By Carolyn Heidemann, long-time friend and donor My first visit to Holy Wisdom Monastery (then St. Benedict Center) was the summer of 1966 when the Taizé Prayer Group, part of UW Campus Ministry, came out for a day of volleyball, worship and supper. Sister Joanne greeted us in her flowing habit. My most recent visit to Holy Wisdom Monastery was December 13, 2012, when a friend and I decided rather spontaneously to join the sisters and their guests for lunch. There was room at the table, Sister Joanne declared the dessert to be birthday cake and we were serenaded by …
Merry Christmas!
The love and appreciation for family, friends and community are central to the celebration of Christmas! For Benedictine Women community building is at the heart of our life and ministry. We are grateful for much growth in this ministry. Sunday Assembly, an ecumenical worshipping community at Holy Wisdom Monastery, has doubled in three years since moving into our new monastery. A vibrant children’s ministry led by parents is growing. Participation by Assembly members in social justice ministries such as Luke House, food pantries and Vera Court continues. This year a Social Justice Sunday was held with tables full of opportunities …
Thank You to All the Women Who Have Journeyed with Benedictine Women This Year
The sisters are grateful at year’s end for the women who have lived with us and volunteered in our mission through the Volunteer in Community and the Benedictine Sojourner programs. Volunteers in Community Hershey Mallett and Stephanie Borger lived, prayed and worked with us this summer helping to tend the vegetable garden. When the weather was too hot to be outside, they helped in the kitchen or in guest services. We are also grateful to Rebecca Meier-Rao who worked outdoors with the women for the first two weeks of the program. The sisters offered classes and two of our oblates offered the women spiritual …
The Generosity of Donors Sustains Our Mission
At Holy Wisdom Monastery, many of our ministries are sustained through the generous support of our donors. Our supporters breathe life into our mission. Through the end of November, we received over $300,000 from over 600 households and businesses. The last month of the year is always a busy time with incoming gifts pouring in from our supporters. It’s a fun time to check the mailbox and to reconnect with some donors that we only hear from once a year. It’s also a time to reflect on the generosity of so many people who donate every month and even every week. During this time …
Reflections on Morning Prayer
by Ed Emmenegger, Holy Wisdom Monastery neighbor and volunteer All are welcome to attend daily prayer at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Ed Emmenegger (in front row) reflects on his experience at morning prayer below. On Thanksgiving weekend 2009, while many were still gratefully celebrating the opening of the sparkling and highly acclaimed monastery building, I decided more prayer in my life would be a good thing for Advent. I wanted to see if I could build on positive experiences of morning prayer I’ve had away on retreat in past years. Though I had often prayed in thanksgiving and wonder while walking the trails of Holy Wisdom for …
Integrating Prayer into Community Life
Prayer is an integral element of the Benedictine Sojourner experience as they participate in our life and ministry. Our Sojourners, Linda and Nancy, are faithful to the Liturgy of Hours three times a day and to morning and evening centering prayer. Since centering prayer is new to them, some of our faith formation classes have focused on centering prayer. In addition, they are taking part in a class on centering prayer offered by oblate Beth O’Brien. Lectio divina, a prayerful practice of reading and meditating on scripture, is an important prayer practice in the Benedictine tradition. We sisters spend time each morning in lectio, …
Memorial Gifts at Holy Wisdom Monastery
We lost some genuinely special people this past year at Holy Wisdom Monastery. In April, we mourned the loss of Jim McCarthy (April 6), Rev. Ed Beers (April 16), and Judy Schoennherr (April 21). We were honored to host all of their memorial services at the monastery, where the consolation was the opportunity to welcome so many longtime friends and family members into our space. All of their memories live on in various ways here at the monastery. Jim’s wife, Joan, remains an active member of our Sunday Assembly worship community, as well as a member of Benedict Society. Near the end of October, …
What is it Like to be a Benedictine Sojourner?
On August 15, 2012, we welcomed Nancy Melin and Linda Steg, our first two Benedictine Sojourners, to Holy Wisdom Monastery. They live with the sisters, take part in the prayers and meals. They participate in our work about thirty hours a week in guest services or in the garden. Three afternoons a week we offer classes in Benedictine spirituality and the spiritual life. The Sojourners also have time for reading and leisure activities. The sisters provide room and board, a monthly stipend, medical insurance for those who need it and pastoral care. The Sojourners bless us with their energy, enthusiasm …
Call for Donations to Support Benedictine Sojourners
It has truly been a gift to welcome Nancy Melin and Linda Steg here as the first Benedictine Sojourners to participate in the ministries and life at Holy Wisdom Monastery. I have had opportunities to pray with them at daily prayer, worship with them at Sunday Assembly and interact during the workday at the monastery. It has been wonderful to have new faces and new energy here on a daily basis. The sisters have been generous in subsidizing the costs of participants in Benedictine Sojourners by providing room and board, a monthly stipend, books for learning about monastic spirituality and …
Feeding the Spirit and the Body at Holy Wisdom Monastery
by Barbara Wright, chef and kitchen manager For most of us food plays many important roles in our lives. It defines our culture and brings our families and friends together. Eating gives us pleasure, comfort and can entertain us as well. One of food’s most important roles is to provide us sustenance, to nourish our bodies, to give us the energy we need to accomplish what we do in our lives and to make us healthy and fit. Food provides a rich profusion of experiences for our senses and adds to our daily topic of conversation. As the chef at …