|
|
|
L e n t |
News Briefs:
St. Olaf Parish mission
DEFOREST -- St. Olaf Parish, DeForest, and St. Joseph Parish, East Bristol, will hold a joint parish mission focused on the Year of the Eucharist March 5 through March 9 at St. Olaf Church.
"Bishop Morlino has asked all of the pastors of the Diocese of Madison to plan suitable activities around the Holy Year of the Eucharist," Fr. Gary Wankerl, pastor, said. "Fr. John Meoska will lead us through this spiritually uplifting experience. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring your family and learn more about the mystery of the Eucharist." Father Wankerl invites all area Catholics to join in the mission.
Father Meoska will celebrate all weekend Masses at St. Olaf and St. Joseph Parishes on March 5 and 6. The mission will begin on Sunday, March 6, at 4 p.m., with Stations of the Cross, Benediction, and a talk from Father Meoska. A potluck will follow in the parish center
On Monday, March 7, the 8 a.m. Mass will be followed by coffee, donuts, and activities in the parish center. Father Meoska will present a talk at 7:30 p.m. in church followed by a social.
On Tuesday, March 8, the 8 a.m. Mass will again be followed by coffee, donuts, and activities in the parish center. A Communal Penance service will be held at 7:30 p.m. with Fathers Wankerl, Meoska, and area priests. Individual confessions will also be offered.
On Wednesday, March 9, Eucharist Adoration will follow the 8 a.m. Mass. At 7:30 p.m. the closing Mass will be followed by a social in the parish center.
Father Meoska, a native of Wisconsin, was ordained a priest for the Madison Diocese in 1982. He served at St. Bernard Parish, Madison, and St. Mary Parish, Portage, before he entered the Carmelite Monastic Community located in Crestone, Colo. A skilled retreat leader, Father Meoska travels extensively conducting missions as well as facilitating private retreats at the monastery.
Cardinal Dulles to speak
in Madison
MADISON -- Cardinal Avery Dulles, the Laurence J. McGinley professor of religion and society at Fordham University in New York and a consultant to the Committee on Doctrine of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, is one of the featured speakers at St. Paul's Institute of Evangelical Catholic Ministry 2005.
Volunteer catechists, small group leaders, parish and campus ministry workers, and other interested people are invited to attend the institute, whose theme is "Mission: Possible." The institute will be held Friday, April 1, and Saturday, April 2, at St. Paul's University Catholic Center, 723 State St., Madison.
For more information and to register, visit www.evangelicalcatholic.org Pre-registration is necessary. Registrations will be accepted through March 31. Those with questions may e-mail peterweiss@wisc.edu or call 608-258-3140.
Retreat for those affected
by abortion
MADISON -- Rachel's Vineyard weekend retreats offer a healing opportunity for any woman, man, couple, or others who have been affected by the emotional loss or spiritual pain of an abortion.
A retreat will be held at the Bishop O'Connor Center in Madison on March 4 to 6. Memories of abandonment, pain, and confusion are replaced by peace and reconciliation and healing can begin through a supportive and emotionally-safe process.
For more information, download a brochure and registration form at www.madisonfaithandfamily.org (click on FORMS then RACHEL'S VINEYARD); visit www.rachelsvineyard.org; or call a national toll-free hotline at
1-877-HOPE-4-ME.
Catholics with Disabilities
to meet
MADISON -- Catholics With Disabilities will meet on Sunday, March 6, at St. Raphael Cathedral at 2:30 p.m.
The topic of discussion will be "How to Be Active in Your Parish: Sharing Your Faith in Active Parish Ministry." Those coming are asked to bring their hopes, experiences, and achievements to share. Family and friends are welcome.
Father Heiar speaks
on Mysteries of Light
JANESVILLE -- The Adult Catholic Spirit Club will meet Wednesday, March 9, with a potluck at 12 noon in St. John Vianney's Marian Hall.
The program at 1 p.m. will feature Fr. Donn Heiar, pastor of St. John Vianney Parish. He will speak on the Mysteries of Light of the rosary, which were instituted in October of 2002. Focus will be on episodes from Christ's public ministry. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Support group
for divorced, separated
MADISON -- A peer support group for those hurting from separation, divorce, or loss of a significant relationship is open to all ages/faiths at a Madison parish.
New Directions will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at St. Dennis Parish Center, 413 Dempsey Rd., top floor. For information, call 608-821-3170.
Marriage seminar
MADISON -- A seminar on "Strong Marriages in Stressful Times," sponsored by Madison Marriage Ministry, will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at Lake City Church, 4909 E. Buckeye Rd.
Registration is $80 per couple through March 15, $90 after March 15. For more information, visit www.madisonfaithandfamily.org and click on "Family Ministry" and then "Events" to download a registration form or call 608-221-1528.
Lifeline for marriages
MADISON -- Madison Area Retrouvaille (pronounced "retro-vi") is a ministry for struggling marriages. For information or to register for a March 11-13 weekend at the Bishop O'Connor Center in Madison, call 608-249-2377, e-mail retrouvaille@tds.net, or visit www.helpourmarriage.com
|
|
|
Nominate someone
for "Profiles
from the pew"
To nominate someone to be featured in "Profiles from the pew," download a nomination form (PDF file).
"Profiles from the pew" runs in the Catholic Herald print edition
NOTE: The nomination form is 269 KB in size and may take a long time to download on a dial-up Internet connection. It is a Portable Document Format file, also called a PDF, which can be viewed using the freely available Adobe® Reader® software. Many computers already have this software and will automatically open the document when you click the nomination form link, above.
Adobe Reader is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
|
|
|
Elizabeth House: Campaign passes
half-way mark
By Mary C. Uhler
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
MADISON -- Supporters of The Elizabeth House have raised over half of the $2.2 million cost to build the new maternity home in Madison. Ground is expected to be broken in March.
While they were celebrating reaching the half-way point at a breakfast at Monona Terrace on Feb. 24, they got more good news. Dave Gerry, owner of the Princeton Club, announced a matching grant of up to $500,000 from the Gerry family.
The Gerrys will match each dollar raised this year for Elizabeth House up to $500,000. "This grant of another half million in donations means no mortgage," said Fred Grossenbach, campaign co-chair with his wife, Anne. "That's our campaign goal."
The Diocese of Madison also presented checks for $33,000, bringing the total giving from the diocese to over $108,000. Bishop Robert C. Morlino had authorized a diocesan-wide collection for The Elizabeth House last October.
Past articles:
Dec. 30, 2004 edition:
• Elizabeth House: Diocese donates $75,000 to maternity home
Oct. 28, 2004 edition:
• Bishop's Letter: Collection for Elizabeth House
Oct. 21, 2004 edition:
• Elizabeth House: Bishop authorizes diocesan collection
• Editorial: Elizabeth House: Ecumenical effort helps mothers, babies
Oct. 14, 2004 edition:
• Bishop's column: Respect Life Month: Elizabeth House; making election decisions
Mar. 25, 2004 edition:
• Editorial: Elizabeth House:
Caring for both babies and their mothers
Oct. 16, 2003 print edition:
• Elizabeth House: Provides help and hope for mothers, newborns in need
Feb. 20, 2003 edition:
• Open house at new maternity home
|
|
|
"We have joy in our hearts," commented Anne Grossenbach. "We have demonstrated that we can work together in the oneness of Jesus Christ."
Supporters emphasized the broad ecumenical support for the 10-bedroom maternity home, to be located at 1350 MacArthur Rd. It is operated by Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County, a non-profit center that assists women with unplanned pregnancies.
One of the residents now living in The Elizabeth House's temporary location in Stoughton spoke at the breakfast. When Merissa discovered she was pregnant, she contemplated an abortion.
However, "God brought me to Elizabeth House and saved me," she said. "Now my dream is to get a good job and raise my baby."
Mark Landgraf, president of Landgraf Construction, Inc., discussed plans for The Elizabeth House. He introduced Gary Henshue, whose company will excavate and do site work at cost.
Landgraf said the goal is to complete the maternity home by Christmas of this year.
Those interested in making a donation to The Elizabeth House Capital Campaign may call 608-259-1606. One option is for donors to participate in the "Dollar-A-Day" club by pledging to donate $1,000 over three years.
Helping farmers: Churches play key role
By Dorothy Lepeska
CATHOLIC HERALD CORRESPONDENT
SINSINAWA -- People of faith play a key role in improving farming, speakers told the annual tri-state ecumenical Rural Life Gathering held at the Sinsinawa Mound recently.
Two main projects were the focus of the meeting: Crafting Farmers for People and the Land (CRAFT) and the Harvest of Hope Partnership. Two videos were shown to explain these projects.
CRAFT is part of the CSA Learning Center, Caledonia, Ill., and the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training.
Times have changed
According to Tony Ends, director of the Churches' Center for Land and People headquartered in Sinsinawa, times have changed. "Less than 100 years ago one in three American families lived on farms. Children worked along with their parents to till the soil, care for livestock. Food production was local, dispersed, diverse.
"The country had not become dependent on fossil fuels for industrialized agricultural production. Survival in farming did not depend on federal subsidies. There was not a virtual monopoly of gigantic food manufacturing businesses.
"Farming has become more and more an expensive proposition that can easily cost more than $1 million at start-up. Young adults turn away in droves from such a proposition," he said.
People of faith's role
Ends believes that people of faith hold the key that can halt these trends and can restore the local food systems with each purchase they make.
In core groups, neighborhoods, and communities, they can help raise a new generation and style of farming. "Congregational supported agricultures is the answer to how we can return young people to farming," he said.
Apprentice growers, farmers, and agriculture producers have to be recruited to a multi-year training program. Recruits will be given experience alongside growers and producers who grow in marketing directly to customers, in co-ops, and in farming practices that respect creation.
There should be a link between urban and suburban churches with these apprentices and their mentors. New scholarships and training programs must be established that shepherd young
adults through fundamental skills training on farms and then through advanced training. These trained young people can then be guided to their own land and enterprises with customer relationships from urban and suburban church communities.
Harvest of Hope
The Harvest of Hope Partnership is 90 percent a self-help project for farmers who add value to their raw products, sell and market their finished goods directly to the public, and increase their incomes. Ten percent of the sales is a resource building benefit for emergency assistance for farmers.
Sales take place in urban and suburban communities and consist of winter farmers' markets. Livestock producers, grain growers, vegetable and fruit farmers bring their products to
sell.
The group drove to the Cathedral of St. Raphael in Dubuque for a feast of foods from local farmers. Ten vendors displayed their wares at a Harvest of Hope sale. There have been 12 such sales throughout the tri-state area this winter.
|
