Preparing the new land for prairie restoration, April 2014. The Wisdom Prairie Project, our current $1.9 million campaign to acquire and restore an additional 53 acres to native prairie and oak savanna, has experienced some great momentum in the past couple months. We have now raised $1,640,000 and have $260,000 to go. A member of our oblate community donated $25,000 to the project in honor of her late mother and step-father. Her mother used to enjoy walking on the grounds here. We also received a generous grant of $30,000 from the Madison Community Foundation, which encourages, facilitat es and manages long-term …
Friends of Wisdom Prairie
Educating Community Workday volunteers about the birds at Holy Wisdom Monastery on an early morning bird watching hike. Care for the earth is an important part of the mission at Holy Wisdom Monastery. This reverence for creation is a Benedictine tradition. Our efforts and the commitment of all those who help us preserve, maintain and restore this place go beyond green trends. For us, it is a way of life. We strive to use only what we need so that resources can be preserved for others. The sister’s recently embraced the idea of forming a Friends of Wisdom Prairie support organization to facilitate …
Many Ways to Volunteer at Holy Wisdom
Benedictine Sojourner volunteer Brenda Lisenby (left), makes beds with housekeeper Val Bunville. Do you have a few extra hours each week to help out at Holy Wisdom? Current volunteer needs for guest services include: Monastery receptionist, Fridays 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, includes greeting visitors, completing projects assigned by staff, making copies and more. Guest services assistant, Monday – Friday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, assist hospitality and event coordinator by scheduling personal retreatants, preparing envelopes for retreatants, adding data into our database (must be computer literate), filing and other projects. Kitchen assistant, Tuesday – Saturday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm …
Mindfulness Meditation
By Jane Ayer, Oblate candidate A retreatant meditates on the grounds of Holy Wisdom. Were he present today Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, would applaud Holy Wisdom Monastery, a setting where one finds peacefulness and an aura of centeredness, an ideal setting in which to deepen one’s practice of mindfulness meditation. Over 2,500 years ago the Buddha arrived at a doctrine and discipline for exploration which has become the path of practice leading to liberation from suffering and stress. Better said, perhaps, leading to a peacefulness and clarity of mind. The Buddha never claimed to be a God. There are no …
Farewell and Blessings
On April 15, 2014 sojourners, monastery guests, coworkers and sisters came together to say thanks and goodbye to four of the sojourers who lived in community with the sisters over the past 13 months.Four of our Benedictine Sojourners complete their time with us on April 21, 2014. Brenda Lisenby, Sarah Wilkin, Trish Stefanik and Vicki Wuolle have spent seven to thirteen months living in community, participating in and leading prayer, sharing in meals and leisure activities with the sisters and guests. We have been blest by their gifts as they have shared their lives with us and participated in various …
Holy Wisdom Trees Profess Rootedness
Estate “The Tree Care Specialists” maintains the trees high above the hermitages and throughout the grounds. Trees By Joyce Kilmer I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. There …
Volunteer Spotlight: Rick Dannemiller
Rick Dannemiller provides invaluable maintenance help at Holy Wisdom Monastery.Providing maintenance for a ‘green’ monastery, the retreat and guest house, the hermitages and the sister’s homes, can be an overwhelming job for the one-person maintenance department at Holy Wisdom. In March, 2013 I began to look for a volunteer to assist the maintenance manager. Thinking it would be impossible to find a person to provide skilled help, I placed an announcement in the Wisconsin State Journal How to Help column. I received three responses including one from Rick Dannemiller. Rick impressed me by telling me about his career as a maintenance mechanic …
The Prairie Has Much to Teach Us
The prairie teaches us to take time to slow down, develop and nurture deep roots. The prairie has much to teach us. During the winter months prairie plants experience an important period of dormancy. With spring will come a rush of new growth, but first the prairie rests, gathering strength, while nature lies in a deep freeze. What a privilege to be surrounded by the restored Wisdom Prairie lands here at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Restoration of native species provides spaces with unique beauty, a balm for souls and healing and care for the natural environment, especially our precious lakes. Prairie …
Community Workdays Provide Opportunities to Help
Help spring clean the prairie at an upcoming Community Workday. (Photo by Brit Cerdena) One Saturday per month, Paul Boutwell, groundskeeper and restoration ecologist at Holy Wisdom, holds a workday so that volunteers who enjoy helping on the prairie and grounds or with cleaning tasks can provide help. Held April through November, the day starts out at 8:30 am when participants meet in the monastery gathering area. Introductions and a synopsis of the tasks to be accomplished are shared. If participants wish, they can start the day with community prayer at 8:00 am on the lower level of the monastery building. Paul …
Update on Wisdom Prairie Project
Prairie land and oak savannas greatly reduce phosphorous runoff into our lakes, as compared to agricultural land. The newly acquired land (above) is currently planted with corn. It’s seemingly a quiet time of the year on the prairie. The phone call and email inquiries about the parcel the sisters purchased in September 2012 have gone the way of the birds for the winter. However, the Wisdom Prairie Project fundraising efforts continue, despite the long winter months. As of this issue of Benedictine Bridge, we have raised over $1.5 million on our way to the $1.9 million goal to help cover both the acquisition and restoration costs of …