Ink & Insight Mindful Writing Circle
2026-06-07 10:15 - 12:15 (America/Chicago) | Holy Wisdom Monastery, 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, 53562, United States
Join us for a quarterly gathering that blends creative writing and mindfulness in a supportive, inclusive space. Whether you identify as a writer or simply enjoy exploring your inner voice, this group offers you a gentle rhythm of reflective writing (with optional prompts), sharing in community, and contemplative practices like guided meditation and mindful walking outdoors, weather permitting.
Come as you are. No experience needed — just a willingness to pause, listen, and write. You’ll leave with new words, insights, and connections.
Dates/Times – Sundays from 10:15 am-12:15 pm

Jan. 25
Mar. 1
Jun. 7
Nov. 1

Schedule

10:15 am – Welcome, housekeeping, and settling in
10:30 am – Guided meditation
10:45 am – Writing session #1 with optional small-group sharing
11:00 am – Contemplative walking and writing session #2
11:30 am – Writing session #3
11:45 am – Sharing in big group (optional)
12:15 pm – Close

Leader – Rebecca Jamieson

Rebecca Jamieson is the author of The Body of All Things (Finishing Line Press, 2017). She is the recipient of a 2025 Wisconsin Writers Award, the 2024 Tupelo Press Prose Prize, and is a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Rattle, The Offing, Mid-American Review, and Entropy, and she’s currently at work on a collection of personal essays. Rebecca lives on Ho-Chunk land in Madison, Wisconsin. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, baking, or cuddling her two cats.

Cost
$50/person
Registration
Limited to 25 people. Please register by June 4, 2026.

Sacred Queerness: Earth-Based Spiritual Retreat
2026-07-11 09:30 - 2026-07-12 11:30
SOLD OUT
We are grateful for all of the interest in this event. Registration for this experience is currently full. You can join the waitlist with this link.
Event Description
Queer and Trans people are a sacred part of the Earth, always have been, and always will be. We invite LGBTQ+ people of all ages to join four local queer spiritual leaders and land stewards for a two-day, one-night healing retreat at Holy Wisdom Monastery. The retreat will hold time for writing and art, work with the restored prairie and savanna ecosystems that surround the monastery and an exploration of what we hold as sacred.
Recognizing the religious trauma many of us carry, we are defining the “sacred” in this retreat broadly as “that which is bigger than us” – our place in the world, community and how we find profound meaning. Sacred Queerness is open to people of any religious/spiritual path or none and participants will be asked to protect and honor this diversity. In an unsafe and turbulent time, we will strengthen community bonds, connect with the local more-than-human world and affirm our place on Earth.
Please bring a journal and something to write with.
This retreat is for anyone who identifies as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. LGBTQIA+ people under 18 should attend with a trusted adult, who may be an ally.
Event Schedule
Saturday, July 11
9:30-10:00 am – Arrive and Mingle
10:00-10:50 am – Receiving Queer Wisdom – Poetry and Readings
11:00-11:50 am – Expressing Queer Wisdom – Journaling/Drawing
Noon-1:00 pm – Lunch in the Monastery
1:00-2:00 pm – Healed Land Heals Us – Walking Tour of the Prairie
2:00-3:30 pm – Caring for the Land – Restoration Work Project
3:30-5:00 pm – Free Time
5:15-6:15 pm – Dinner
6:30-7:30 pm – Nature Art
8:00 pm – Bonfire – Ritual Release and Joy Under the Stars
Sunday, July 12
8:00-9:00 am – Breakfast
9:00-10:00 am – Welcoming the Sacred – Outdoor Meditation or Ecumenical Worship
10:30-11:30 am – Closing and Group Photo

Speakers – Becca Bedell, Pam Shellberg, Rev. Manato Jansen and Rachel Young Binter

Becca Bedell (they/she) is a writer and a volunteer land steward with Friends of Wisdom Prairie and Dane County Parks. They serve as Basic Needs Advocate at OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center, coordinating housing and food assistance.

Pam Shellberg (she/her) is the Director of Spiritual Nourishment at Holy Wisdom Monastery, offering retreats and studies of spiritual traditions and practices. She is a homilist at the monastery and a spiritual director.

Rev. Manato Jansen (he/him) is a presider and homilist at Holy Wisdom Monastery. He serves as Director of Residential Community at Pres House (UW-Madison), facilitating LGBTQ+ spiritual communities and scholarship programs for students.

Rachel Young Binter (she/her) is the Director of the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery and a former campus pastor. She is an experienced retreat leader, certified therapeutic yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner who finds joy and healing in embodied care, the earth and acts of justice.

Cost
$200/retreatant. Cost includes lunch and dinner on Saturday as well as breakfast on Sunday. We understand the importance of this retreat and we do not want expense to keep anyone from attending. Scholarships are available to help cover registration fees, if needed.
Parents/Guardians must accompany minors on this retreat, but will only be responsible for the meal portion of the registration fee ($57).
Register
Please register by July 4, 2026. The maximum number of participants is 19 and registration will close when full. Once registration fills, we will have a waiting list in case a space becomes available.
Cancellation policy – if you register but must cancel your registration, you can receive a 75% refund up until July 4, 2026. After that, a 50% refund is available until the retreat starts.
After you register, if you would like to request a double room with another retreatant for a lower registration cost or if you have other questions about accommodations, please contact us at retreats@holywisdommonastery.org.
Registration is currently full. You can join the waitlist by clicking this link.

Listening to Land, Listening to Self: An Eco-Contemplative Writing Retreat
2026-08-29 09:00 - 2026-08-30 16:00
What does the land tell us when we truly listen?
How does a pesticide-sprayed lawn or a restored oak savanna affect our bodies and minds? In this two-day contemplative writing retreat, we’ll explore the role of writers in this time of climate crisis and discover how to grieve what is lost while finding strength and joy in what is possible.
We’ll use creative writing, mindfulness practices and the land at Holy Wisdom Monastery to connect with the wisdom that arises when we listen deeply to ourselves or a place. We’ll use periods of mindful awareness, writing, sharing, reading and discussion to explore the power of our words to create a liveable future.
You’ll leave with fresh writing, readings and tools to inspire your creative and contemplative practices, and connection to others who care about the more-than-human-world.
Schedule (subject to change)
Saturday

9:00-10:00 am – Welcome, introductions, and writing session
10:00-10:15 am – Break
10:15-11:15 am – Meditation, mindful writing instruction, optional sharing
11:15 am-12:00 pm – Mindful walking and writing outside
12:00-1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00-2:15 pm – Meditation, reading, and discussion
2:15-2:30 pm – Break
2:30-3:00 pm – Writing and optional sharing
3:00-3:45 pm – Dialogue with a more than human being (outside)
3:45-4:00 pm – Close

Sunday

9:00-9:30 am – Meditation
9:30-10:00 am – Writing
10:00-10:15 am – Break
10:15-11:15 am – Mirror walk with partner outside
11:15 am-12:00 pm – Writing and optional sharing
12:00-1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00-2:15 pm – Meditation, reading, and discussion
2:15-2:30: Break
2:30-3:30: Listening to land exercise (outside)
3:30-4:00: Closing ceremony

Workshop Leader – Rebecca Jamieson
Rebecca Jamieson grew up on the land between Spring Green and Dodgeville, where she spent countless hours exploring the rock outcroppings, woods, and fields. After 12 years living on the West Coast and New England, she now lives in Madison.

Rebecca is the author of the poetry collection The Body of All Things and is the recipient of a 2025 Wisconsin Writers Award, and the 2024 Tupelo Press Prose Prize. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Rattle, The Offing, The Mid-American Review and the anthology Driftless. She’s currently at work on a collection of personal essays.

When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, baking, or cuddling her two cats.

Cost
Commuter: $220/person

Includes Saturday and Sunday lunch.

Residential: $295/person

Provides overnight accommodations.
Includes Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch.

Early bird pricing: $35 off per package until June 1, 2026.
Register
Please register by August 20, 2026. The capacity of the program is 20 people and registration will close when full.
Cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, 75% of the cost is refundable before the August 20, 2026 registration deadline, and 50% of the cost is refundable after the registration deadline until the start of the program.
