MIDDLETON — The Health Commission, Knights of Columbus, and St. Vincent de Paul Society are sponsoring an evening of fun for St. Bernard Parish and its cluster parishes.
The Happy Hearts Hoedown will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. in the parish center.
MADISON — The Diocese of Madison is offering two series of courses on both the liturgical year and the Social Doctrine of the Church in the coming months.
A comprehensive study on the liturgical year is being offered by Abbot Marcel Rooney through the Seat of Wisdom Diocesan Institute.
Remaining sessions are open to everyone and will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd., on the following Saturday mornings.
MADISON — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) has long been involved with charitable works in the Madison area. Following in its founder’s footsteps, the society is now looking to expand opportunities for youth to take the reins in planning some local service events.
“Blessed Frederic Ozanam and his friends started the society when they were college students, and they named it after St. Vincent de Paul,” explained Gayle Westfahl, member services coordinator for the local council of the society. “We all know there are very talented high school students here in Madison, and many people could be served well through their creativity, passion, and desire to be of service.”
MADISON — The city of Madison is considering a proposal to impose a buffer zone of 160 feet around abortion clinics in the city.
“This buffer zone is quite severe — over four times the size of the controversial Massachusetts buffer zone being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court — and it would effectively end all sidewalk counseling at the Planned Parenthood abortion center on Orin Rd.,” said Pro-Life Wisconsin in a statement.
MADISON — Pro-Life Wisconsin is partnering with Movie to Movement to sponsor a showing for the powerful new film, Gimme Shelter, which contains a strong pro-life message.
Gimme Shelter shares the story of a young, homeless woman in a crisis pregnancy situation who finds welcome and safety in a shelter for single mothers.
BELOIT — Lessons and Carols at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 2222 Shopiere Rd., has been rescheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18, at 3 p.m. in the church.
Come and enjoy a welcome extension to the Christmas Season with proclamation of the Advent/Christmas Scriptures and musical responses by the choir and congregation. The service will last around one hour and is guaranteed to be joyful and uplifting.
MADISON — The Couple to Couple League (CCL) will offer classes on the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning (NFP) at several locations this winter and spring.
Each course is taught by a married couple who are certified NFP instructors. The main NFP course is offered in a three-part series.
CCL now offers on-the-go mobile fertility tracking which allows couples to chart electronically, record fertility symptoms, and determine the fertile and infertile times of the cycle. All those who register for a CCL course will receive a free 90-day trial of fertility tracking with CycleProGo.
CUBA CITY — Recently, the fifth grade class at St. Rose School in Cuba City, along with their kindergarten church buddies, were in charge of the school Mass on a Friday.
They were able to plan the liturgy and also act out the Gospel story for that day.
The story they acted out was from Luke 19:45-48, the story of how Jesus cleanses the temple.
In her still-widely-read 1971 article, “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Jarvis Thomson sets up a thought experiment known as “The Famous Violinist Problem” to argue that abortion ought to be morally justified when a pregnancy arises out of sexual assault:
“You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with a . . . famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help.
“They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist’s circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own . . . To unplug you would be to kill him. But never mind, it’s only for nine months. By then he will have recovered from his ailment, and can safely be unplugged from you.”
MADISON — “All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here” is the title of a St. Ambrose Faculty Lecture to be given by Abby Nowakowski.
The Divine Comedy follows the poet-as-pilgrim, Dante Alighieri, through a salvific journey through hell, purgatory, and paradise. Written from 1308 to 1321 in northern Italy, the epic has influenced art, cultures, and faith the world over for the past seven centuries.
