MADISON — “Hey, J. Gregory!” said a teen over the video conferencing platform Zoom. “Don’t you own a pair of scissors?”
Jaymes Gregory Curran, the youth director of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison, certainly wouldn’t have envisioned sitting in his parish’s empty youth room talking over Zoom a few months ago.
“I’d heard of Zoom before the pandemic hit,” he said. “But I have never been a fan of FaceTime, Skype, or other similar apps.”
In the privileged work of being a Vocations Director, I have the privilege to see and work with a lot of young people who are getting more involved in the Church thus opening their lives to the truth of the Gospel.
The Diocese of Madison’s Office of Evangelization and Catechesis offers Totus Tuus, a summer Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship.
MADISON — Materials for this year’s Madison Diocesan Choir’s Youth Pastoral Musician Scholarship have been posted at https://madisondiocese.org/scholarship
The scholarship award is designed to support youth participation in music ministries within the diocese and its parishes.
The $500 scholarship is intended to assist young musicians to attend a summer music clinic. It is the hope that the improvement of their musical skills will benefit the parish at this time as well as the universal Church in years to come.As we approach Thanksgiving and the Advent season, it is a perfect time to give thanks to all of those who supported the 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA).
In my short time here in the Diocese, people have asked me how things are going, how I like it so far.
I always say that I feel like I have died and gone to heaven! Everyone has been so welcoming, kind, warm, generous, and faith-filled. I immediately felt at home here because of your remarkable goodness. Thank you for such a precious gift!
The morning scene inside St. Francis of Assisi Oratory is befitting of its rural setting — a house of God amid the trees, quiet, and occasional sounds of wildlife.
MADISON — The Madison Diocesan Choir awarded five Youth Pastoral Musician Scholarship Awards (YPMSA), at the choir’s spring concert on May 17 in the chapel at Holy Name Heights in Madison.
Linda Galang, the choir’s scholarship committee chair, introduced two of the five winners who were able to attend the concert.
The scholarship initiative is for middle and high school students who are active in their parish music ministries. A successful applicant can receive $500 to attend an approved summer music clinic.MADISON — The Madison St. Vincent de Paul Youth Service Council (YSC) has developed a unique scholarship program — one that contributes $1,000 to further education or training for a graduating student eligible to receive free/reduced lunch. It also supports the student’s family via rent credit and grocery store gift cards.
“After participating in a poverty simulation, YSC members realized the importance of supporting the student’s family, too,” explained Gayle Westfahl, advisor of the group.
“Removing the student from the household to focus on school might mean the family does not have the student’s income to help with bills nor their assistance with caring for siblings or older relatives. If a student knows that their continuing study also supports the family a bit, he/she might be more inclined to pursue long-term educational goals.”Bishop Barron offered the following intervention at the Vatican during the 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.
Jesus’ encounter with two erstwhile disciples on the road to Emmaus provides a beautiful template for the Church’s work of accompaniment across the ages.
