• Native Plant Sale

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

    Native Plant Sale & Fundraiser Make your garden a beautiful, vibrant landscape while supporting birds, bees, butterflies, and other native wildlife! Gardening with native plants is a wonderful way to decrease water and nutrient usage, create environments with plants that bloom throughout the seasons, and provide critical resources to winged, crawling, and hopping wildlife. This spring, when you order native plants through our special Native Plant Sale with Johnson’s Nursery out of Menomonee Falls, you get native plants delivered to Middleton, WI or the eastside of Madison on May 17, AND 15% of the sale totals go to Holy Wisdom ...

  • Wisdom Prairie Spring Tour

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

    Join us for an experience for everyone to explore the seasonal beauty found on the monastery grounds in spring. Knowledgeable tour guides will share the story of caring for the earth and help participants deepen their relationship with this land. Tour will cover 1-1.5 miles on walking trails at a leisurely pace. Meet at the kiosk in the monastery building parking lot (take the right fork in the driveway). Tours will take place in small groups. We will proceed with the tour in the event of light to moderate rain or snow but will cancel for thunderstorms or other severe ...

    Free
  • The Fire of Hope 1

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

    In 2026, John Philip Newell begins a new series of retreats called The Fire of Hope to respond to the deep challenges of this moment, whether political, religious or environmental. Where do we draw spiritual strength to passionately say no to what is false and witness to what is true and of God? The Fire of Hope 1 is the first in a three-part series of annual retreats led by the Celtic teacher John Philip Newell and his colleague Cami Twilling in which we seek to nurture the fire of love, the fire of desire and the fire of courage ...

    $385
  • 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
  • Great Wisconsin Birdathon

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

    The Great Wisconsin Birdathon is Wisconsin’s largest fundraiser for bird conservation. Each year bird enthusiasts from across the state form teams with the goal of finding as many unique bird species as possible while raising important funds for bird conservation. Holy Wisdom Monastery is participating in this event for the sixth time this year! We hope you'll support our team 'Wrens of Wisdom Prairie' in our efforts to find as many bird species as possible on our property on May 9th. There are several ways to participate: Join us for a birding tour or 'sit' We are offering four guided ...

  • Spring Solar Tilt

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

    Join us on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 | 5:00-8:00 pm You and your family are invited to participate in the 3rd Annual Spring Solar Tilt, a hands-on community event where we gather together to celebrate green energy, honor the changing seasons and pray for the earth. Capacity is limited, so register if you are coming! Holy Wisdom Monastery is proudly a net-zero facility, having implemented solar energy and geothermal heating and cooling in 2024 in our Retreat & Guest House. The monastery's 30-panel solar array can be tilted vertically or horizontally, depending on the season. The panels are currently in their more ...

    Free – $15
  • Kids on the Prairie

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

    Explore nature’s beauty and surprises! Kids on the Prairie (KOTP) is for children and their adult family members. Experienced volunteer educators and guides will facilitate a short hike to learn about nature and explore the grounds and trails. This free event is open to members of Holy Wisdom communities and the general public. May 17 – Looking at Birds. Migration is happening! Families will have an opportunity for watch birds and see how they spend their time. What are they eating? Bring your binoculars or use ours. We'll look for bluebirds that nest at the Monastery. Maybe we will hear ...

    Free
  • Madre Tierra Art Exhibit Reception

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

    In Holy Wisdom’s newest exhibit, Madre Tierra, artist Issis Macias invites viewers into an intimate, contemplative encounter with the natural world. Rooted in Macias’s cultural lineage – and in the Indigenous and Latin American understanding of Madre Tierra as a living presence and source of ancestral wisdom – the Spanish title affirms a matrilineal thread and an inheritance of strength, intuition and reverence for the land. Please join us for the opening reception of this exhibit of abstract art which echoes the shifting rhythms of sea, sky and earth through layers of pigments, sweeping gestures and spontaneous pastel markings. Schedule ...

    Free
  • Wonder & Hope: A Courage & Renewal® Experience

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

    Are you seeking ways to focus on positivity "these days"? Register and join us for a spacious weekend at Holy Wisdom Monastery for Wonder & Hope: A Courage & Renewal® Experience, May 29-31, 2026. Within the abundance of Holy Wisdom, our retreat sessions will focus on grounding ourselves within touchstones of presence, welcome, listening to our inner teacher, turning to the wonder of how grace moves in our lives, and carrying hope forward. Participants comment that "the welcoming spirit, the quiet, the art and poetry, the kindness and the experience of community" support their participation in a variety of experience during ...

    $250 – $435