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News Briefs:
Rural Life Mass to be held in Darlington
DARLINGTON -- All are welcome to the diocesan Rural Life Mass on Thursday, Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, at Holy Rosary Church, 104 E. Harriet St., Darlington. Bishop Robert C. Morlino will preside and preach at the Mass, held at 1 p.m., and Fr. Bernard E. Rott, director of Rural Life for the Diocese of Madison, will concelebrate.
The Mass will be followed by a Blessing of the Animals and a reception held in the parish assembly hall.
Respect Life Mass
to be held in Madison
MADISON -- All are welcome to attend the annual Diocesan Respect Life Mass to be held Sunday, Oct. 7, at St. Patrick Church, 404 E. Main St., Madison. Bishop Robert C. Morlino will celebrate the Mass, which will be held at 11 a.m.
A Rosary March at 2 p.m. at Holy Redeemer Church, 120 W. Johnson St., Madison, will follow.
Pro-lifers participate
in national campaign
MADISON -- September 26 kicks off the national 40 Days for Life Campaign [more info.]. The opening prayer vigil in the Madison area will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m., at Planned Parenthood, 3706 Orin Rd. The vigil will continue until Sunday, Nov. 4.
To learn more about the national 40 Days for Life campaign, call media contact Marcella Colbert at 608-257-5000, visit www.40daysforlife.com, or e-mail 40daysforlifemadison@gmail.com
Volunteers needed to help uninsured patients
BARABOO -- Volunteers are being sought for a six-month pilot project to assist local uninsured patients to better manage their chronic health conditions.
Nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians would volunteer up to four hours one Thursday per month at the Sauk County West Square Building in Baraboo as part of the Medical Education Delivery System (MEDS) pilot project.
The volunteers will use specially developed lesson plans to provide one-on-one education about self-management of selected chronic health conditions and to provide simple physical examinations to patients.
The pilot project is being coordinated by the St. Clare Health Care Foundation, Sauk County Commission on Aging, Sauk County Health Department, St. Clare Hospital and Health Services, Medical Associates, and the Baraboo Rural Residency Training Program. For more information, contact Deb Lobaugh at 608-356-8974.
Support group
for birth parents
MADISON -- A Birth Parent Support Group will meet Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 5 Odana Ct. Sponsors are Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services.
This ongoing support group, held the second Tuesday of every month, is for people who have placed their child/ren for adoption and is free, safe, and confidential.
For registration, contact Alice at 608-270-6635 or apearson@lsswis.org or Trish at 608-833-4800, ext. 109, or pregnancy@tds.net
St. Ann Parish
hosts grief series
STOUGHTON -- The Grief Support Ministry of St. Ann Parish, Stoughton, will be facilitating a video series entitled "No One Cries the Wrong Way." These sessions will include a group discussion after each of eight videos narrated by Fr. Joe Kempf and a prayer service.
The video series is scheduled to be held at St. Ann Parish, 323 N. Van Buren St., in the lower level on Tuesdays, Oct. 2, 9, 16, and 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. The reunion or fifth session will be held on November 13.
There is no fee to attend the program, but registration is requested by calling Rita Ihm at 608-873-3253.
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St. Mary Parish
in Briggsville:
Celebrates 150th anniversary
By Kat Wagner
CATHOLIC HERALD STAFF
BRIGGSVILLE -- People filled the pews at St. Mary Help of Christians Church September 8 for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert C. Morlino and a dinner following, carrying on the 150-year tradition of parish life.
Fr. James Murphy, pastor at St. Mary Parish, linked with St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Portage, as well as former pastor Fr. George W. Fox, retired, concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Dennis Sutter served as deacon.
The parish was founded in 1851, originally in what would become the Diocese of Green Bay before the Diocese of Madison was founded in 1946. The church building to house the congregation was not built until 1857. Some of the family names listed in the early history of the parish are still on the roster today, 150 years later.
Grasping the truth
"That's a long time, "Bishop Morlino said of the history. "Just think about the graces and the strengths that those people needed - all of your loved ones. And think about how the Holy Spirit gave them the grace."
But the bishop didn't dwell on the past during his homily, instead looking at the mission for the future.
"We've got to think of the future, and that's what the readings of today tell us to do," Bishop Morlino said.
"We cannot grasp the whole truth about the world, let alone grasp the mysteries of heaven," but a lot of people today think we can, the bishop said.
Part of our mission as Catholics is to remind them it doesn't work that way; we need to be humble, he said.
Going astray
We go astray nowadays largely by "head trips and technology," he said, highlighting our abilities with regard to atomic bombs and embryonic stem cell research.
"We shouldn't do everything we can do," he said.
"When we try to control the things of the earth . . . we are not showing the humility to which we are called in the first reading," Bishop Morlino said. "We think we're big shots."
Redefining marriage, embryonic stem cell research, atomic bombs . . . "those are examples of the lack of humility," he said. "We think we know it all about the world; we can control it. And when we think we're are in control, we forget about the things of heaven. But when we
think about the things of heaven, God is in control."
Focusing on heaven
Why do we go astray? The answer is in the Gospel, he said: unless you renounce all your possessions, you cannot get it right.
"The reason why we do these things is because how things go in the world for me is the end of the matter," Bishop Morlino said.
When we think that way we're like the foolish person who builds something he can't finish, he said. "We have to help teach . . . our people . . . that how things go for me is not the end of the matter. We've got to get detached from how things go for me."
That's what it means to have our minds fixed on the things of heaven, he said. "And if we keep our minds fixed on the things of heaven, we won't get out of control. . . . Then we'll have real humility."
What matters is the future: "We're sent as Catholics to save the world," the bishop said. As baptized people, we have a responsibility to teach others.
"So as we celebrate 150 years, let's rededicate ourselves to teaching . . . to others," he said, "and especially let's dedicate ourselves to knowing that stuff very well ourselves, in the first place."
Living history
After Mass, parishioners filed down to the basement, past the 150th anniversary quilt now hanging in the church entranceway. The quilt depicts the church and St. Philomena Shrine as it now appears, with small photos around the border of Sisters and priests from the parish, and pictures of the old church building and the church interior.
Around the basement stood reminders of the past, with clippings from newspapers detailing the history of the parish through its many events.
"Our ancestors, I'm sure, sacrificed a lot to build the church and the parish life," said Marie Geiger, a longtime parishioner and organizer of the event.
The parish today, she said, especially with so many of the founding families represented in their descendents, is a living history. "It's a very close-knit parish."
This celebration is a way to honor the history: "It's quite a thrill to attain 150 years," Geiger said.
Lecture series:
Resumes at center in Montello
MONTELLO -- St. John the Baptist Parish in Montello and Good Shepherd Parish in Westfield announce the resumption of the monthly Father Marquette Lecture Series.
This year the cluster parishes of St. John the Baptist in Princeton and St. James in Neshkoro join them in sponsoring the series.
The lecture series is designed to provide spiritual formation and continuing education for
the wider area of the northern region of the Diocese of Madison as well as the other three dioceses that border that area.
Since the parishes are located a distance from the hub of their respective dioceses, the lecture series seeks to bring speakers and workshops into this area rather than asking people to travel long distances to their respective diocesan centers.
The Father Marquette Lecture Series is held on the first Thursday of each month from October to April in the Father Marquette Spiritual Life Center, located inside St. John Parish in Montello. Each evening begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes a prayer service, time for questions, and fellowship along with the featured presentation.
This year's series begins on Thursday, Oct. 4, when Michael Havercamp will present "From Maintenance to Mission: Reclaiming the Future of the Catholic Church." Havercamp is the associate director of the Evangelical Catholic, a non-profit organization based in Madison seeking to promote and foster a vibrant Catholic community and culture. He holds a master's degree in systematic theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.
In his presentation, Havercamp will discuss the present situation of the Church and how a promising future for the Church is found in reclaiming the essence and deepest identity of the Church. He will also explore the Church's central mission and how it can pave the way for renewal and what we can do to facilitate a new springtime in the Church.
Other presenters scheduled for this series include Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop William H. Bullock, Dr. Pat Gorman, Sr. Marcia Vinje, and Fr. Randy Timmerman. Forum credits are available for those attending each session. For more information, call the St. John Parish office at 608-297-7423.
Guided by the Spirit:
Regional meetings on parish cemeteries
By Grant Emmel
VICE-CHANCELLOR
Throughout the Catholic Church's history there has been a great affinity for the places of rest of our deceased brethren.
From the catacombs of early martyrs to the parish cemeteries of the present day, these places should evoke the image of God's great gift to us, the resurrection to eternal glory of our temporal bodies and the unification of that body to our soul.
The Diocese of Madison is continuing that long Catholic tradition in our sacred parish cemeteries with a long-term program for support and assistance as part of the diocesan-wide strategic planning going on with Guided by the Spirit.
In July of 2006, the diocese contracted with Joseph B. Sankovich & Associates to conduct a comprehensive survey of all 111 parish cemeteries in the diocese. That survey was followed up by regional meetings to discuss the results of the survey and to outline the course of action over the next months and years.
The second set of six regional meetings are being held October 9, 10, and 11 to discuss diocesan policies and procedures. (See ad this page -- print edition only). The third set of regional meetings (to be held in February) will discuss parish cemetery rules and regulations.
The policies and procedures establish the relationship between the parish cemetery and the diocese while the rules and regulations give guidance to pastors and sextons for the operation of cemeteries under their care.
If you have any questions about the regional meetings, the survey, the results, or future plans regarding parish cemeteries, please feel free to contact Grant Emmel (608-821-3010; gemmel@straphael.org) or Tom Hanlon (608-238-5561; thanlon@straphael.org).
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