Help us complete our mulching efforts in the Memorial Courtyard.

We have two upcoming opportunities as we finish our planting preparations in the Memorial Courtyard:

Donate your cardboard – we are in need of A LOT of cardboard! Flattened boxes can be dropped off at the monastery maintenance garage (triple garage doors at the back of the building) or at Dr. Amy Alstad’s office. Please no shiny or waxy cardboard and no cardboard smaller than 10 x 10 inches. Bonus points if you’ve removed packing tape, mailing labels and staples.

Lend a helping hand – volunteer at our workday on Thursday, August 26th at 9am. Meet us in the Memorial Courtyard to help mulch the remaining area.

Contact Dr. Amy (aalstad@holywisdommonastery.org) with questions.

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Although I just turned 72, when I think of summer, visions of getting out of school and having months to run around outdoors and also work alongside my parents in field and garden come to mind. How glorious to have such freedom to be outside.

At the monastery, many volunteers, Paul Boutwell and I will be enjoying that freedom together—being outside and looking after the sisters’ bounty of land and nature. It’s truly a great adventure implementing this grand plan to restore all of the fire communities of southern Wisconsin at Holy Wisdom Monastery; prairie, savanna and oak woodlands. To date, the sisters and their many helpers have restored well over 100 acres of prairie, and have started on the restoration of savanna and oak-hickory forest.

Last November, we planted 20 acres of prairie and in May this year we planted another nine acres. We had a new storm water detention facility installed in the old soy bean field where the nine acres were planted in May. Prairie seeds were planted on the berms that form the stormwater detention facility and wet prairie seeds will be sown in the basin in November this year. So far this spring, a lot of weeds have come up in those newly sown prairies; mostly lambs quarter and a few bull thistles. We will have to mow these weeds off to about 10 inches in July to let light into the newly emerging prairie seedlings. In our walks over these new prairie areas, we have seen about a dozen prairie plants we can recognize and many other non-descript little greenies that will be our prairie in a few years.

Another project that we have expended a lot of energy on is the removal of weedy trees and shrubs from the old fence rows and along the Highway M right-of-way that borders our new prairies. We removed them so they do not drop their seeds in the new prairie and overwhelm the little prairie plants. Also, by removing the trees and shrubs, we eliminate the shade and root competition so the new prairie can develop properly.

Then there is the constant effort to control the most aggressive of the exotic invaders such as garlic mustard, and reed canary grass. There is no shortage of work.

I have given several tours of the older prairies at the monastery this spring and, this gives me hope for the future. If you had a chance to see the display of lupine in the Mendota Prairie just east of the monastery building, you know what I mean.

This large task of restoring the ecological integrity of the sister’s land makes me feel fulfilled and I know we are doing the right thing. We are a part of God’s creation and caring for that creation must be a good thing.

I hope you will find time to come and visit Holy Wisdom Monastery this summer. Better yet, sign up for one of the volunteer work days and be a part of this good work.

The post Nature Notes Summer 2015 appeared first on Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Early last summer we were out of town for over a week and returned to find pumpkin vines proliferating in our garden. I had not planted any pumpkin seeds—or so I thought! When I traced the giant vines back to their source I found one, single volunteer—a plant that grew from the seeds of last year’s Halloween pumpkin casually tossed into the garden as compost. Such garden volunteers can be a wonderful surprise! Equally surprising might be the benefits of volunteering in the garden, orchards and prairie at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Gardening is a life-giving pursuit in so many ways. Selecting seeds and planning a garden during the cold, late-winter months gives us hope and expectation of the warm days ahead. The first time we can actually smell the earth again is one of the welcome signs of spring. Getting our hands into the warming earth is even better! And then the wonderful rewards of watching the first green shoots appear, seeing the blossoms turning into fruits and vegetables, and finally experiencing the incredible taste of that first fresh strawberry or the first real tomato, straight from the garden. Could it get any better?

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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 the care for the earth at Holy Wisdom Monastery. This group of caring people will volunteer on the grounds, learn ecological land management skills and apply these skills, take part in guided grounds tours throughout the seasons, attend lectures by experts, go on outings to other natural areas and of course socialize with other Friends at events and meetings.

For the remainder of 2014, membership in the Friends of Wisdom Prairie is free. In the future, an annual membership fee, between $30-$40, will be charged. Of course you can support the work of the organization at a higher level if you wish.

A Friends of Wisdom Prairie Council has already been formed, and these people are working diligently to provide enjoyable activities and programs for the membership. The first event is scheduled for June 8, 2014 starting at 10:30 am, right after Sunday Assembly worship. This will be a Walk and Talk tour of the prairie and a chance to look at the new parcel of land the sisters acquired. Other events will be communicated to members in the future.

The sisters and the Friends of Wisdom Prairie Council would like to cordially invite you to join the Friends of Wisdom Prairie. Help us love this piece of land and have a good time doing it. Please click here to join online, or contact me at friends@benedictinewomen.org, 608-836-1631, x123 to let me know that you would like to join us in this great adventure to care for the earth.

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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 and2:00 – 6:00 pm, assist monastery chef with prepping food, setting tables, washing dishes, processing garden and orchard produce (summer/fall).
• Housekeeper helper, Monday – Wednesday, 9:00 – 11:00 am, assist monastery housekeeper with cleaning guest rooms, hermitages and monastery.

Volunteer for four hours and we provide lunch Tuesday – Saturday! Contact Jill Carlson, 608-836-1631, x108, orjcarlson@benedictinewomen.org if you can help.

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This summer between June 10 and July 6, 2013 the sisters will welcome single women from various backgrounds to experience life in the monastery as Volunteers in Community. In the six years we have offered this program over 30 women have prayed with us, worked on the monastery grounds, and shared their stories with us. We have been challenged and enriched by the vitality and the faith they bring. If you know a woman who might be interested in becoming a volunteer this year, tell her about the monastery and have her contact Ann Moyer at amoyer@benedictinewomen.org or 608-836-1631 x197. Deadline for applications is May 17, 2013.

Here is what the experience has meant to past participants:

“I was given the gift of inspiring women who are committed to their faith journeys.”
– Jesse 2009

“One thing I loved about the work was that we did what we could in the time we had and then when it was time to go in for prayer – we set it aside and learned to be content with what we were able to do. It often felt more about the process than the product.”
– Lyndi 2010

“Community meals were a lot of fun and a great opportunity to meet the members of the community and guests to the monastery.”
– Betsy 2011

“I am so grateful for the wonderful volunteer experience at Holy Wisdom Monastery and my time spent with the Benedictine Women of Madison. I feel that my heart has been expanded to receive God’s love in new and different ways.  I enjoyed all the tasks and environmental work. Doing it gave my mind a break from all the questions and wonderings that were forming from my new life at Holy Wisdom, the books I was reading and the conversations that were developing as a result of living in community. I have had an awesome time!”
– Hershey 2012

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by Elizabeth A. Elliott
Originally published May 8, 2012 at www.BustedHalo.com, reprinted with permission

Connection. It is something everyone desires and in today’s world it seems to happen 24/7 through the Internet and social media.

But there are people who yearn for a different, deeper connection — with God, with nature, and with each other. Sara Jo Emmerich, a 30-year-old who lives in Washington, D.C., found that connection at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin.

It was there, as part of the Volunteer in Community program, that Emmerich discovered a solution for the breakdown between her spirituality and the rest of her life that she was experiencing.

“I was in seminary at the time and feeling a real disconnect between the academic study and the actual living out of my faith,” Emmerich said. “I remember walking out of one class really feeling this discomfort when I saw an advertisement for the Volunteer in Community program on the bulletin board.

“The images of working in the prairie, in the garden, and gathering together in community for prayer spoke exactly to what I felt was missing. I have always been interested in monastic life, and this felt like a safe place to explore that interest.”

Emmerich said working with other women on prairie restoration, landscaping and gardening were moments of spiritual growth.

“We all felt we were growing and empowered as we rode around in pick-up trucks, dug out invasive plants and split wood,” said 30-year-old Sara Jo Emmerich.

It might sound strange that these physical chores inspire a deeper spirituality. But balanced with daily prayer and life in community they are the embodiment of the 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition in the 21st century. And Emmerich’s sense of longing for a deeper relationship with God was her reason for trying out Benedictine spirituality.

“There is a spiritual hunger that many of us carry, and sometimes the institutional church does not fill that hunger,” she said. “While Benedictines have been around since the 500s, the lifestyle is counter-cultural enough to shake us out of our spiritual ruts.”

“What women experience is a way to bring prayer, simplicity, balance, hospitality and care for the earth into their lives, or to deepen those values,” said Sister Lynne Smith, OSB, director of membership and monastic formation at Holy Wisdom Monastery. “Participants find time and space to reflect on their lives, to nurture their relationship with God and to serve in community.”

Emmerich’s family and friends were ultimately supportive of her decision to participate in the Volunteer in Community program in 2009 and 2011, but they definitely had some questions.

“They did not quite understand why I wanted to stay there,” she said. “Many of my friends were a little jealous and others were merely interested in what the experience would be like. A few were surprised that the sisters did not wear habits nor were they cloistered from the world.

“Many were a little miffed when they saw that I could still do things like send e-mails and get on Facebook at the end of the day,” she added. “It was hard for them to place monastic life within a world that looked very much like the world we all live in.”

While they still had access to TV and the internet, Emmerich said she was much more unplugged from her typical routine — because of daily prayer as well as spending the day working outside — and “able to more intentionally interact with the world on a more real and vibrant level.”

Spirit of hospitality

The volunteer programs at Holy Wisdom Monastery provide young women with moving experiences of how the sisters live out another important part of Benedictine spirituality: hospitality.

“That hospitality is expressed in reverence and respect for all people,” Smith said. “Benedictine communities often have retreat centers where people are welcomed for rest and renewal.”

Experience Benedictine Life at Holy Wisdom Monastery

Benedictine Sojourners: Experience an inclusive Benedictine community and follow monastic principles. Six to 12 month opportunities (renewable up to two years.) Stipend and health insurance provided. Applications are currently being accepted.

For more information on either program you can e-mail Sister Lynne Smith.

“Our own community has welcomed immigrant and refugee families to live with us as they move to this country,” she added. “It is the practice of hospitality that led us to become an ecumenical community.”

In addition to the short-term Volunteer in Community program, Holy Wisdom Monastery also offers the Benedictine Sojourners program, a chance for extended time living in community at the monastery.

“Benedictine Sojourners is an opportunity for single women to live, learn, pray, and work with us at Holy Wisdom Monastery for six to twelve months, even up to two years,” Smith said. “Women will live with the sisters, pray and eat with us and serve in our work and ministry.”

Benedictine Sojourners participate in daily communal prayer and may also become prayer leaders if they have skills in that area. In addition to sharing in reflection on spiritual reading with the community, the Sojourners work 30 hours per week at the monastery and take part in discussion on aspects of spirituality. They also work in the gardens, orchards and the prairie, depending on the time of the year.

An experience living the Benedictine way at Holy Wisdom Monastery might be the answer to a sense of spiritual imbalance and might help young women seeking a more intentional faith life. For Emmerich and others like her, it certainly has.

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Volunteer(s) needed to rebuild monastery chairs. Holy Wisdom Monastery has many oak dining chairs that need repair. These chairs will last another few decades if we can find help to rebuild them. Several volunteers have already re-built some chairs and have developed a good set of instructions, as well as a list of needed tools (rubber or dead drop hammer, power screw driver, drill, clamps, etc). Volunteers should have the necessary tools and a place to work on the chairs. Interested? Contact Jan at (608) 836-1631 x123.

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