News from around the 11 counties of the Diocese of Madison.
MADISON — The Parish Mobile Food Pantry program operated by Catholic Charities Madison serves rural communities who do not have access to the larger pantries in Madison.
Parishioners from participating Catholic parishes volunteer to unload and distribute food delivered to the parish by a Second Harvest foodbank truck. Parish volunteers organize each monthly pantry and assist their neighbors who depend on the pantry for food or to help offset other expenses (such as medical and utility bills).
MADISON — The Madison Catholic Woman’s Club (MCWC) warmly invites all women of the Diocese of Madison and their guests to experience a Day or Evening of Christian Renewal on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at St. Maria Goretti Church Parish Hall, 5313 Flad Ave., Madison. Both day and evening events will be inspirational, challenging, and enlivening.
Peggy Weber RN, MSN, MCWC spiritual chairperson, humorous storyteller, and an inspiration to all, will be the featured speaker. She brings to the Spiritual Day a background in not only hospital and parish nursing, but also counseling people struggling with mental illness, cancer, chronic illness, and grief and empowering them with hope.
MADISON — Tony Magliano, a writer whose column appears regularly in the Catholic Herald, will speak at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Madison on Thursday Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in the church gathering space.
The title of his talk is “Advancing the Kingdom of God in the 21st Century.” He will speak on the spectrum of life issues, including abortion, poverty/hunger, war, capital punishment, and environmental degradation.
MADISON — Pooling resources and working in unity, many pro-life organizations will sponsor the Madison premiere of the movie, Voiceless, on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. at Marcus Point Cinema, 7825 Big Sky Dr., Madison.
Kicking off October Respect Life Month, the public is invited to support the organizations and get a different view of what it means to be pro-life in the current culture.
MADISON — St. Dennis Catholic Church, 505 Dempsey Rd. will host a four week “No One Cries the Wrong Way” series on Wednesday evenings Oct. 5, 12, 19, and 26.
A group reunion will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Sessions facilitated by the St. Dennis grief ministry team include team presentations, prayer, small group discussion, handouts, and refreshments.
PALMYRA — St Mary Parish is hosting a “sip and swipe café” for older adults interested in learning how to use a tablet computer.
The program is designed to teach the basics of using a tablet, including how to connect to the Internet, use email and apps, and other functions.
 |
||
MADISON — This election year, Catholics may find it difficult to choose candidates and be tempted not to vote.
However, failure to vote would not be in keeping with Catholic teaching, which emphasizes that faithful citizens should be involved in the political process.
That’s what Barbara Sella told those gathered recently at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Madison for her presentation, “Be Catholic First: Tools for Discerning as We Approach Election 2016.”
Sella is associate director for respect life and social concerns for the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops.
Faithful citizens “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines,” she said in quoting Pope Francis. “We have an actual role to play in the politics of our nation.”
Sella said, “The Church emphasizes that our choices have to be grounded in moral principles, and we have to use our prudential judgment based on the values of our faith.
“Forming our conscience is the first step. But we have to form it in line with the teachings of the Church.”
The role of the Church itself is as a “teaching institution.” The bishops and priests teach the laity. “We are the doers,” Sella emphasized.
“The bishops and priests rely on the expertise of lay people.”
This year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is emphasizing four key principles in its materials on Faithful Citizenship (see www.faithfulcitizenship.org):
MADISON — On June 4 of this year, volunteers with Pro Labore Dei (PLD)-Madison chapter served their 100,000th meal to homeless people in downtown Madison. As of September 17, the number of meals served passed 103,000, according to Jim Flad, local PLD coordinator.
“In this Year of Mercy, we are grateful and thankful to God for choosing us to be His hands and legs here in Madison,” said Flad.
St. Aloysius Church and School at Divine Mercy Parish are joining pro-life efforts in Madison and around the world this fall.
ROME — Andrew Showers, a seminarian of the Diocese of Madison, will be ordained as a transitional deacon on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 9:30 a.m. at the Altar of the Chair at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston will ordain Showers and 29 other men from around the United States. A transitional deacon has completed his third year of theology studies and intends to be ordained as a priest.
