Remembering a loved one at Holy Wisdom Monastery. When someone passes away, one of the biggest decisions the family has to make is how those left behind can express their condolences and remember their loved one. A memorial service is one of the more meaningful ways to bring family and friends together to pay tribute to the deceased. Carolyn Moynihan Bradt, a Sunday Assembly member, held her husband Dr. Jack Bradt’s memorial service at Holy Wisdom on April 7, 2013. “The monastery was perfect for Jack and our family. He is buried at the Farley Center, Natural Path Sanctuary in …
Praying The Prayer of Jesus
The Prayer of Jesus Holy One, our only Home, blessed be your name, may your day dawn, your will be done, here, as in heaven. Feed us today, and forgive us, as we forgive each other. Do not forsake us at the test, …
In Gratitude to All Our Supporters
This is the best time of year for someone in my role, director of development. The end of the year signifies an outpouring of support from donors. It’s the time of year when a lot of correspondence and updates from old and new friends alike arrive in our inboxes and mailboxes. It’s also a time to quantify some of the impact that the mission and ministries at Holy Wisdom Monastery had on the lives of our supporters. We are in an important two-month stretch for fundraising to support the work at the monastery. In November and December 2012, we saw nearly one-third …
Holy Wisdom Monastery Makes Visionary Land Acquisition, Launches Wisdom Prairie Project
The new Wisdom Prairie Project land is adjacent to the monastery grounds (see monastery in background). Restoration efforts will turn the rows of corn into native prairie. “Restoring the Land, Protecting the Lakes.” That’s the theme of the latest visionary project of the Benedictine Women of Madison, known as the Wisdom Prairie Project. Learn more about the Wisdom Prairie Project through this five minute video. The sisters are pleased to take a leap of faith in living out the caring for the earth portion of their mission by acquiring 53 acres of farmland adjacent to their current property with the help of a $1 …
Experiencing the Prairie at Holy Wisdom
Come experience the sights, sounds and smells of the prairie at Holy Wisdom Monastery. When I arrived at Holy Wisdom in August 2013, I was amazed at the variety of flowers in the prairie—purple, white, pink, orange, and so many different kinds of yellow! The beauty of the prairie flowers were a part of my morning walk from Bingen House to the monastery. Then I noticed more each day with the passing of summer—the sweet, clean smell of the prairie! I hadn’t realized that prairies “smell.” Walking the trails through the tall grass had at first been just a visual …
Volunteer Spotlight: Sara Whalen
Sara Whalen (right), with the help of her husband John, makes applesauce for the Holiday Fair from the apples she picked at a volunteer Community Workday. Sara Whalen can literally see the fruits of her labor in the apples that she picked in the monastery orchard during the volunteer Community Workday on September 21, 2013. A few days later, Sara and her husband John volunteered in the monastery kitchen turning the apples into applesauce to sell at the Holiday Fair and Angel Tea on November 10, 2013 from 12:00-3:00 pm. Sara has helped with the fair since she and John joined Sunday Assembly two and …
Holy Wisdom Monastery Receives $1000 from MG&E for Having the Oldest Refrigerator!
Madison Gas and Electric (MG&E) offers incentives to help their customers become aware of the cost of operating appliances. Recently they offered $50 in exchange for energy inefficient appliances, with a reward to the person turning in the oldest refrigerator by August 31, 2013. Holy Wisdom recycled three old refrigerators. According to Sister Mary David Walgenbach, “We had an old one in what I still refer to as the horse barn. Someone had given it to us for keeping medicine for the horses and water for the riding students. It has been in the horse barn since the 1960s (Holy Wisdom …
How Does Your Garden Grow?
At lunch and dinner in the monastery, our chef, Barbara Wright, likes to tell the sisters, retreatants and guests what we are having for the meal. She always lets us know what has come from our garden. Retreatants are pleased to hear that most of the vegetables are grown on the property. Monastery chef Barbara Wright checks out the freezer-full of frozen vegetables grown at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Most Benedictine monasteries have gardens. Saint Benedict writes: “When they live by the labor of their hands…then they are really monks.” Manual labor is part of the balance of Benedictine life. Our …
Feast of Hildegard of Bingen
Many people today are interested in Hildegard of Bingen, a remarkable Benedictine nun who lived in the twelfth century. She was a visionary, a poet, a historian, an herbalist, a musician and prioress of her community. The sisters at Holy Wisdom celebrate her feast on September 17, with special readings and prayers at the Liturgy of Hours. One of the sisters’ houses, where the Benedictine Sojourners and Sister Lynne live, is called Bingen House after Hildegard. Pictured here is an icon of Hildegard created by Peter Pearson that hangs in the house. Hildegard inspires us by her vision, her boldness, her commitment to …
Coming October 4: Love Remembered Art Exhibit
Image by Mark Nelson This fall, we are pleased to welcome curator Lou Ann E. Petersen for the opening of the Love Remembered art exhibit on Friday, October 4, 2013 from 5:00-8:00 pm. All are welcome! Lou Ann is a dear friend of the sisters. Her husband, Tom, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2000 and they had a short time left together. They opted to spend a lot of that time at daily prayer with the sisters, walking the grounds at the monastery and enjoying meals with the sisters. Tom passed away in February 2000. After he passed away, Lou Ann had a …