Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Retreats”
We were immersed in monastery life. We attended prayer, ate meals with the sisters and other retreatants, and shared in chores. The fresh vegetables we harvested in the morning became the dinner we enjoyed in the evening. We helped with restoration efforts on the prairie and in the pines.
By Monica Jefcoat, Personal Retreat and Event Coordinator Holy Wisdom Monastery Have you ever noticed how time seems to go by more quickly as we grow older? I recently read an article that offered tips to combat this. First the author summarized this feeling is due to routine. When you’re younger, you experience more things that are new to you that make impressions on your memory and leave the perception of lengthened time. However, as we grow older we’re more likely to settle into familiar rhythms and patterns. These repeated actions are consolidated in the brain as one memory which in turn makes …
Want to be the first to hear every new episode? Click here to sign up for email notifications! Where can pastors and clergy leaders go for spiritual renewal and support? Being a leader in a faith tradition isn’t easy, and it can sometimes be difficult to find peers with the same calling. This need for connection and community naturally led to the formation of one of the newest communities at Holy Wisdom Monastery: The Ecumenical Center for Clergy Spiritual Renewal (ECCSR). Join us in this inspiring dive into the creation and meaning of the ECCSR experience with co-directors Reverend Nancy …
By Sister Gail Worcelo and Sister Gabriele Uhlein Rowing, it’s a great art. It’s the finest art there is. It’s a symphony of motion. And when you are rowing well, why it’s nearing perfection. And when you are nearing perfection, you’re touching the Divine. What is the spiritual value of rowing? …..The losing of the self entirely to the cooperative effort of the crew as a whole. ~George Yeoman Pocock People around the world are gathering in hubs, circles, and contemplative networks, attempting to embody a new possibility for our emerging humanity. Words like Resonant Fields, Divinized Humanity, Global Communion are arising in conversations everywhere. …
Amanda Conway (left) and Jill Carlson, ready to offer Benedictine hospitality at our Retreat and Guest House Amanda Conway lives by the Irish proverb, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.” The proverb fits well with her role as our new hospitality and event coordinator. We want overnight guests to get a long sleep and enjoy a good laugh with other guests and the sisters at meals. Amanda, a native of Monroe, Wisconsin, knew about Holy Wisdom from her work as a funeral director at Cress Funeral Home in Madison. “I knew the …
Members from the various communities at Holy Wisdom Monastery come together to celebrate Sister Joanne Kollasch’s 60 years of monastic profession. Sister Joanne sums up community living, “in community you receive so much more than you give.” (Photo by Kent Sweitzer) As I reflect on the year 2014, I’m amazed at all that has emerged at Holy Wisdom Monastery in one short year. What rises to the top for me is the sense of community. Community living takes many forms here, from the monastic community to the Sunday Assembly worshipping community, to the oblate community, to the volunteer community, the …
What is Wisdom? Maybe it is most helpful in starting with what Wisdom is not. Wisdom is not a philosophy, a teaching of beliefs and ideologies, or an esoteric metaphysical system to be studied. And it is not a New Age fad. Metaphorically, Wisdom can be portrayed as an underground stream that flows through all of the great religious/spiritual traditions. While this stream is not exclusively identified with any one of them, it can express itself at the deepest levels of all. Wisdom describes a “way of knowing”—a higher level of human consciousness—which is capable of directly engaging reality without judgment. It is …
Two of the great hungers in our age are the hunger for spiritual depth and the desire to live meaningful lives that make a difference in our broken world. Many people today find themselves longing for something that will not only address these strong desires, but that can also connect the two. Wisdom Schools have served throughout the course of human history to further spiritual development, thereby aiding in a shift towards a more compassionate human society. Drawing upon the 1500 year-old Benedictine daily rhythm of ora et labora(prayer and work), Wisdom Schools work to create in each participant an inner …
Rest, relax, renew on a personal retreat at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Retreats available for a couple of hours, a day, an overnight, a weekend or longer. Face it. Life is hectic. The job, the kids, extended family, home, bills, finances, friends, emails, texts, pets and other obligations all add up to make life full, but can also bring stress and anxiety to our bodies and minds. Taking time out for a personal retreat to provide some solitude in your life is necessary to reboot your coping mechanism and quiet your mind. Holy Wisdom offers overnight guest rooms and two hermitages …
What is PeerSpirit? Essentially, PeerSpirit is a way to share responsibility within a group. The sojourners chose this method to help us plan the Advent retreat. Using PeerSpirit Circle Guidelines, the group comes together as a “Circle” and has three components: a check-in, a conversation council and a check-out. A chime is used to signal a passage from one component to the other. The check-in allows for all to share how they come to the circle and is usually a question framed in reference to a song, a poem or some aspect of the planning task. There is no “cross-talk” …
