Diocesan Leadership Days: Registration open
for Oct. 23-24 event

MADISON -- Registration has now been opened for the Diocesan Leadership Days (formerly called Parish Leadership Conference), which will be held at the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center Tuesday, Oct. 23, to Wednesday, Oct. 24.

All pastors, parochial vicars, and lay leadership staff are encouraged to attend the conference, which will feature breakout sessions and workshops, a keynote talk, and Mass and Benediction.

Theme of the conference is "Trusting in the Spirit: our Comforter, Our Counselor, Our Advocate." The keynote speaker will be Fr. Dan Felton, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Manitowoc in the Diocese of Green Bay. The parish was formed by the merger of six Manitowoc Catholic parishes in 2005 into one parish with three worship sites.   Full story ...

Rural Life Mass:
With bishop on Oct. 4

By Tom Nelson

Take a 20-minute drive out from the center of our capital city of Madison and you will be transported to a place that makes up the majority of our Diocese of Madison - the rural countryside. And all across this beautiful country are rural communities where the food supply that feeds our nation is produced.

Our Rural Life Ministry is directed towards assisting rural faith communities throughout our 11-county Diocese of Madison, as a resource to parishes, pastors, parish staff, and the parishioners of rural parishes, as well as providing outreach to assist and support the well-being of farmers and farm families.

Every so often I am asked, "Living in the city, why should I care about Rural Life Ministry?" The answer is, "If you haven't eaten in the last two weeks, then what happens on the farm won't matter to you." But for the rest of us daily consumers of the agriculturally produced bounty of our farmers, the health and vitality of our rural communities is critical to our nation's very survival.

Our Rural Life Ministry serves as an advocacy effort for farm justice, with a special emphasis on supporting the spiritual health of our rural parish communities.   Full story ...

Hope, healing after abortion:
Rachel's Vineyard retreat to be held October 12 to 14

By Mary Mead
FOR THE CATHOLIC HERALD

MADISON -- The Rachel's Vineyard retreat weekend offers an opportunity away from the pressures of everyday life for participants to focus on the pain in their lives and to begin healing from an abortion experience through a supportive and emotionally safe process.

The painful effects of abortion can include the following: feelings of emptiness and loss; intense grief or sadness; depression; guilt or remorse; inability to forgive yourself or others; anxiety; intense anger; emotional numbness; shame about your abortion; isolation; insomnia or nightmares; flashbacks; preoccupation with your aborted baby; discomfort around or keen interest in babies; preoccupation with becoming pregnant again; suicidal thoughts; difficulty in relationships; fear that God will punish you; and problems with drugs, alcohol, and eating disorders.

Rachel's Vineyard is a time to ease this suffering, renew hope, and bring healing to the heart and soul. The retreat is a very specific process designed to help one experience the mercy and compassion of God. It is also an opportunity to surface and release repressed feelings of anger, shame, guilt, and grief. There are many exercises to help participants grieve the loss of their children and to receive and accept God's forgiveness.   Full story ...