MADISON — The Madison Diocesan Choir currently is seeking new members for all sections of the choir. The choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings (7 to 9:30 p.m.) in the chapel of the Bishop O’Connor Center on Madison’s west side. (We especially would like to add tenors and basses.)
You don’t have to be a pro! We‘re looking for people with pleasant voices who are willing to work toward our goal of singing God’s praise with full hearts, minds, and voices.
Ever since I was a child, reading has been one of my favorite things to do.
Perhaps I was fortunate that my parents didn’t buy a television until I was in the fifth grade. We spent our free time playing games of all kinds and doing a lot of reading.
In the summers, we visited the public library every week. I must have read almost every book in the library. I loved books of all kinds!
That love of reading continues to this day. I read several books every week, usually taking time to read during lunch and in the evening after my work is done. Now I’m able to access books through a Kindle, although I still like holding a “real” book in my hands.
Besides being something that’s fun to do, I’ve recently learned that reading is actually good for your health. How about that! Something that’s enjoyable and healthy, too!
BLOOMINGTON — This summer, students from St. Mary School in Bloomington and others traveled to China as part of a school exchange with Shijiazhuang Middle School Number 40.
The goal of this program was to create unique friendships and positive connections with others and to bring a global experience to students in a positive setting.
Laura Tolle and her daughters Anna and Carolyn, Margie Duwe, Katelyn Zenz, Mel Mergen, and Julie Zenz lived with families and traveled with students in China as the first group from St. Mary School to visit China.
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Conservation International has sponsored a series of videos that have become YouTube sensations, garnering millions of views.
They feature famous actors — Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey, Robert Redford, and others — voicing different aspects of the natural world, from the ocean, to the rain forest, to redwood trees. The most striking is the one that presents Mother Nature herself, given voice by Julia Roberts.
They all have more or less the same message, namely, that nature finally doesn’t give a fig for human beings, that it is far greater than we, and will outlast us. Here are some highlights from the Mother’s speech:
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| Veronica Arntz |
To prepare for the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this September, the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Madison is providing a monthly series on a particular theme on marriage and family. Each theme is a chapter in the preparatory catechesis developed for the event entitled Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive, available in paperback from www.osvparish.com or for free online at www.worldmeeting2015.org
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — Fr. Paul Fagan, CP, a native of the Diocese of Madison area, is celebrating 55 years of ordination to the priesthood.
Father Paul was ordained on June 11, 1960, at Maryknoll, N.Y. He was assigned to the Diocese of Shinyanga in what was then Tanganyika Territory, now Tanzania.
After 47 years as a missionary, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Shinyanga, in which he has served all of his 55 years as a priest.
MADISON — “People can never be reduced to things,” said Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison as he concluded his testimony before the State Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on August 11.
Bishop Morlino spoke in support of Assembly Bill 305 (AB 305), which would make it illegal to sell and use fetal body parts from an abortion in the state of Wisconsin.
The bill was authored by State Representatives André Jacque (R-DePere) and Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc) with support from State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) and other state lawmakers.
For the past seven summers, the middle and high schoolers of Love Begins Here (LBH), along with their leaders, have performed more than 45,000 hours of doing “small things with great love.”
MADISON — Catholic Charities will present the fifth annual Healthy Aging Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Sheraton Inn, 706 John Nolen Dr., in Madison.
The conference features two keynote speakers and eight workshops devoted to helping seniors, their adult children, and caregivers become familiar with the scope of alternatives that address the mind, body, and spirit of seniors as they age.
MADISON — On Monday, Aug. 24, pro-lifers will join the nationwide efforts to protest Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practice of aborting babies and selling their body parts.
“In the wake of the horrific videos exposing this practice, now is the time for people of faith to stand up and demand an end to the nation’s largest abortion provider,” said Laura Karlen of Madison‘s Vigil for Life.
