The IRA Charitable Rollover provision now allows individuals who have reached age 70½ to donate up to $100,000 to charitable organizations directly from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA), without treating the qualifying charitable distribution as taxable income. This is a great opportunity for individuals in their 70s to plan their charitable giving every year. A qualifying IRA rollover gift can count toward taking the annual required minimum distribution. This direct rollover provision first appeared in the Pension Protection Act in 2006 as a temporary measure. On December 18, 2015, Congress passed the PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes) making the provision permanent. The …
Gifts woven through time
When Pat Hilts responded to a posting on a bulletin board in the Home Economics Building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) campus in 1976, she had no idea that she was about to enhance the lives of many people for years to come. “The posting was from a place called St. Benedict Center and they were looking for someone to do some weavings for the monastery,” says Pat. “I had been spinning wool and weaving since 1968 so I decided to answer the ad.” Pat met with Sisters Mary David Walgenbach and Joanne Kollasch and Frank Kasmarcik, a consultant …
Unraveling and coming home
by Brad S. Lutz, oblate class of 2000 In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy performs a simple magic spell: she clicks the heels of her magic slippers and repeats, “There’s no place like home….” Walking through the doors of Holy Wisdom Monastery does not require magic but it is an enchanting homecoming. The familiar sounds of bells and psalms, the warm embrace of the monastery’s communities gladden my heart—it’s like I’ve never been away and nothing has changed. Truth is, however, I live a long way from this amazing place and it is increasingly expensive to travel. Truth is, connections …
Even the smallest members practice a form of contemplative prayer
by Colleen Hartung, Sunday Assembly member Holy Wisdom Monastery is known as a place formed by the Benedictine values of contemplative prayer and silence. Yet, almost every Sunday, the monastery’s hospitality room—located just off the Sunday Assembly gathering space—is alive with the sounds of children playing and praying. As a response to their baptismal promise to be an example of God’s presence in the lives of its youngest members and their commitment to hospitably welcome all who come to the table, Sunday Assembly participants are engaged in a lively ministry to families and children. On the first and third Sundays of …
Lectio and listening
by Ellen Joyce, Oblate class of 2014 I was the kind of kid who always had a book in her hand, even (or perhaps especially) when I was supposed to be cleaning my room or setting the table. Later, I was drawn to the study of medieval manuscripts and more generally the history of books, and now I even teach college classes on those topics, emphasizing along the way the great pleasures that reading has to offer. So it has been a surprise to me to find that lectio divina (divine reading) seems like a lovely idea in principle, and something I was eager …
The Moment is Fleeting—Sandy Wojtal-Weber
“All of us have an innate ability to be present in the moment—before our thinking mind gets involved,” says fine arts photographer and clinical social worker Sandy Wojtal-Weber as she explains the process of taking the photos featured in the upcoming art exhibit at Holy Wisdom Monastery. The photos displayed are of first perceptions—beauty found in ordinary things. Sandy started her adult life in a religious community for four years, teaching in a parish, but left the community and went back to school in social work. She worked in inner city Chicago for eight years, while earning a graduate degree in …
Update on sustainable building operation at Holy Wisdom
by Mark Hanson, director of sustainable services, Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction, Inc Update, February 24, 2016: Last November, the Holy Wisdom community decided to begin a new phase of living sustainably. Specifically, we decided to begin using the monastery and retreat and guest house as a living laboratory during the winter of 2015/2016. That included adjusting some temperatures lower during the winter months in different spaces and measuring the impact on energy use and cost. We said that we would monitor the results and report the findings as the monthly bills came in. We have been monitoring the results and …
New opportunities in Sunday Assembly
by Joyce Wodka, Sunday Assembly Council chair One of the duties of the Sunday Assembly Council is to oversee and participate in the work of the committees that carry out the mission, vision and aims of Sunday Assembly. At the winter general meeting that was open to all participants of Sunday Assembly, the Council shared information on some of the great programs that are happening at the monastery. Through these informational meetings, the Council was not only able to present information and recruit volunteers to help in some of the new ministries, but to also brainstorm with some of the …
Changes and chances
by Nancy Breitsprecher, Oblate class of 2002 Despite the pressure to live in the “now,” my gratitude is to Holy Wisdom Monastery and the oblate program that have led me along through my later years. Back in the 1980s I visited Saint Benedict Center—attending a few retreats, browsing the library as a new preacher.Becoming an oblate is to take a particular path through the “changes and chances of this mortal life,” as noted in many older books of common prayer. In 2001 my husband Paul and I came to a retreat and learned about Holy Wisdom Oblates. I was 70 at …
A call to justice: Benedictine perspectives on listening, right relationships and public witness
The Oblate retreat, February 19-21, 2016, brought together 66 Oblates of Holy Wisdom, women and men from near and far, to learn from the sisters about the ways justice is expressed in Benedictine life through listening, right relationships and public witness. The following reflections come from a presentation given by Joanne Kollasch, OSB, on February 19, 2016 (pictured above). Today if you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart. —Prologue, Rule of Benedict There are many ways to hear God’s voice if we are silent and listening, if we are able to “welcome one another with the courtesy of love.” …