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.

• Talk with a trained spiritual guide.
• Come for a spiritual or environmental program.
• Participate in communal prayer.
• Worship with us on Sunday in person or online.
• Become an Oblate candidate.
• Take a Deep Breath retreat for clergy or apply for the Center for Clergy Renewal.

Hospitality

Our Benedictine tradition of hospitality means that all people are welcomed here as Christ. We invite you to experience this hospitality on a personal retreat, in our peaceful, contemplative spaces, by joining us for a meal, by bringing your group on retreat or celebrating your special event at the monastery.

• Come on a personal retreat. Enhance your retreat by borrowing our binoculars, yoga mats or snowshoes.
• Bring your group for a retreat, meetings or event.
• Celebrate your special events: weddings, baptisms, reunions, birthdays and retirements.
• Honor your loved one with a memorial service or funeral.
• Volunteer – foster a sense of hospitality for others.
• Join us for lunch or dinner as part of your retreat.
• Experience our meditation trail or explore our nature trails.
• Visit the monastery library or oblate library.

Justice

At Holy Wisdom Monastery, justice means living in right relationship and respecting ourselves, others and all of creation. Get involved today.

• Volunteer as a monastery porter and welcome all who come here.
• Give a financial gift to the monastery to continue the ministries of the sisters.
• Join the Sunday Assembly Social Justice Group.
• Support our partner organizations: Luke House, MOSES, Hispanic Ministries & SARTHI. Learn more on our Sunday Assembly page in the How to connect further section then under Social Justice Opportunities.
• Attend one or our programs or experiences focusing on justice.

Care for the Earth

Caring for the earth is part of our mission, rooted in Benedictine values of stability and respect for all of creation. The sisters have a long history of environmental stewardship and invite you to help with this work.

• Attend an environmental program or tour of Wisdom Prairie.
• Volunteer at our Wisdom Prairie Workdays, help us monitor our trails or take care of the courtyard.
• Bring your kids or grandkids to Kids on the Prairie.
• Support Wisdom Prairie.
• Join the Friends of Wisdom Prairie.
• Hike our nature trails that are open to the public.

Community

The sisters have a long history of forming a variety of communities at the monastery. We invite you to explore our communities and get involved.

• We welcome women of any Christian denomination to enjoy quiet contemplation in nature and the heart-centered joy of our inclusive, open-minded sisters’ community, the Benedictine Women of Madison at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
• All are welcome to worship with the Sunday Assembly, an open and affirming community where people from various Christian backgrounds come together to worship.
• The Oblate community meets regularly to help one another grow spiritually and to integrate Benedictine spirituality into their lives.
• Friends of Wisdom Prairie support caring for the earth through volunteering, donating and learning.
• Pastors find renewal through the gifts of Benedictine monastic spiritual and community in the Center for Clergy Renewal community.
• Our Young Adult Community offers unique experiences and friendship for young people. Contact YoungAdults@holywisdommonastery.org for more information. Register here.

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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 of flowers, grasses and sedges.

This part of the Monastery grounds, located just west of the main driveway, is notable for the many layers of stories it tells of human relationship to land. Effigy mounds built by Ho-Chunk ancestors are found in close proximity to a Military Road, which runs alongside stones cleared from agricultural fields by early colonist farmers. With the savanna restoration project, we are writing a new chapter in this ongoing story of place and people. The new chapter is guided by the sisters’ long-range management plan, which calls for restoring prairie, oak savanna and oak woodlands with the ultimate aim of creating a place where all people can experience nourishment from the dynamic beauty and mystery of creation.

We gratefully acknowledge support from Dane County Parks for donating the native seed mix and MG&E for the grant funding which allowed us to hire Emma Kloes to lead this restoration project.

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Dear Volunteers of Holy Wisdom Monastery, 

Words cannot express the value that volunteers have at Holy Wisdom Monastery. Over many years, you have supported this small community of sisters in their mission, and helped guide the monastery toward bringing Benedictine spirituality to the greater community. However you serve the monastery – on the prairie, in the kitchen, at Sunday Assembly, on a committee, as a spiritual guide, at the front desk or elsewhere – know that you are always welcomed and needed here. As coworkers, we look to you for the wisdom, energy and talents that you bring to Holy Wisdom Monastery. We can’t do what we do without you! Some coworkers and sisters have been invited to share their personal words of gratitude:

“I see the fingerprints of volunteers on just about every square inch of Wisdom Prairie. And when I think of all of the volunteer time that has been spent lovingly and generously tending the grounds, I am moved almost beyond words of gratitude… 

It is an absolute honor and privilege for me 

… to carry forward the efforts of the many volunteers who came before me 

… to work joyfully alongside the volunteers of today 

… and to tend this space so that a new generation of volunteer stewards may further our work

I am deeply grateful for every single one of the volunteers whose contributions have made Wisdom Prairie a place of silence, healing and beauty.” –Amy Alstad, director of land management and environmental education

“The amazing volunteers is one of the things that first stood out to me when I started at Holy Wisdom five years ago. The warm welcome from the volunteers was equally impactful as the warm welcome from the coworkers and felt, and still feels, one in the same. Each and every volunteer makes the monastery a richer place to spend time; everyone brings their own individual gifts, talents, passions and enthusiasms to the good community that we have here and the good that we all are able to do. And much of the good that we do is only possible with the amazing contributions from the volunteers. Thank you volunteers for making Holy Wisdom a better place to work and a better place where we all can do God’s work.” –Toby Grabs, director of operations

“My heartfelt thanks to all our Sunday Assembly liturgical ministers – homilists, presiders, cantors, lectors, communion ministers, greeters, choir members, instrumentalists, sacristans, technology assistants, hospitality helpers; communion bread bakers, our prayer leaders who assist at the sisters’ daily Liturgy of the Hours prayer; our Sunday Assembly Council members and all the folks who serve in our various committees and activities. Without you, Sunday Assembly and the mission and vision of the sisters’ community could not exist, could not thrive and could not witness as a beacon of Benedictine spirituality!” –Lynn Lemberger, director of worship and music 

“The sisters’ community at Holy Wisdom Monastery has always been small, however, volunteers have worked alongside the sisters in prayer and work to magnify their Benedictine charism. Today the community of communities is made up of five vibrant and thriving communities in which volunteers are integrated into the life of each of the communities. The sisters are the heart of the community, and the volunteers are the lifeblood.” –Charles McLimans, CEO

“We truly could not host events or groups at Holy Wisdom Monastery without our volunteers. It takes a team to make these events and retreats successful and our volunteers play a vital role in that. We are so thankful that they are part of our team!” –Brooke Miller, guest services manager

“I just wanted to say I couldn’t do my job without the volunteers’ help. A big thank you to all the volunteers – I appreciate you all.” –Cortez Mitchell, groundskeeper

“Simply put, volunteers allow the sisters’ mission to thrive. Their shared gifts are realized out on the land, within the communities and throughout the ministries at Holy Wisdom Monastery. The unique talents, personalities and wisdom of our passionate volunteers, create a special culture and amplify the Benedictine values we each share in our heart and actions. Our love and admiration of those willing to share of their time and talent – of past and present volunteers – are felt today and will ripple for generations.” –Amy Ryan, director of mission advancement

“I want to express appreciation for the volunteers who are at the reception desk every day in the monastery. They truly manifest the spirit of Benedict’s porter at the door, welcoming every one – guests, coworkers, other volunteers – with a spirit of gratitude and graciousness. Always good conversation partners, I have received so many tips, “heads up’s,” insights, and ideas from all of them. 

Volunteer leaders are essential to the mission of the monastery because they represent the diversity of the greater community and as such generate a dynamic and creative energy while at the same time being a grounding and stabilizing force for the whole. Their commitments contribute to stability as well as to our generative beauty!” –Pam Shellberg, director of spiritual nourishment

“Over the years, I have worked with volunteers in the kitchen, in the oblate community, as spiritual guides, on the land, at the front desk, in the garden, at events, at Sunday Assembly. Holy Wisdom monastery would not be what it is today without the generosity, hospitality and commitment of hundreds of volunteers who share their gifts and talents here. Because we are a small community, we invite others to be part of the mission and life of the monastery. As Sister Joanne says, Benedictine spirituality only comes alive in people who live it. Our volunteers embody Christ’s hospitality as they welcome others to prayer, to Sunday liturgy, to become oblates, to the land, to the monastery and retreat and guest house. When I see the care that our volunteers take to welcome new people to the monastery, I am inspired to live my Benedictine commitment more deeply. It isn’t just the work they do but the spirit they bring that radiates from them whether they are making beds, washing dishes, showing guests around, leading prayer, planting native shrubs, leading retreats, providing spiritual guidance, serving on boards and committees and so much more. Their commitment and joy shines through. Saint Benedict says we go to God together, I am grateful to be going to God in such a wonderful company of people. Thank you for being here!” –Sister Lynne Smith, OSB

“One of my favorite lines from Sister Joanne is that the monastery is a good place because the people who come here are good. I couldn’t agree more. I’m grateful for the many wonderful and talented people who express their gratitude and deepen their bond with the various people and communities here by contributing their time, expertise and efforts in all kinds of ways. Being such a small community of sisters, we wouldn’t be able to offer the ministries, the liturgies, the hospitality, the beauty that we do if it weren’t for each of the volunteers who show up in support of the work of the monastery. It would be a much different place if it weren’t for all of you who express your love of Christ and neighbor by participating in whatever way you can. I’m moved, humbled and grateful for your generosity and commitment. Thank you.”  –Sister Denise West, OSB

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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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When asked what first attracted her to Holy Wisdom, oblate and volunteer Phyllis Lobdell shares, “It’s the quiet and contemplative nature. What I was really attracted to when I read about it on the website was the Benedictine spirituality and having a certain rhythm to your life. And also kind of being accountable to a community.” Phyllis was living in Illinois at the time and became a regular retreatant at the monastery. Over time, she got to know the sisters and became an oblate candidate and started thinking to herself, “You know someday I’ll just move up there.” And so she did. 

Shortly after moving to Middleton in 2013, Sister Joanne Kollasch invited Phyllis to volunteer.  So she took an opening at the reception desk, working Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.  In between welcoming visitors and answering phone calls, Phyllis also helped the coworkers put together fundraising materials for the Wisdom Prairie project. “I enjoy being able to relieve a staff member from having to place a thousand stamps or stuff envelopes. There’s this welcoming and appreciation by the coworkers. It helps you feel like you belong, and if you make a mistake, it’s okay. You feel good when you’re helping someone, and then you get to go home at the end of the day!” she laughs. 

Phyllis also shares her talents as a qigong instructor each morning with the Ecumenical Center for Clergy Spiritual Renewal (ECCSR) pastors during their annual immersion at Holy Wisdom. Qigong is a practice of coordinated movements, breathing and balance that encourages practitioners to focus internally and manage their thoughts and bodies. A lifelong learner and educator, Phyllis gained certification as a shiatsu practitioner and qigong instructor after retiring from a career that spanned kindergarten classrooms, Air Force training, and federal education standards.

Since 2013, Phyllis has only missed a handful of Wednesdays at the front desk, tracking more than 1,600 hours of volunteering. She also serves on the Oblate Formation Circle and the Beacon of Benedictine Spirituality task force. “When you contribute some little thing, you just feel more a part of it, which has been really valuable to me. Working with others and on these task forces, you learn more about yourself and the monastery and its direction. You get to be a part of something bigger. And as Sister Joanne has often told us in the Oblate community, ‘Benedictine spirituality is not taught, it’s caught.’ So just being here, you get to inhale the Benedictine spirituality; the silence, the joy, the sisters, eating lunch. It’s just nice.”

Thank you, Phyllis!

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Volunteers help chef Barbara Wright, plate goodies for the Angel Tea. Pictured left to right, Sally McCoy, Barbara Wright, Mary Hoddy and Janice Collier. Photo by Janine Edwards.

A very successful outcome to the annual Holiday Fair and Angel Tea on November 8, 2015, is a testament to our volunteers! An English High Tea was served to 170 people and approximately 400 people mingled through the wares at the Holiday Fair. This event was carried out smoothly thanks to nearly 100 volunteers who contributed in a variety of different roles.

January, 2016 will be a very busy month here at the monastery. Over 300 people are scheduled to attend group retreats. In addition, 20 people are scheduled for personal retreats in the guest house and hermitages. This means there will be 1,615 meals prepared in our kitchen! But…don’t let the numbers scare you. Our weekends are full, but there are still opportunities for meetings and retreats during the week.

Volunteers are welcome, always needed and make a significant impact here at Holy Wisdom Monastery. If you have a few extra hours to help out as a volunteer, please call me at 608-836-1631 x108 or visit our web site atbenedictinewomen.org/support/volunteer/ to inquire about the wide array of opportunities.

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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.

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Holy Wisdom Monastery immediately came to her mind because of a visit she made here years ago. “An article in the Capital Times on the completion of the new building prompted a friend and me to explore the monastery and hike the trails. The serenity and beauty stayed with me and that’s why I applied for the volunteer monastery receptionist opportunity on the monastery website,” said Susan.

Shortly after beginning her volunteer shift on Fridays, Susan was hired as a page designer for Capital Newspapers, working with editors at newspapers throughout the state and across the country. She requested a schedule, however, that allows her to continue to volunteer on Fridays when she staffs the monastery reception desk, answering guest questions, updating mailing lists, helping with Sunday Assembly bulletins and other tasks.

During Susan’s second week of volunteering, preparations for a memorial service were occurring. Susan learned that the service was for the wife of her favorite high school English teacher who inspired her to attend college.

Susan enjoys witnessing the looks of joy and wonder when guests come for their first visit. She says the warm conversations with the sisters and guests during lunch provide an opportunity to reflect on gratitude and attitude.

Interested in volunteering at Holy Wisdom? Visit benedictinewomen.org/support/volunteer/ to complete a volunteer interest form.

________________________________

Read the entire May 2015 Benedictine Bridge here.

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Paraphrased from a document written by Ron Endres and Greg Armstrong for the Wisdom Prairie Planting Day

The Friends of Wisdom Prairie had a very successful prairie planting on nearly 20 acres of what was agricultural land.

We planted this prairie at this time of year so that the seed can over-winter in the soil and germinate in the spring. In general, this is the most successful time to plant. Fall plantings take advantage of cold moist conditions to break seed dormancy. We spread the seeds by hand so that the frost works the seeds into the soil, instead of breaking the surface with a disc (this could trigger the germination of weeds lying dormant below the soil surface). There were three separate efforts happening at the same time:

Bucket Line: Wayne Pauly, Dane County Naturalist, lead groups of 20-25 volunteers walking in lanes casting a mix of seeds and grasses contained in 5 gallon pails. These were species that we wanted to grow uniformly across the entire site and included: smooth penstemon, bergamot, common milkweed, rigid goldenrod, black eyed susan, and little bluestem grass.

Dry Prairie: Randy Hoffman, a recently retired Conservation Biologist with the DNR, lead a small group of volunteers that planted species of flowers and grasses that like dry, sandy soil, such as lupine, pasque flower, prairie dropseed, etc.

Medium Prairie: Nancy Schlimgen and Ron Endres assisted by Will Mann handed out the bulk of seeds being planted in different types of patterns and patches. They gave unique planting instructions with each species. These patches of flowers that bloom at different times of the year will give the prairie character.

Not much will be visible for the first two growing seasons. Native plants can take a number of years to break dormancy and set down roots. Some mowing will take place to let the warmth of the sun and light reach the soil. In about the third growing season many species will begin to show up. In 5 years it should really begin to take shape.

Learn about becoming a Friend of Wisdom Prairie

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Karen Bate has been caring for the bluebirds for 15 years. A Madison-native, Karen began coming here after the death of her daughter Robin. The bench at the top of the hill by the apple orchard is a memorial to Robin.

Paul Boutwell, monastery groundskeeper suggested Karen would enjoy caring for the 19 bluebird boxes located around the property. Karen quickly learned about bluebirds, their habits and predators and is a wealth of knowledge.

Before the bluebirds return from the south in March or April, Karen cleans the houses and checks them for damage. The houses are often inhabited by mice and other critters during the winter.

Once the bluebirds have returned, Karen monitors the houses weekly, recording the type of nest, number of eggs, number of hatchlings and the day the fledglings leave the nest. Sometimes a pair have a second brood and the adults wait until the fledglings leave the nest before flying off in July or August.

Unfortunately, it’s not just bluebirds who like to nest in the houses. “The vigilant and ever present tree swallow inhabits about one-third of the boxes,” explains Karen. Wrens, sparrows, and an occasional chickadee also like to call the boxes home.

On a recent walk with Karen to see some blue bluebird eggs up close, Karen opened the first box to find a very fancy nest created from feathers that had been built by wrens. Four tan eggs were in the nest. The next box that Karen opened found a sparrow nest with eggs. The third box yielded both happiness and sadness. A week earlier, Karen counted six bluebird eggs in this nest. The day we visited, there were only three, two of which had been pecked from the outside.

“I look for evidence of predation and often record losses of about a fourth of the eggs and young. The fiercest predator is the innocent looking house wren followed by raccoons, sparrows, blowflies, cats and snakes,” Karen says.

“I get a thrill every time I see a bluebird nest. Days later, I may see anywhere between one to six blue eggs. Finally, after three weeks, when I open the box and the tiny beaks pop up, my mothering instincts click in and I begin to take partial responsibility for their well-being. It is very exciting to get a “bird’s eye view” of the life cycle of the charming bluebird.”

Volunteer at Holy Wisdom Monastery! Contact Jill Carlson, 608-836-1631, x108, or jcarlson@benedictinewomen.org if you can help.

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