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Carolyn Averill, For the Catholic Herald

An exciting start to the new year for St. Ambrose Academy

MADISON — The trials and challenges of a pandemic can’t stop the growth and joy of Catholic community, and spring 2021 is shaping up to be a season of exciting happenings at St. Ambrose Academy (SAA).

New home in the making

After dozens of property searches by a team of professionals and numerous conversations with potential partners, the Academy first shared in December 2020 at the interactive, virtual See the Joy Benefit Dinner news of great joy: A site for a permanent school home is being finalized.

The centrally located Fitchburg development will be an ideal home for the first Catholic school building project in the diocese in over 50 years.

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the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Madison

Grants offer food pantry workers shelter

MADISON — The generosity of the Madison Community Foundation (MCF) and other major donors means that staff and volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry in Madison are finding shelter from the worst of what Wisconsin winter doles out, even as they continue to serve drive-through clients outdoors.

Helpful support

In November, the Madison Community Foundation awarded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul a $12,500 grant to support winter outdoor food distribution in order to meet pandemic safety requirements.

To protect all involved in distributing much-needed food, the St. Vincent de Paul Pantry has been operating on a drive-through basis since March 16.

“Madison Community Foundation is proud to support the critical work of St. Vincent de Paul and other major food pantries during this pandemic, explained Tom Linfield, Madison Community Foundation vice president.

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Bishop Donald J. Hying

Making St. Paul’s conversion our journey

Hying logo

A remarkable film I would highly recommend is Paul, Apostle of Christ, which depicts the last months of St. Paul’s life.

Imprisoned and facing death in Rome, Paul dictates the extraordinary events of his life, conversion to Christ, and mission to St. Luke, who writes the Acts of the Apostles as the fruit of their conversations.

Simultaneously, the whole Christian community in Rome endures Nero’s bloody and violent persecution, as they seek Paul’s inspiration and direction.

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Catholic Herald Staff

St. Vincent de Pauls Recycle the Warmth drive is ‘pandemic style’ this year

MADISON — “Need help with clothing and blankets. We lost everything since we were homeless for six months.”

Pleas like this are the reason the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will conduct its 29th annual Recycle the Warmth Blanket Drive the weekend of January 29 to 31.

“This important annual drive allows St. Vincent de Paul to collect blankets and other bedding to be given to Dane County residents in need throughout the coming year,” said Ernie Stetenfeld, executive director and CEO.

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the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Madison

Families in need find Christmas cheer at St. Vincent de Paul ‘Little Drummer’ drive-thru

MADISON — Sometimes, drive-thru service can be a little impersonal, even cheerless.

This year, Madison-area St. Vincent de Paul Society members took a festive annual event curbside to help make Christmas brighter for hundreds of children from local households in need.

Yearly event

Each December, St. Vincent de Paul Society member groups, known as “conferences,” from Dane County parishes work together as the Society’s District Council of Madison to provide gifts for the children of families the conferences served during the year through a “Little Drummer” event.

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Free Christmas Day dinner in Fort Atkinson

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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Free Christmas Day dinner in Fort Atkinson

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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St. John Vianney Parish, Janesville

Advent event transformed online

SJV Online Advent
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.

Growing event

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.

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