IN THE NEWS
Going Green
Watch local television coverage of the new sustainable monastery.
RETREATS / EVENTS
Click the links for more information
Save the Date!
Internationally known author and speaker Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, will be at Holy Wisdom Monastery on November 14-15, 2009. Saturday, November 14 is a campaign fundraiser that begins with a late afternoon reception and concert by Father Robert Koopmann, OSB, from St. John's Abbey in Minnesota. Joan's talk, entitled "God, Women and the World," will follow. The new monastery dedication will take place on Sunday morning, November 15. To add your name to a list of those interested in receiving additional details as soon as they are available, please contact Jan at
jlottig@benedictinewomen.org.
Taking Pause
August 20-22, 2009
Taking pause in the midst of our busyness is a chance to come home to our hearts and to the presence of God.
Exploring Your Dreams
with Ann E. Aswegan, R.N., MS Ed
September 15 - October 20, 2009
Tuesdays 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The beautiful environment of Holy Wisdom Monastery provides a perfect backdrop for dream exploration. Join us as we share our dreams and learn how to better understand their meanings. We will discuss a variety of ways to process our dreams and benefit from their wisdom in the sacred space of a confidential, small-group setting. $80 for the six-week session. Limit 10. For more information contact Betsy at bliotus@benedictinewomen.org or 608-836-1631, ext. 120.
Hospitality as a Contemplative Practice
October 29-31, 2009
Together we will examine our ways of "seeing" and refocus our vision so that we recognize the Holy in all persons. You are invited to explore the sacred space where silence waits, where you are welcomed, and where you can focus on being a receiver and giver of grace. For more information contact Jerrianne at jbland@benedictinewomen.org or 608-836-1631, ext. 158.
Personal Retreats
Year Round!
Need some time away from your busy schedule? Come for a few hours, a day or longer. Contact Gloria at 608-831-9304;
gkrysiak@benedictinewomen.org.
PRAYER / WORSHIPMonastic Community
Prayer ScheduleAll are welcome to pray in the monastery each day at morning, midday, and evening according to the monastic pattern of worship using hymns, psalms, scripture, and prayer. Click here for prayer schedule. Sunday Worship Join our Sunday Assembly at 9 a.m. each Sunday at our temporary location, Waunakee Village Center, 333 S. Madison Street, Waunakee. Our liturgy is ecumenical and all are welcome. Centering PrayerA group of Sunday Assembly members and Oblates hold Centering Prayer gatherings on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 7 p.m. in the COB room of the Monastery. All are welcome. For more information about prayer and worship contact Lynn at llemberger@benedictinewomen.org or 608-836-1631, ext. 138. RESOURCES
Readings about Eco-Spirituality Available in the Holy Wisdom Monastery LibraryEco-spirituality is a term that is not new. It was used back in the early 1990s. Such books as Father Charles Cummings' aptly titled Eco-Spirituality: Toward a Reverent Life (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1991) and Sallie McFague's Super, Natural Christians: How We Should Love Nature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997) discuss the bridge between seeking God in sacred scripture and prayer and seeking God in the natural world. Between Cummings' and McFague's works many authors have written about the mingling of spirituality and concern for the environment and continue to do so- -Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans edited by Dieter Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000); and Denis Edwards's Ecology at the Heart of Faith (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006)--to list a few of the numerous books available. If you are interested in the topic and want to read more, the monastery library has the above mentioned titles and many others. Or purchase these books through Good Shop, Choose Benedictine Women of Madison, then Amazon or Barnes and Noble and a donation will go to the monastery just for using Good Shop. Print article and list | |
|
|
Every Monastery Needs a Garden, a Reflective Space Surrounded by Nature
"Benedictine
spirituality sees the care of the earth and the integration of prayer and work,
body and soul, as essential parts of the journey to wholeness that answers the
emptiness in each of us."
-
Sister Joan Chittister, OSB
The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages
 Tree
planting, gardening, prairie restoration and building a new green monastery are
powerful symbols at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Membership in our community provides
opportunities for practicing eco-justice, stewardship and care for creation.
Embracing
the earth as sacred comes from our 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition emphasizing
environmental stewardship and sustainability. The Rule of Benedict prescribes how the tools and goods of the
monastery should be cared for; we extend this teaching to the land and
buildings. Every day our spirituality calls us to wholeness in our human/earth
relationships as we acknowledge our interdependence with all life communities. more
Photo by Andy Manis
|
Be a gardener. Dig a ditch, toil and sweat, and turn the earth upside down and seek the deepness and water the plants in time. Continue this labor and make sweet floods to run and noble and abundant fruits to spring. Take this food and drink and carry it to God as your true worship -Julian of Norwich
Medieval woman mystic and religious writer
|
The Prairie is Buzzing
"Be prepared to get in
nitty-gritty touch with the earth through removal of invasive species in the
prairie, explore new depths within yourself, absorb wisdom and hear great
stories from fabulous women." - 2009 participant
If you come to the monastery to
pray or walk the trails this summer, chances are you will meet one of the fourteen
women who are participating as Volunteers in Community. Ten women are living,
praying and working at the monastery sometime this month.
The first task the women took on
since they arrived in mid-June was to  help our groundskeeper, Paul
Boutwell, with erosion control and prairie seed planting
around the new monastery building. After sowing the prairie seed, we rolled out
large straw mats on the hill in front of the new monastery building. Then we
staked the mats down so the wind and rain would not blow them away. more
|
Saving Water and
Caring for the Environment
Do
you ever think about how much potable water, water that is fit for you to drink,
is pumped into your home, how much you actually drink and how much your home
environment drinks? Each year in the
U.S. alone our buildings use 12.2% of all potable water. That's 15 trillion gallons
each year! As
we designed the new monastery building, we looked at a smarter use of water
both inside and out. We wanted to reduce our water usage through more efficient
appliances, fixtures and fittings and water-wise landscaping. more
|
 Groundskeeper
Paul Boutwell
Not
long into any conversation with groundskeeper of 19 years, Paul Boutwell, you realize that
he is a man far more in tune with the rhythms of nature than he is with the
pace of our world today. This isn't surprising considering he grew up
working on his family's sod farm, earned a degree in soil sciences and now
lives on 80 acres of farmland with two homes on it. more
|
The Monastery Green Team:
A New Force for "Green"
As
the new "green" sustainable monastery building rose in April and the piles of
gravel around it were contoured and leveled out, it was time to begin work on
the building's surroundings. A master plan was created for acres of newly
seeded prairies, rain gardens, two living "green" roofs and many other
beautiful and innovative projects to make sure our new home sits lightly on the
planet. There was a lot of outdoor hands-on work to be completed. How would we to get it
done?
In
early April we put out a call for help to Sunday Assembly members, the Oblate
Community and others, and the response was wonderful. More than 30 volunteered.
Together they formed our new Monastery Green Team, a great group of volunteers
who committed their time throughout the spring and summer to help plant and
maintain the landscaping and grounds surrounding the new building. more
| |
|
