MADISON — A team of five eighth grade girls from Edgewood Campus School (ECS) participated in the 2014 Technovation Challenge. Technovation is the world’s largest and longest-running tech competition for girls. There were 842 teams worldwide entered in the 2014 challenge.
In Technovation, teams of young women identify a problem, create an app to solve it, code the app, build a company to launch the app in the market, and pitch their plan to experts — all in 12 weeks. The 2014 challenge required teams to develop an app that solves a problem in their local community.Author: Kevin Wondrash
Upcoming Natural Family Planning classes
MADISON — Upcoming Natural Family Planning (NFP) classes in the Diocese of Madison include:
Couple to Couple League (CCL) Sympto-Thermal Method
Attend one of the following classes (two additional classes will be scheduled by the group at the first class):
- Janesville — St. John Vianney Parish
‘Living Well’ workshops help older adults with chronic diseases
JANESVILLE — The Rock County Council on Aging will offer a “Living Well” workshop series each Thursday at 1:30 p.m., starting May 22 and running through June 26 at the Rock County Council on Aging office, 3328 Hwy. 51 N.
“Living Well” is a six-week program for people with chronic diseases and their caregivers.
Bishop Morlino calls canonizations a ‘special gift from God’
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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
Last week I was blessed to take part in the wonderful Canonization ceremony and Mass of Thanksgiving for St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII. The experience certainly was one of the most precious of my entire life.
I was blessed to visit Rome for the first time in the mid-’70s and God’s providence has enabled me to return a good number of times. Yet, never once have I seen Rome so crowded as it was during those days leading up to the Canonizations. More so than the crowds that might gather at a secular event such as a World’s Fair, I was reminded of the crowds that fill the streets at World Youth Days.
‘Reverential joy’ in the air
There was not only a wonderful spirit of devotion, but also a tremendous number of energetic young people who moved around the city, even through the night, attending the numerous programs and opportunities for prayer in the various churches around Rome.
Peace project at St. John the Baptist School in Jefferson
JEFFERSON — “Let Peace Begin With Me” is a song with a powerful message of personal responsibility in planting and nurturing the seeds of peace in one’s own world.
The fifth and sixth grade classes at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Jefferson, under the guidance of school counselor, Mrs. Joanna Becker, embraced the idea of working towards world peace by bringing it closer to home.
Sadako’s story
Mrs. Becker introduced the “Peace Project” by sharing the true story of a young Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki, who was an innocent victim of war as she suffered the effects of deadly radiation after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. She was only two years old on the day of the bombing and died 10 years later as a result of leukemia.
St. Dennis students clean up surrounding neighborhoods
On the beautiful spring day of Wednesday, April 23, students at St. Dennis School in Madison excitedly put on their coats and hurriedly made their way to the doors while teachers and staff — also with smiles on their faces — did their best to keep all the kids from running outside at once.
Divine Mercy Sunday: A day of mercy and prayer
“St. John XXIII, pray for us.”
“St. John Paul II, pray for us.”
Msgr. James Bartylla, vicar general for the Diocese of Madison, led those short, but poignant prayers at the outset of some brief announcements before Divine Mercy Sunday Mass on April 27 at the Bishop O’Connor Center in Madison.
A path of renewal for the sterilized couple
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Among married men and women who undergo surgical sterilization through a vasectomy or a tubal ligation, it has been estimated that anywhere from 10 to 20 percent will come to regret the choice.
Sometimes there may be an immediate awareness of wrongdoing following the surgery, while in other cases, as Patrick Coffin, radio host and author of Sex au Naturel notes, sterilized couples may “. . . drift for years before acknowledging that something between them is no longer in sync. After the initial pregnancy fear subsides, and the vision of 1001 erotic nights turns out be something of a scam, spouse may (subtly) turn against spouse while doing their best to ignore the silent, disturbing ‘presence’ of the choice they made.”
Their decision to seek out a permanent form of contraception can also affect their marriage in other important ways. As Dr. John Billings has noted, there is “an effect that is even more tragic than the clinical, and it is that in many cases the use of contraceptive methods in marriage has been followed by an act of infidelity of one of the members.
Donate four-packs for St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry garden
COTTAGE GROVE — Eager to get your garden going? A visit to a local garden center from Friday to Sunday, May 2 to 4, could give you that chance — and the opportunity to help local people in need.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is asking those visiting America’s Best Flowers Garden Center in rural Cottage Grove this weekend to purchase and donate vegetable-transplant four-packs destined to become fresh produce on the tables of Dane County families in need.
Immaculate Heart of Mary hosts Hispanic Heritage Day on May 3
MONONA — Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) School, 5913 Schofield St., is hosting the second annual Hispanic Festival on Saturday, May 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. The festival celebrates the heritage of the Hispanic community at IHM and in the Diocese of Madison.
Children at IHM School have participated in a Hispanic dance group all year. They will be performing the traditional dances they have learned and be dressed in authentic costumes. Entertainment will also be provided by other Hispanic dance groups from the area. A dinner of homemade traditional foods, such as tamales and salsa, will be provided along with drinks.