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Sisters, coworkers, volunteers, friends and acquaintances — twenty-five years is a long time to work at the same place! I’ll always remember the challenges and changes; the comings and goings; the successes and the failures. But most of all I cherish all the wonderful people, from all around the country and world, connected with Holy Wisdom Monastery. May you all be blessed!  Thank you and I’m sure you will see me riding on by in the future. Neal Smith celebrates retirement with a bratwurst.

Benedictines take vows of stability, conversion of life and obedience. Neal Smith brought stability to the sisters and co-workers at Holy Wisdom Monastery with his leadership and accounting abilities. On July 1, 2011, Neal celebrates 25 years at Holy Wisdom Monastery and his retirement as executive director. Neal’s history with the sisters started in 1973 while he was still in school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison finishing a Bachelor of Business Administration Accounting degree. Neal was introduced to Sister Mary David Walgenbach who took Neal horseback riding. The sisters became one of Neal’s clients while he worked part time at …

by Diane Smith – Neal’s wife One of the conferences Neal attended annually was NATRI – theNational Association for Treasurers of Religious Institutes. In his first years at the Monastery, there were very few men who were treasurers of women’s religious groups, so it was always a bit surprising to see one or two men in this “sea” of women at these meetings. As is usual, when you arrive at the designated hotel, you register and pick up your nametag and packet of information. The days are generally filled with keynote speakers and then general sessions, where you can choose …

We cannot say enough about Neal Smith’s contributions to the sisters’ community over his twenty-five years with us. He has been a colleague, friend, member of the Bingen Community and Sunday Assembly, and “honorary sister.” We are grateful for his Benedictine heart and his commitment to the mission and vision of the community. Over the years, Neal has used his considerable skills in many ways to help us implement our vision. He developed and put into operation a ten-year master plan for the monastery which led, in part, to the restoration of 100 acres of prairie on the monastery grounds. …

Sister Martha Glaser, OSB, 92, died Saturday, May 14, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City, Iowa following a brief illness. Sister Martha was born Feb. 18, 1919, in Spalding, Nebraska, the daughter of John and Louise (Pfeifer) Glaser. She entered the Order of St. Benedict following her graduation from high school. Sister Martha was one of the three sisters who came to establish a new Benedictine home here in Madison. Over the years, she served as the food service director at St. Vincent’s Hospital and St. Monica Home, both in Sioux City, Iowa; St. Benedict’s Hospital in Sterling, Colorado; and …

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Sharon Colby, our new director of administration. Sharon has taken over some of Neal Smith’s duties as well as supervising the guest services department. She has extensive experience with non-profit organizational development and has worked at the local, state and national level, in addition to working in four different countries. Sharon worked most recently in New Mexico with the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. She first heard about Holy Wisdom Monastery in 1974 when she was a student at UW-Madison. She didn’t visit at that time, but she followed the place …

This article was submitted by Kathleen Norris and appeared in the April 2011 edition of Benedictine Bridge. I have a mixed response when someone says, “I write in order to express myself.” An element of self-expression may be necessary in the writing process, but only in the initial stages, fueling our entries in a diary or journal. But when writing is intended to communicate something to others, the writer becomes accountable to the reader, and writing becomes a spiritual discipline, with the Benedictine value of hospitality coming to the fore. If I am being hospitable as a writer, I want …