MADISON — The Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison is holding an Information Session to introduce disability ministry in the Diocese of Madison and two initiatives starting this year for parishes.
The Information Session will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 9 to 10 a.m. at Holy Name Heights-Ground South East(GSE) Room, 702 S. High Point Rd.
MADISON — Parishes throughout the Diocese of Madison are taking advantage of a program developed and sponsored by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison (Apostolate to the Handicapped).
Recently, nearly 50 people gathered at Blessed Trinity Parish in Lodi to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of parishioners with disabilities as part of a Blessed Margaret Celebration.
First in a series on the recent conference on “Dignity at the End of Life, from Suffering to Hope,” held in Fitchburg.
FITCHBURG — There’s no escaping it — we are all going to die.
Although it may result from a sudden event, census trends predict that most of us will experience the end of life after an extensive period of “old age”. This period often brings us new challenges in the form of physical or cognitive disabilities.
MADISON — The Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities (formerly the Apostolate to the Handicapped) has been a resource for people in the Diocese of Madison since 1967.
Beginning in 2013, at the direction of Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Msgr. Larry Bakke, director of the Apostolate, initiated a program to provide grants to parishes and schools to help cover some of the expenses of making their buildings, property, and grounds more accessible to people with disabilities.
“This is really a miracle,” said Norberta Lewis from Necedah.
The first-time guest of the Diocese of Madison’s Apostolate to the Handicapped Day at the Dells was amazed and impressed that a priest would bring Communion to her seat, a volunteer would bring her sack lunch, and she, and her friend Margaret Gabay, also from Necedah, would get a chance to see a performance of the Tommy Bartlett Water Show.
“This is so cool!” said first-time guest Denise Horn.
The Janesville resident had attended the Diocese of Madison’s Apostolate to the Handicapped Day at the Dells — featuring Mass, lunch, and the Tommy Bartlett Water Show — numerous times in the past, but she had never attended the annual Advent/Christmas Party before.
The models were excited as they anticipated their walk down the runway with family and friends cheering them on.
But this wasn’t an ordinary fashion show. It was the seventh annual Rock County Fashion Show for the Disabled held at KANDU Industries on Friday evening, Sept. 11.
As summer seemed to turn into autumn early this year, one late August day stood out among the clouds and the cool and felt like the right season again.
MADISON — “We call upon people of good will to reexamine their attitudes toward their brothers and sisters with disabilities and promote their well-being, acting with the sense of justice and the compassion that the Lord so clearly desires.
“Further, realizing the unique gifts individuals with disabilities have to offer the Church, we wish to address the need for their integration into the Christian community and their fuller participation in its life.”
With the summer months winding down, hundreds of disabled and elderly guests took part in their own fun in the sun at one of Wisconsin’s most historic attractions.
