. 11 and the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
"Today the Lord carries the church in his arms. We look at the scandals and societal ills and we disappoint each other. But we know that Jesus has never dashed any hope," he said. "His hand has been extended to heal us in whatever time, controversy, and time of trial. We must look to that faith."
You renew your promises before God today "in a time we need your witness and demonstration of faith," Bullock told the couples.
"I suggest you and I build two new towers replacing wealth and power: towers of faith and hope. We base that on a foundation of love," he said.
"We have to learn that we can't rely on power. We rely on the promises of Jesus Christ who says that whatever happens to you, it's not the end because there is life everlasting.
"We must never lose heart. The presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit guide us. I know where the foundation of your life has been: love," he said, pointing out that these couples over the past 50 years have persevered through everything.
"Our faith is rooted with God and not with the frailties of this life," Bullock said.
After the homily, each couple came forward to receive from the bishop a certificate, which said, "May Christ who was at the wedding feast of Cana remain with you that you may always be one in mind, one in heart, and one in affection."
Bullock thanked the Diocese of Madison's Office of Family Ministry and Office of Religious Education for organizing the event.
A reception was held afterward in the dining room.
Vocations Congress:
Local delegates travel to Montreal
MADISON -- "Vocation to Holiness" is the theme of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 21. This day coincides with the Third Continental Congress for Vocations held in Montreal, Canada, April 18 to 21.
Prayer for vocations
This is Pope John Paul II's prayer for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations to be observed April 21, 2002
Holy Father, look upon this humanity of ours, that is taking its first steps along the path of the Third Millennium.
Its life is still deeply marked by hatred, violence and oppression,
but the thirst for justice, truth and grace still finds a space in the hearts of many people,
who are waiting for someone to bring salvation,
enacted by You through Your Son Jesus.
There is the need for courageous heralds of the Gospel, for generous servants of suffering humanity.
Send holy priests to Your Church, we pray, who may sanctify Your people with the tools of Your grace.
Send numerous consecrated men and women,
that they may show Your holiness in the midst of the world.
Send holy labourers into Your vineyard,
that they may labour with the fervour of charity
and, moved by Your Holy Spirit,
may bring the salvation of Christ to the farthest ends of the Earth. Amen.
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Among the delegates to the congress will be two women from the Diocese of Madison, Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary Jessica Swedzinski and Marcia Vinje. Both delegates will be representing the United States Conference of Secular Institutes (USCSI). Swedzinski is on the national vocation team for USCSI, and Vinje is representing diocesan work with permanent deacons.
The 2002 Congress on Vocations in North America, called by Pope John Paul II, has as its theme: Vocación, Don de Dieu,
Given for God's People. It is the third such regional gathering and follows a Latin American Congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1994, and a European Congress in Rome in 1997.
The objective of the congress is to build a positive environment in North America for 1) promoting vocations to ordained ministry and consecrated life; 2) unifying and guiding the Church in North America in its commitment to identify, discern, and nurture vocations; and 3) welcoming future "workers to the harvest."
The Canadian and U.S. Bishops conferences have the principal responsibility for the event, working in collaboration with the Pontifical Work for Ecclesiastical Vocations in Rome, leaders of religious institutes, and diocesan and religious vocation directors associations.
In total, more than 1,000 delegates, including over 100 bishops, are expected to attend.
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