Sister Joanne often says, “Building community is one of the things we do around here.” Indeed it is. You could say we are passionate about building community at Holy Wisdom Monastery. In the sisters’ community and the oblate community, in Sunday Assembly, among coworkers, Benedictine Sojourners and Friends of Wisdom Prairie—we seek to foster personal connections where people can find a welcome acceptance for who they are and a vibrant place to give and receive personal gifts and experience the divine.
Sisters Lynne Smith, Rosy Kandathil, Joanne Kollasch and Mary David Walgenbach (l-r) enjoy lighter moments together along with the work of building community.
Many people today express a desire for community in a society where they experience so much divisiveness and isolation. Here at Holy Wisdom, we know we need each other for growth and fullness of life. Participating in the give and take of community rubs off our rough edges and calls forth talents we didn’t know we had. Building community takes time, patience, lots of listening and dialogue, the hard work of forgiveness and reconciliation and not least, an openness to what the Spirit desires to do among us.
The sisters come together in community with the women who live with us as Benedictine Sojourners. Together we walk along the road of self-exploration and growth. We journey together for six months. Through our conversations in the morning around a book we read together or at the end of the day around cups of tea, we each come to a deeper understanding of who we are in God’s love.
What a joy it is to work together in the garden, kitchen or office where we can give our gifts and feel a sense of contributing to something bigger than ourselves. Woven throughout our days are the reading and listening to the scriptures in lectio divina and the Liturgy of Hours. We hear that still small voice of God whispering love and calling us to enlarge the space in us for that love to grow.
I am energized by shared insights and all the growth that happens throughout this journey. With joy I welcome you to share in our passion for building community together.
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Learn more about the sisters community: About our community
Learn more about all the communities of Holy Wisdom: All are welcome at Holy Wisdom Monastery
Read other posts in this series: Building community