Painted Turtle Love

Holy Wisdom MonasteryFriends of Wisdom Prairie, Nature Notes 2 Comments

Submitted by Julie Melton, Friends of Wisdom Prairie and Sunday Assembly Member Remember painted turtles at Lost Lake basking on logs months ago? When they sense danger, they simply slide into the water and swim away. Some days you can see their noses poking out of the water. In winter they are living under the ice. With very slowed down respiration, they absorb dissolved oxygen through their skin. If the oxygen level drops too low, they absorb carbonate from their bones and skull which prevents them from dying by asphyxiation. Meanwhile, fall hatchling turtles and unhatched babies winter in nests …

Manato Jansen’s Homily from January 28, 2024

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The Authority of Love Engulfs Us Manato Jansen – 1/28/2024 Holy Wisdom Monastery I kind of enjoyed the daunting encounter with these scripture passages for this Sunday. They felt a bit all over the place. We start with Moses’s words of assurance to the Israelites at the end of his life that God will raise up another prophet who will speak the words of God. Then we read an entire chapter in the book of 1 Corinthians dedicated to the very contextual topic of meat sacrificed to idols in Corinth. Then, we read about how Jesus exorcized a demon in …

Holy Wisdom Monastery awarded to RENEW Wisconsin 2023 Clean Energy Honor Roll

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth 1 Comment

Jodi Jean Amble (Deputy Director RENEW WI), Erin Trondson (Executive Director of Holy Wisdom Monastery/ HWM), , Mark Hanson (volunteer and sustainable energy consultant), Sister Mary David (HWM Prioress), Neil Heskin (HWM Board Member), Toby Grabs (HWM Direcot of Operations), Josh Stolzenburg (CEO Northwind Solar), Niels Wolter (owner of Madison Solar Consulting), Sam Dunaiski (Executive Director RENEW WI) Submitted by Toby Grabs, director of operations Holy Wisdom Monastery’s new 300 kW solar array was selected for inclusion in RENEW Wisconsin’s 2023 Clean Energy Honor Roll. Images of Clean Energy Honor Roll projects were shown at RENEW Wisconsin’s 13th annual Energy Policy Summit. …

Inspired art

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Submitted by Janet Neurauter, mission advancement consultant Jennifer Peters had an idea. An accomplished photographer herself, she thought about creating an exhibit with artists working in different mediums and how they could blend their individual work into a unified show happening February 2 – April 28, 2024, at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Her idea came to fruition when Francine Tompkins (acrylic painting) and Jennifer Angelo (fiber art), agreed to work with her on this idea. Each artist created three inspiration pieces and the other two then worked in their own medium, interpreting the original work of art. The result is the new exhibit, …

New books in the library—February 2024

Nancy SandlebackLibrary Leave a Comment

Enrich your mind and spirit—visit the monastery library! February 2024 The monastery library added the following books to its collection: Bourgeault, Cynthia.  The Heart of centering prayer.  Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2016. Cassidy, Laurie, ed.  Desire, darkness, and hope.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press 2021. Hewett, Beth.  Grief on the road to Emmaus.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2023. Irwin, Kevin.  Ecology, liturgy, and the sacraments.  Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2023 Kim, Seung Chul.  The Center is everywhere.  Eugen, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2022 Koosed, Jennifer L.  Judith.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022. Lane, Dermot.  Nature praising God.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022 Lohfink, …

Wayne Sigelko’s Homily from January 21, 2024

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Homily: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time  Jan 21, 2024 Somewhere back in grade school, it was impressed upon me and my classmates that every story has a beginning, middle and an end. Today’s readings present us with two beginnings (one of which is also an end) and one end (which is really a middle). In the gospel, we have Mark’s breathless description of the call of the first four disciples as Jesus begins his public ministry. In the reading from the first letter to the Corinthians, we have a middle, even though Paul thinks it is an end. But that’s …

How in the world do songbirds survive freezing cold?

Holy Wisdom MonasteryFriends of Wisdom Prairie, Natural Resources, Nature Notes, Weekly Wisdom 2 Comments

By Julie Melton The short answer is that they find food and shelter. But there is more to it. Many songbirds grow a third more feathers in preparation for winter. Fluffing up feathers creates thousands of tiny air pockets that hold heat close to birds’ bodies. Outer feathers help hold the heat in. Birds have to keep their feathers oiled to maintain waterproofing. Insulation isn’t enough. Shelter is vital to survival. Birds can reduce their nighttime temperature to save energy. They still need protection from wind, snow and predators. Some birds huddle together in dense conifer boughs, shrubs, and under …

Gary Eldred: The Simple Beauty of Native Plants Exhibit

Janet NeurauterArt exhibits Leave a Comment

From a young age, Gary Eldred loved nature. He could be found hiking, fishing and exploring the woods and fields around Albany, Wisconsin where he grew up. Gary became aware that many of the wild places he enjoyed were being lost to development and increased agricultural pressure. “Reading Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac gave me a new perspective on caring for the land,” Gary said. “I began to think about how I could give back to nature rather than always being a consumer.” Gary’s interest in native prairies emerged in the mid 1970s and he became one of the founders …

Patti La Cross’s Homily from January 14, 2024

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January 14, 2024 Holy Wisdom Monastery 1 Samuel 1:9-18,20; 1 Corinth 6:12-20, John 1:35-51 Patti La Cross It is a lovely and rare treat to hear from John’s gospel today, and my privilege to be steeped in it for a time. I am of the opinion that this gospel ‘pairs well’ with a community like ours, this community of communities. It speaks well to the inclusiveness we treasure, our shared worship, values and leadership. Significantly, many of those Jesus encounters in this gospel are women – women shown as whole, complex, and utterly worthy disciples and leaders! In recent weeks …

Pam Shellberg’s Homily from January 7, 2024

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Epiphany  January 7, 2024                            Homily   Matthew 2:1-12                                          Pam Shellberg                  Since the 4th century, the church has observed epiphany as a liturgical season, with gospel texts that manifest, reveal, unveil what the incarnation of God in Jesus means. If Christmas celebrates the fact of divine life come to us, the fact of God become human, the fact of God-with-us, then Epiphany celebrates the truth of us-with-God, unveils for us the divinity of our humanity in Christ, reveals the divine glory in which we and all creation dwell. Today’s gospel, which comes from the gospel of Matthew is read …