News Briefs: Natural Family Planning classes MADISON -- Upcoming Natural Family Planning (NFP) classes in the Diocese of Madison include the following: • A four-part Couple to Couple League (CCL) series on the sympto-thermal method will begin Saturday, Feb. 15, and meet monthly at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona. • A three-session Northwest Family Services series on the sympto-thermal method will meet at St. Marys Hospital in Madison on March 5, March 19, and April 9. • Creighton Model FertilityCare Ovulation Method classes are available on request. For more information or to register for these classes, call the NFP Office at 608-273-2236. Meeting on cultural tour MADISON -- There will be an informational meeting to present the three-city Cultural Tour 2003 on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. in Room 1166 of the Predolin Humanities Building of Edgewood College. Vernon Sell and Annette Hamilton will lead the 16-day Cultural Tour of Leipzig, Dresden, and Prague. Dates of the tour are from May 16 to May 31, 2003. Highlights include concerts, museums, and excursions to well-known historic sites: in Leipzig, the Thomas Boy Choir in the Thomaskirche and the Gewandhaus Orchestra; in Dresden, the Semper Oper, the Zwinger Museum, and the Silbermann Organ Museum; in Prague, the Spring Music Festival, the historic downtown district, and a music evening in Moravia. For more information, contact Sell at 608-663-2285 or e-mail sell@edgewood.edu. Latin American Mission Program MADISON -- The second Latin American Mission Program (LAMP) class for volunteers will be held Sunday, Feb. 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St., Madison. The topic will be "Spiritual Preparation of the LAMP Volunteer" by Msgr. George Hastrich, LAMP president and spiritual director. For more information write LAMP, P.O. Box 85, Madison, WI 53701-0085, or call 608-845-7028, 608-543-3631, or 608-868-7816. Wisconsin Right to Life workshop MADISON -- A Wisconsin Right to Life Grassroots Legislative Workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Inn on the Park across from the State Capitol. Highlights include latest information about state/federal pro-life legislation. Cost is $20 per person or $15 per student. To register for the event or for more information, visit www.wrtl.org/workshop.htm or call 877-855-5007. Mothers of Preschoolers meet Feb. 11 WAUNAKEE -- Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Arboretum Centre, 1004 Quinn Dr. The topic of the meeting will be "Enriching Your Marriage" with guest speaker, Beverly Hartberg. Sponsored by St. John the Baptist Parish, this ecumenical group meets the second Tuesday of each month. For more information, call Lisa Schuebel at 608-824-0984. Prayer for peace in February MADISON -- St. Maria Goretti Parish, 10 Maria Pl., Madison, will be having prayer for peace at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday of February.

'Valentine Lady':
Brightens lives for 35 years

By Julianne Nornberg
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF

MADISON -- It was 35 years ago when residents of St. Marys Care Center - then called Arbor View - began to receive visits from "Valentine Lady" Jean Denu.

To this day, Denu keeps up the tradition every Feb. 14.

Dressed in red and white from head to toe, Denu makes her way from room to room with a basket of homemade valentines.

A labor of love

"Be my Valentine" or "Be Mine" are among the messages carefully written on the red and pink construction paper hearts pasted on white paper lace. Each one is signed "from Jean Denu."

Residents, guests, and staff members alike receive these hand-crafted valentines from Denu herself, who delivers them in person.

This year it took her three weeks to make the more than 400 valentines that she will hand out at the new St. Marys Care Center facility at 3401 Maple Grove Dr.

"It's something I like to do," she said.

Denu and her husband of 53 years, Ralph, are members of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison. At the parish school, Denu talks to the children about being the "Valentine Lady" as well.

How tradition began

Part of her outfit is a dress that was made for the Madison chapter of the Sweet Adelines, a singing group that helped Denu begin the "Valentine Lady" tradition.

"We came to sing on Feb. 11, 1968 at Arbor View, where my aunt lived," said Denu. "After we sang, we gave out some five-inch valentines signed 'from a friend.'"

The residents loved them, she said. "They wanted us to sign them."

The following year, Denu decided to make some more and hand them out - and thus her valentine ministry began.

Seeing the residents' faces light up is what keeps her returning every year.

"They're so surprised and they just love to be involved," she said. "And if they're not in their rooms, I'll find them."

St. Ann Parish: Completes lower level construction at church

STOUGHTON -- On the weekend of Jan. 25 and 26, St. Ann Parish of Stoughton held a long awaited ribbon-cutting ceremony for its lower level.

The finished lower level is the completion of a construction project that included a newly built church completed in June of 1999.

The lower level includes three large classrooms and a multi-purpose room that will be used for six classrooms with dividers on Sunday and Wednesday night. Adjacent to the multi-purpose room is the new kitchen, which St. Ann Parish's own Peg Koch led the parish in designing and furnishing. The general contractor for the project was Vogel Bros. Construction Company of Madison.

"There is an old saying, 'Nature abhors a vacuum,' and all that empty space in the lower level was just too tempting not to try to use," said Jessica Brey, coordinator of youth ministries at the parish. "As the parish continued to grow, it became apparent that we would need to finish the lower level much earlier than we had first envisioned."

The parish is still accepting donations for items such as partitions, flip charts, and banquet tables, which will complete the furnishings of the lower level.