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Living at a Monastery, ft. former Sojourner Sarah Wilkin Gibart

Brooke MoriartyCommunity of Benedict, Living in Community, Monastic Life, Podcast Leave a Comment

Want to be the first to hear every new episode? Click here to sign up for email notifications! In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Wilkin Gibart, a member of Sunday Assembly, to explore her experience as a Benedictine Sojourner – living among the sisters and working with them for half a year! Journey with us as Sarah shares how she learned of the Benedictine Sojourner experience, what she gained, and how it helped her grow as she stepped into the next phase of her life. If you’re interested in learning more about the sisters’ community and upcoming experiences, …

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How Did You Become a Sister?, Ft. Sister Denise West

Brooke MoriartyCommunity of Benedict, Monastic Life, Myth busting, Podcast, Rule of Benedict, Women Exploring Community 6 Comments

Want to be the first to hear every new episode? Click here to sign up for email notifications! How do you imagine one becomes a monk? Is it something you plan or something you discover? Do you have to be religious your whole life before joining a monastery? Truth be told, there is no one answer. Our own sister’s community at Holy Wisdom Monastery have an array of unique stories that led them to their lives here in Middleton. In this episode, we sit with Sister Denise West and listen to her journey from a non-secular home in Tennessee to …

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‘Becoming Ecumenical: Bringing Christians Together,’ The Holy Wisdom Podcast

Brooke MoriartyCommunity of Benedict, Living in Community, Monastic Life, Podcast 1 Comment

Ecumenism is defined as “the principle or aim of promoting unity among the world’s Christian Churches.” Led by this strive for unity, Holy Wisdom Monastery has long been welcoming people of a variety of denominations and religions. Therefore, it made sense to sit down for a deeper look with the women who have led us here. Thus, this first episode of The Holy Wisdom Podcast features Sister Mary David Walgenbach and Sister Joanne Kollasch. They begin by sharing their early memories of meeting people from other denominations. Then, they regale some of the early stories that led to the monastery …

Looking Back: “The Last Word,” Arthur Dent, and the Rule (2000)

Brooke MoriartyBenedictine Bridge, Community of Benedict, Looking Back, Monastic Life, Rule of Benedict 1 Comment

Sister Bridget got the last word in many issues of Benedictine Bridge. For some, her writings were a favorite as she mingled Benedictine insight with straightforward thinking. It may even be a surprise to find this writing from the Ordinary Times 2000 issue of our newsletter bringing together Douglas Addams’ character, Arthur Dent, and the founder of western monasticism, St. Benedict. Let me say this about that: 1,500 years is a long time. Put another way, one thousand five hundred years is a mindbogglingly long period of time. Remember Arthur Dent? He was the guy wearing a bathrobe who hitchhiked …

Looking Back: ‘Ecumenical Monastic Life Offers Journey into a New Culture’ (2003) by Erica Thiessen

Brooke MoriartyBenedictine Bridge, Community of Benedict, Interfaith Relations, Living in Community, Looking Back, Monastic Life, Rule of Benedict 2 Comments

In 2003, Erica Thiessen was a novice of Benedictine Women of Madison. In Issue 12 of Benedictine Bridge from Ordinary Time 2003, she wrote this article reflecting on the value of Benedictine life in relation to her own experiences as a Mennonite. I have been journeying into different lands from almost before I was born. My parents were both Russian Mennonite immigrants to Canada. As a family, we traveled to Ghana and Trinidad where my father taught school. In ways, I became a pilgrim, and for much of my adult life, I have lived and worked around the world. Always …

Community of Benedict interview with Sister Joanne Kollasch, OSB

Holy Wisdom MonasteryCommunity of Benedict Leave a Comment

The Community of Benedict at Holy Wisdom Monastery brings together women and men from different faith traditions. Formed in response to people asking Sisters Mary David Walgenbach and Joanne Kollasch how they might belong to a community, the Community of Benedict began in 1981 as the first ecumenical community at the monastery. Others followed, including a change for the Sisters’ community itself in 2006. How did the Community of Benedict start? Sister Joanne: In 1966, the Sisters opened Saint Benedict Center, a retreat and conference facilityfor the promotion of Christian unity. This initiative was prompted by the ecumenical spirit of Vatican Council II in the …