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BENEDICTINE WOMEN
OF MADISON
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Myth
#47: Who, me?
Life in a monastery is for someone else.
You know her . . . a single woman with a desire to deepen her spiritual
journey. She may have many questions, but she continues to search
for her path to God.
Tell her we are here. Tell her that life in a monastic
community provides support and encouragement for a life-long
search. Tell her summer is a good time to experience the rhythm
of the monastery.
Tell her she may never know if monastic life is her path unless she comes and explores
the possibility. We will welcome her and walk with her.
Tell her we are here and put her in touch with Lynne Smith, OSB at
(608) 836-1631, ext. 198 or lwsmith@benedictinewomen.org.
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PRAYER & WORSHIP
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All are
welcome to join us for daily prayer, Sunday worship or special
liturgies. For more information contact Lynn at llemberger@benedictinewomen.org
or (608)
836-1631, ext. 138.
Click on the following links for prayer and worship schedules:
The annual summer picnic returns at our new monastery!
All are welcome to join the Oblate and Sunday Assembly communities for
worship on Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 9:00 am, and food and fellowship
afterward. Beverages and entrée provided; bring a side dish or dessert
to share.
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SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
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Did you ever
wish you could tune in a little better and a little more often to God's
presence? Or perhaps, there's simply no one to talk to about how
important your faith is to you. Spiritual guidance
isn't just for times of crisis or doubt; even on ordinary days of our
lives, the listening ear of a spiritual guide can help you stay focused
on what's important and meaningful in your life. Holy Wisdom Monastery
has several spiritual guides on staff. Contact Jerrianne Bland, jbland@benedictinewomen.org
or 608-836-1631, ext.
158 to find out how spiritual guidance can become part of your journey.
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BENEDICTINE LIFE FOUNDATION
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Save
the date! Thursday, September 16, 2010--an evening of hors
d' oeuvres and wine reception followed by a fundraising concert at the
monastery with Trevor Stephenson and members of the Madison Bach
Musicians. More details to follow soon.
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OBLATES
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James Finley
is returning to Holy Wisdom Monastery to lead a silent retreat
called, Little
Things That Fill the Whole World: Gospel Metaphors of Spiritual
Awakening, September 17-19, 2010. Click here for
more information. This retreat is open to the public.
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CARE FOR THE EARTH
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The
Benedictine Life Foundation is looking for more volunteers for the
Spring Community Workday on May 22. Past volunteers have helped restore
over 95 acres of prairie and wetlands. Work projects this year include:
caring for the "green roofs," staining prairie signage,
removing invasive species, lopping woody vines, splitting
firewood, maintaining hiking trails, and many other environmental
projects. Click here to
sign up or contact Mike at mikesb@benedictinewomen.org or (608)
836-1631, ext. 124.
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BUILDING NEWS
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Holy
Wisdom Monastery earns 63 out of 69 points on LEED-NC v2.2 scale!
... and the media is taking notice!
Here are a few samples of recent media coverage on the LEED
certification:
For more information on the LEED certification,
please visit our website.
Tours
Tour the 'green' Holy Wisdom Monastery! Take a self-guided or guided
tour. The next tour is on Sunday, June 13 at 10:30 am with Sunday
Assembly member Bill Rosholt. Click here for
more information or contact Mike at mikesb@benedictinewomen.org,
(608) 836-1631, ext. 124.
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ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
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Notes
on forwarding copies of Benedictine Bridge: Some of you are getting unsubscribed from Benedictine
Bridge when you forward the e-newsletter to others. We do
appreciate you sharing the e-newsletter with your friends, and
encourage you to forward it by using the Forward Email link at the
bottom of this email. This will help us generate a brand new email for
the person you wish to forward to (but it won't subscribe them). If you
forward this email using the Forward button in your email program, then
you are giving others a chance to unsubscribe you from our list with
the unique email we generated for you.
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HOLY WISDOM MONASTERY
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The
new Holy Wisdom Monastery is
spiritual
· home to Benedictine Women of Madison, North
America's first monastic community for single women of any Christian
denomination and a spiritual resource for all
environmental · built
to be one of the "greenest" buildings in the country
featuring geothermal heating and cooling, bamboo floors, green roofs,
natural lighting, water conservation and more
open to
all · public Sunday worship at 9 am, group
and individual retreats, meetings, nature walks, weddings, tours...
local · 4200 County Rd M,
Middleton, WI just 20 minutes from downtown Madison
Contact Debby at ddelciello@benedictinewomen.org or
(608) 836-1631, ext. 141 for more information about reserving space at
the Monastery.
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Sisters
and Special Volunteers
Create an Ecumenical Community
By: Mary David Walgenbach, OSB, Joanne Kollasch, OSB
and Lynne Smith, OSB
For the past 16 years, a small group of dedicated women and
men, the Ecumenical Board, met with us to help form a
new community for Christian women.
In 2007 we celebrated the formation of the first ecumenical
Benedictine community in North America, the Benedictine Women of
Madison. Now that the work of this board is done, we will no longer
meet formally.
We are deeply grateful for our relationships with Ecumenical Board
members and the work we accomplished together. The connections to the
larger ecumenical dialogue of our churches that each member brought
to us have been invaluable throughout this process.
We will continue to draw on the experience, knowledge and friendship
of board members as our ecumenical journey continues.
Ecumenical Board Members
Rev. Dr. Diana Akiyama (Los Angeles, CA)
Sister Dr. Lorelei Fuchs, SA (New York, NY)
Rev. Betty Gamble (LaGrange, GA)
Elizabeth McMeekin (Tahoma Park, MD)
Dr. Dianna Rhyan (Wooster, OH)
Dr. Judith Rock (Sarasota, FL)
Rev. Dr. Frederick Trost (Elkhart Lake, WI)
Rev. Dr. Daniel Ward, OSB (Silver Spring, MD)
Rev. Barbara Battin (Centerville, OH)
Dr. Richard Bell (Wooster, OH)
Bob Bright (Fitchburg, WI)
Sister Dr. Donald Corcoran, OSB. Cam. (Windsor, NY)
Sister Dr. Mary Forman, OSB (Collegeville, MN)
Dr. Kathleen Hurty (Oakland, CA)
Rev. Dr. Paula Lawrence Wehmiller (Swarthmore, PA)
Rev. Dr. P. Linwood Urban (Haveford, PA)
Rev. Dr. Jude Weisenbeck, SDS (La Crosse, WI)
Rev. George Tavard, A.A. (deceased)
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The Value of Volunteers
at Holy Wisdom Monastery
By: Mike Sweitzer-Beckman, communications coordinator
The contribution of the many volunteers at Holy Wisdom Monastery
on a daily basis helps make the Monastery function. There is so much
life that goes beyond the work of the monastic community and
co-workers. Volunteering at Holy Wisdom Monastery fits in well with
the core Benedictine values that the sisters profess to live,
especially building community. On a typical day this spring, you will
find volunteers cleaning the new bamboo floors, conducting a prairie
burn to help restore it to pre-settlement conditions
and planting the vegetable garden. The volunteers are
a vital part of everyday life at the monastery.
In 2001, the Conference of American Benedictine Prioresses
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Fall 2009 Community Workday volunteers
plant a pine tree.
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published a
statement on monastic stewardship: "We use what we are and what
we have for the transformation of culture because creation is the
Lord's and we are its keepers." Their approach in care for the
earth is as follows: "We must remember always that the earth is
not so much inherited from our parents as borrowed from our children.
We owe a debt to the next generation."
The monastery has seen a surge of volunteers in the last couple
years. In 2008, 228 volunteers contributed 2,432 hours of volunteer
time, and in 2009, there were 378 volunteers who put in 2,934 hours.
This does not include the additional 1,200+ hours that 15
participants in the Volunteer in Community program contributed during
the summer of 2009. There are several new weekly volunteers this
year who contribute to the work at the monastery. Jan Lottig,
the development manager at the Benedictine Life Foundation who is in
charge of coordinating volunteer activities, attributes this
excitement to the new building and the recovering economy.
"Civic engagement is important to this generation of college
students," says Jan. "Groups come out regularly from
Edgewood College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison to help with
projects on the grounds, such as removing invasive plants in the
prairie."
Paul Boutwell, our groundskeeper, has worked closely with Jan over
the past few months to initiate a Horticulture Team at the monastery.
This team offers new opportunities for leadership to help
maintain the rooftop gardens, rain gardens, and memorial garden.
Without knowing what to expect, they had over thirty responses
in one week and received commitments from 14 volunteers.
Initially, Paul will train these volunteers on the skills required to
maintain some of the outdoor facets of the monastery, and then he
will let these volunteers initiate and lead their own maintenance
projects. This work by these dedicated volunteers will greatly free
up Paul to take on other duties. Jan estimates that this program will
triple the current staff capacity to keep up with over 100 acres of
restored prairie at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
Volunteers not only perform a variety
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University of Wisconsin Law students
participate in the Fall 2009 Community Workday - one of the many
groups that volunteer their time at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
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of tasks at the
monastery, they also volunteer for a variety of reasons. Tim Jeffery,
a member of the Benedictine Life Foundation's board of directors and
a long-time volunteer on the grounds, comes because he appreciates
the environmental conservation efforts as well as the spiritual
focus. "When I go out there, it's a getaway. I'm always taken by
the beauty of the area and what it represents," he says.
"There's a spiritual piece here that is provided in a way that
connects me to spiritual values that were a big part of my
upbringing, especially caring for others."
The volunteers that make up the fabric of daily life at the monastery
are an important part of the culture. They come from different walks
of life and are led here for different reasons. Perhaps most
importantly, the sisters and co-workers recognize that there is more
to the lives of the volunteers; there are stories to be shared about
life, and opportunities for volunteers to take advantage of some
quiet time in our library or
to participate in daily prayer in
the oratory. Volunteering at Holy Wisdom Monastery encompasses so
much more than getting a job done. It is a two-way relationship where
the life of the volunteer is cared for and nurtured. As Joan
Chittister, OSB, writes in her book The Rule of Benedict: Insights
for the Ages, "Work is not what defines the Benedictine. It
is the single-minded search for God that defines Benedictine
spirituality. . . The monastic does not exist for work. Creative and
productive work are simply meant to enhance the Garden and sustain us
while we grow into God" (134).
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Reflection on Volunteer in Community
By: Jessica Bridges, 2009 VIC participant
A few days into my time in the Volunteer in Community program last
summer (2009), I shared with the group in a Spiritual Companioning
session about my interests and passions, our theme for the
week. Members of the group responded by affirming personal
qualities they had perceived in me in those few days. Then one
volunteer commented that I seemed "well-loved...not
wounded."
The "well-loved" comment seemed a peculiar affirmation, for
it is says more about those who have formed me than any traits that
might be inherent in my personality. As I sat with this comment,
my mind and heart recalled the many communities and family who have
loved and continue to love me well. And the imagery of an
overflowing cup in Psalm 23 came to take on new meaning. Because
my cup has been filled with love by those with whom I am in
community, love may then flow out of me in my ministry and demeanor
with other persons.
As I write, I am on the cusp of graduating from Vanderbilt Divinity
School, with a Master of Divinity degree. My senior project
flowed out of this cup imagery, exploring how "whole, effective,
ecologically prophetic, theological leaders" are formed in
intentional forms of community. I have found God to work
primarily through communities to fill our cups, that we may then bear
witness to the kin(g)dom that God is building in the world. How
might we then love one another so well that our cups overflow into
the world?
Sisters Lynne, Joanne, and Mary David, and the Volunteers in
Community with whom I served last summer became a crystallization of
such a cup-filling community for me. My stay was only 3 weeks
long, but I found my cup filled to overflowing during that time. I
was filled by regular communal prayer, by work on the prairie and in
the gardens, and by holy conversation and laughter with the women I
encountered at Holy Wisdom.
Upon returning to Nashville, gearing up for a new and final school
year, and reflecting upon Holy Wisdom and the other communities that
have filled my cup, I began to discern a call toward beginning a
L'Arche community on some farm land in the Nashville
area. L'Arche communities are living communities where adults
with and without intellectual disabilities share life, pray and eat
together. There are communities around the world, each one a
little different from the others.
I first experienced the joys (and struggles) of life lived in a
community based on the L'Arche model in Chile while in
college. Since then, I have found deeper and deeper meaning in
intentional community, first through a year with Sojourners interns
in Washington, DC, and this past summer, as I shared regular prayer
and work on the land in a Benedictine community in Madison at Holy
Wisdom Monastery.
These experiences have coalesced with the stories of colleagues
working in a soon-to-close Nashville institution for adults with
intellectual disabilities, giving way to a vision that has caught
hold of me--of living intentionally with persons with intellectual
disabilities on farm land in Nashville--of praying, eating, and
working on land together.
I have been blessed from my first day in the Volunteer in
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Jessica Bridges, 2009 VIC
participant, in the prairie at Holy Wisdom Monastery.
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Community program
at Holy Wisdom Monastery, and I continue to be blessed by my time in
community there. As I envision with others a potential new
community in a new place, I continue to find myself
"well-loved" and my cup filled by my experience at the
monastery and by continued relationship with the women at Holy
Wisdom. I continue to find inspiration and strength for
continuing to discern God's call for me to new forms of community.
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