News from around the 11 counties of the Diocese of Madison.
FORT ATKINSON — St. Joseph Parish will host the Fort Atkinson Community Christmas Day Free Dinner on Friday, Dec. 25, offering a free turkey and ham dinner for anyone in the community who may be alone or who is unable to prepare a meal for the holiday.
This year’s dinner will be made available by carside pickup or carryout at the church, 1660 Endl Blvd., Fort Atkinson.
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| In a video created for the online Lighting the Way event, St. John Vianney in Janesville parishioner Brenda Riley provides tips on how to make Advent wreaths using items from around the house.(Contibuted photo) |
JANESVILLE — At the start of each Advent, St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville hosts an Advent-by-candlelight event called Lighting the Way for Women.
The event is designed to help women, who are typically very busy during the holidays, start their Advent off right by enjoying a peaceful evening of prayer, reflection, and fellowship.
Each year, attendance for Lighting the Way has grown.
In 2019, more than 220 women gathered at St. John Vianney for the event.
As fall 2020 progressed, it became clear that increasing COVID concerns and limitations on gatherings would make it impossible to hold the popular event in person.
Kris Kranenburg, coordinator of adult faith formation at St. John Vianney and one of the event organizers, started to hear from women who were saddened that the gathering couldn’t take place.
“Women were sharing beautiful stories of how Lighting the Way helped them to regroup spiritually and keep their focus on the season of Advent,” said Kranenburg.
“We didn’t want to lose that, especially in 2020 when it felt like so many other things had been taken away.”
Recognizing that people were tired of tuning in for virtual events on platforms like Zoom, the decision was made to create a website that would offer a variety of content.MADISON — Fifteen years ago, Syte Reitz wouldn’t have expected that the prayer bouquet she was preparing for the late Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison would take on the life of its own that it did.
That year, the bishop had been facing many difficulties including the destruction of St. Raphael Cathedral by arson. Reitz thought the bishop could use some prayers and encouragement.
“All I did was start a prayer effort for Bishop Morlino by inviting 30 women from Madison Catholic Woman’s Club to sign up for a monthly prayer to cover the bishop every day of the month,” she said.
It had been her son, Tom, who’d been studying computer science at UW-Madison, who came up with the idea of building a website.MADISON — As 2020 comes to a close, the Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation (CDMF) has a lot to be grateful for.
As of October 30, the foundation has reached $55 million in assets under management and expects to finish out the year strong.
Over the past year, more than $225,000 has been distributed to support the programs and operations of parishes and schools.Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison has named Timothy Cavanaugh, JCL, the chancellor for the Diocese of Madison.
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| Deacon Kumud Nayak |
MADISON — Deacon Kumud Chandra Nayak is set to complete his journey to the priesthood.
The transitional deacon, currently assigned to St. Olaf Parish in DeForest, is scheduled to be ordained on Monday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. in the oratory at Holy Name Heights in Madison.
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will celebrate the Mass.
The Mass is not open to the public. Only those with tickets — personal guests of Deacon Nayak — will be admitted.MADISON — The Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) is still making a difference, one person at a time!
Throughout the pandemic, the CMC has continued to offer crucial services to help people meet their basic needs: food pantry with personal hygiene items, food pantry delivery, employment search assistance, low-cost immigration legal services, and Dane County’s only free community meal served every day of the week.
Though we cannot gather in-person this year, the CMC is continuing the tradition of its annual bilingual (English/Spanish) Radiothon fundraiser and community celebration with La Movida radio.
• Holy Angels […]
Suzanne Holtz, music therapist at Hospice of Dubuque, has a passion for helping people find their voice and tell their stories using music.
Bingo at the Round Table in Sun Prairie had been set to resume on Monday, Dec. 7. However, in response to the new emergency order in Dane County due to COVID-19, bingo will continue to be postponed until a later date.
