Holy Wisdom Monastery to Become Net Zero Energy Campus by the end of 2024 Celebrates with Inaugural Spring Solar Tilt Event

Car McGinleyCare for the Earth, Net Zero Leave a Comment

March 28, 2024, Middleton, WI – Holy Wisdom Monastery is on track to produce 100% of its energy needs onsite from renewable resources by the end of 2024. Solar Spring Tilt 90 volunteers are needed to help tilt the new ground-mounted solar panels at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Join the Benedictine sisters, who are known for their radical hospitality, ecumenical monastery and care for the earth efforts, to celebrate their net zero journey with the inaugural Spring Solar Tilt event on April 17 from 1:15-2:15 pm, followed by an optional tour of the land from 2:15-3:45 pm. The new solar array …

Experiences at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Hospitality, Justice, Prayer & Worship, Sunday Assembly, Volunteers 2 Comments

Our mission is to weave prayer, hospitality, justice and care for the earth into a shared way of life. Here are some of the ways we invite you to live our mission with us. Prayer Holy Wisdom Monastery offers opportunity for spiritual growth every day of the week. Offerings include engaging in communal prayer, spending time in nature, attending a program or joining one of our spiritual communities, Oblates of Holy Wisdom Monastery, Center for Clergy Renewal or Sunday Assembly. Hospitality Our Benedictine tradition of hospitality means that all people are welcomed here as Christ. We invite you to experience this …

New savanna: seeded!

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Volunteers Leave a Comment

Submitted by Amy Alstad, director of land management and environmental education This Wednesday, a group of 30 volunteers and coworkers gathered to plant the newly-cleared oak savanna. Thanks to many helping hands, the task of planting 1.5 acres went quickly and was infused with a lot of joy and celebration. The work of the past three months has involved cutting, treating, hauling and burning a huge volume of buckthorn, honeysuckle and other invasive shrubs to restore the open, sunlit structure of a true oak savanna. Once cleared, the space was ready to receive the seed mix made up of 70+ species …

Holy Wisdom Monastery awarded to RENEW Wisconsin 2023 Clean Energy Honor Roll

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth 1 Comment

Jodi Jean Amble (Deputy Director RENEW WI), Erin Trondson (Executive Director of Holy Wisdom Monastery/ HWM), , Mark Hanson (volunteer and sustainable energy consultant), Sister Mary David (HWM Prioress), Neil Heskin (HWM Board Member), Toby Grabs (HWM Direcot of Operations), Josh Stolzenburg (CEO Northwind Solar), Niels Wolter (owner of Madison Solar Consulting), Sam Dunaiski (Executive Director RENEW WI) Submitted by Toby Grabs, director of operations Holy Wisdom Monastery’s new 300 kW solar array was selected for inclusion in RENEW Wisconsin’s 2023 Clean Energy Honor Roll. Images of Clean Energy Honor Roll projects were shown at RENEW Wisconsin’s 13th annual Energy Policy Summit. …

Julie Melton Receives 2022 Facilitator of the Year Award

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Sunday Assembly Leave a Comment

Julie Melton, of Madison, has received the Facilitator of the Year Award from the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW). Melton was recognized for her work at Holy Wisdom Monastery with prairie restoration as well as her environmental education programs.  “I love leading people to a better understanding of how birds are connected to the prairie plants and the whole environment,” she added. President Steve Sample noted that “through her efforts Melton has helped to maintain and increase the Eastern Bluebird population, key goals of our statewide organization.” A fifth grade teacher who got Melton excited about birds is why …

Holy Wisdom Monastery Receives Grant from the Wisconsin Office of Energy Innovation as they Commit to Net Zero Energy Project

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth, Press release Leave a Comment

July 22, 2022, Middleton, WI – The Benedictine sisters at Holy Wisdom Monastery received a $575,000 grant from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Office of Energy Innovation to help them achieve net zero energy consumption for their campus in Middleton. “This generous grant helps us launch a project to upgrade an aging HVAC system and install new efficient energy systems as we continue to Care for the Earth as part of the sisters’ mission which is rooted in the Benedictine values of stability and respect for all of creation,” explained Charles McLimans, CEO at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Details of …

A legacy of land conservation

Car McGinleyCare for the Earth Leave a Comment

As the sisters at Holy Wisdom Monastery celebrated the summer solstice on June 21, 2022 with the many communities that call the monastery home, Mike Carlson, executive director of Gathering Waters, presented the sisters’ community, Benedictine Women of Madison, with a Land Conservation Leadership Award. The sisters received the 2022 Land Legacy Award for their conservation efforts spanning nearly 70 years. “The Benedictine Women of Madison have created a thriving natural area that is a haven for native plants and animals, and a special place that visitors can experience and enjoy. Gathering Waters is grateful to the sisters for their …

Binoculars Available to Borrow While Exploring at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Hospitality Leave a Comment

Friends of Wisdom Prairie is pleased to share a new opportunity: Holy Wisdom now has binoculars available for all to borrow. Bird watching is a lovely activity that perfectly complements Benedictine spirituality. It invites you to appreciate the beauty of creation. It pairs well with silence, stillness and contemplation, and connects you to the many birds flourishing here as a result of our work caring for the earth. To borrow a pair of binoculars, visit the front desk in the Monastery building and speak with the porter (front desk volunteer). Binoculars are available Monday-Friday starting at 10:00 am and must …

Wisdom Barn Stabilization Update

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCare for the Earth Leave a Comment

Greeting Friends of Wisdom Barn, First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your gifts to support the renewal of Wisdom Barn. Some of you may have been watching the slow deterioration of this old barn for decades. Others have learned about Wisdom Barn in the last few months. All of you, I believe, have been able to see not just an old barn rotting away, but also the architectural and cultural treasure that has been with us all along, and the possibilities for what Wisdom Barn could be for the communities of Holy Wisdom Monastery. …

reSTORYation

Amy AlstadCare for the Earth, Friends of Wisdom Prairie, Justice, reSTORYation Leave a Comment

“Words and names are the ways we human build relationships” -Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss In this installment of reSTORYation, we invite you to deepen your connection to the land by exploring the place names given by others who have tended and honored this place. Phonetically spelled, Deyo-ha-waunee is the Ho-Chunk name for Lost Lake.  Lake Mendota is called Wonk-sheck-ho-mikla. These names derive from Ho-Chunk oral traditions which can be further explored in the 1927 publication Lake Mendota Indian Legends. (attached) The map below animates some of the oral tradition behind the local Ho-Chunk place names, as relayed to Charles …