• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    Mindfulness can be a powerful tool to identify your physical, mental and emotional habits and needs. Becoming more familiar with your own mind and its patterns can help you relate more directly to whatever is happening in your life – including difficulty and pain – and discover greater balance and ease. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was created in 1979 and has been widely taught and scientifically studied around the world; research has shown positive improvements in physical and psychological symptoms. Good news: you don’t need to “clear your mind.” You don’t need special equipment. This class will focus on practice; ...

    $410
  • Shinrin-Yoku: Walks for the Weary

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    Join us for a relaxing walk on the prairie at Holy Wisdom Monastery. It will be a slow-paced quiet walk guided by Valerie Vervoort, a certified Shinrin-yoku guide. The intent of this 90-minute walk is renewal through using our senses of sight, hearing, touch and taste. Invitations planned by your guide are easy and subject to each person's comfort level. Sharing and tea will be part of the experience. Participants will need to dress appropriately for weather conditions and be able to walk a mile and a half on trails that are sometimes uneven and include gentle slopes. Walking sticks ...

    $37 – $56
  • Getting ready for the November 3rd election presentation/discussion

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    Join the Social Justice Committee for Getting ready for the November 3rd election presentation/discussion. Topics include getting out the vote in November, what to know about the three amendments on the ballot and information about mail-in ballots. This event takes place after Sunday Assembly worship in the monastery boardroom. All are welcome.

  • Sacred Thresholds

    Sacred Thresholds
    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    Sacred Thresholds is a contemplative prayer gathering. We are living through a unique chapter in American history when our most cherished values seem threatened, indeed, our whole way of life. Each of us, in our own way, is asking, What can I do?, and the answers, so far, seem woefully inadequate to the challenge. It is in that same spirit of humility that we are offering Sacred Thresholds as our answer to that question. Woefully inadequate, yes, small, but genuine, offered in a communal spirit, coming together to make a circle, to pray, in old ways and in new ways, ...

    Free
  • Centering Prayer Groups – 1st Wednesday

    Centering Prayer Groups
    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    Centering Prayer Groups All are welcome to join our two centering prayer groups which meet on alternating Wednesdays. Both incorporate a short reading and time for silent prayer or meditation. 1st and 3rd Wednesdays 7:00-8:00 pm Retreat & Guest House Room 10 Includes a short walking meditation in between periods of seated meditation For more information contact Barb Abbott, 608-284-7424 2nd and 4th Wednesdays  2:30-3:30 pm Monastery Oratory – Two, 20-minute periods of seated meditation with a 5-minute break For more information contact Carole Kretschman, 608-577-3243 We feel the presence of the Holy One even more strongly than when we center ...

    Free
  • Conversations About Our Benedictine Life: Silence

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    The mission of Holy Wisdom Monastery is to weave us together in a shared way of life. These conversations are an opportunity to learn more about Benedictine spirituality, about the Rule of Benedict, and to talk with others about the gifts and challenges of living a Benedictine life. During the time together, we will contemplate short readings about silence, have an experience of it, and learn the practices that help to deepen the experience of it. We grow together in our shared life way of life through small and large group conversations. Participants can expect a flow of silence, reflections ...

    Free
  • We Shall Overcome: Wisdom from Rev. Joe Ellwanger – CCR Celebration of Ministry Luncheon

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    In the current political and social realities, people of faith are increasingly feeling called beyond the walls of the church to stand courageously alongside people facing oppression and injustice, but how do we sustain that effort over time? Join the Center for Clergy Renewal at Holy Wisdom Monastery for a lunch and conversation with Rev. Joseph Ellwanger. Pastor Joe began a prophetic public witness during the first Civil Rights Movement alongside Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., continued that witness through community care and advocacy work at his second congregation, Cross Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, and at 93, is still ...

    $15 – $40
  • Conversations About Our Benedictine Life: Silence

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    The mission of Holy Wisdom Monastery is to weave us together in a shared way of life. These conversations are an opportunity to learn more about Benedictine spirituality, about the Rule of Benedict, and to talk with others about the gifts and challenges of living a Benedictine life. During the time together, we will contemplate short readings about silence, have an experience of it, and learn the practices that help to deepen the experience of it. We grow together in our shared life way of life through small and large group conversations. Participants can expect a flow of silence, reflections ...

    Free
  • Fall Fallowing: A Seasonal Retreat

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    A changing landscape palette...the final harvests from the garden...the departure of migratory creatures...these seasonal milestones are reminders to notice and integrate past growth, honoring it for its role in nurturing future growth. This fall retreat invites you to pause and mark transitions – on the prairie and in your own life and heart. It will hold space for attention to both. Conversations about the season, walks on the prairie, naps, art, movement, journaling, great meals and welcoming accommodations will all be a part of what you can expect when you arrive. A renewed connection to nature and to yourself, along with ...

    $260 – $295
  • Holy Wisdom Monastery Annual Meeting

    Holy Wisdom Monastery 4200 County Road M, Middleton, WI, United States

    Join us on Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 10:15 am for the Holy Wisdom Monastery community-wide Annual Meeting. We invite you to attend virtually via Zoom, or in-person in the monastery dining room. Coffee and pastries will be available for in-person participants. Whether you are a member of one of our communities or a curious supporter, we welcome all to join us. You will hear from sisters and coworkers about Holy Wisdom's mission, financial position, future priorities and other projects around the monastery. Schedule 9:00 am - Sunday Assembly (all are welcome) 10:15 am - Annual Meeting begins 11:45 am - ...

    Free