“I simply remember my favorite things,
and then I don’t feel so bad!”—Rodgers & Hammerstein
So many of us are in various stages of grief. I’ve recently lost several good friends, including Sr. Betty—none to COVID. This grief is compounded by having to distance from loved ones and loved places. So here’s to memories of a place and a people that cheer me up.
THE PLACE: PRAIRIEWOODS—THE ART ROOM
I smile when I think of the Art Room. I was told that the room on the southeast corner of the main building was designed by Prairiewoods Foundress Maryam Gossling, FSPA. It speaks, “Let us be about creating beauty and meaning …” The photos included here show the room’s two walls of glass windows that let in natural light and another wall of cupboards and shelves specifically built to house art supplies.
Today the Art Room has a more multi-purpose use. But the arts—art, music, writing and even dance—flourish in the programs of Prairiewoods. (In this photo, Virginia Melroy of Iowa City has her guitar ready to teach a Universal Dance of Peace.) Displays by artists often adorn the walls of Prairiewoods’ Atrium, it’s main dining space. Groups gather for photography; for painting landscapes, mandalas and rocks; for twig art, stitchery and other crafts. The monthly meeting “Soul Care: Creative Arts Grief Support Group” meets one Wednesday a month to help those in grief express their feelings through creativity. (The group hopes to meet Sept. 16 via Zoom with to-go kits of all art supplies needed.)
Music can be heard throughout the week at Prairiewoods—singing bowls, drumming, native flutes. Weekend retreats have featured folk singers. “Singing Together, Opening to Joy Retreat” with Mary Cohen is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, through Sunday, Dec. 6. And Prairiewoods hosts the popular annual Sweetgrass Flute and Nature Festival, delayed until September 2021 when it will rise up fresh and new.
Many retreats feature journaling, writing essays, poetry. Prairiewoods’ current artist in residence is Carol Tyx, PhD, poet author of Remaking Achilles: Slicing into Angola’s History (Angola the prison, not the country). Carol also leads “Community Singing” programs in which participants raise their voices together for social good.
A sure-fire way to improve one’s mood is to have something to look forward to—like a new book of poetry and photography by 20 friends of Prairiewoods, Outstretched Boughs, that was recently released. “Now I Don’t Feel So Bad.”
THE PEOPLE: WOMEN IN INTERFAITH DIALOGUE
Whenever I can, I attend the Women in Interfaith Dialogue group that meets quarterly at Prairiewoods. Founded by the beloved, departed Barbara Schlachter, a retired Episcopalian priest, it meets quarterly on the last Saturday of the month. I feel welcomed and respected by these wonderful women. All I say is ok—my certainties, my doubts, my reflections. Or I can say nothing. We accept each other as we are and where we are. Some women have faithfully attended for years but it is not a membership thing. Each meeting “first timers” are welcomed. We enjoy a day together at Prairiewoods (lunch included) sharing how our faith/our search for faith sustains us. It’s a little different now on Zoom, where we will meet on Oct. 31. Then we have lunch at home. Lit candles are in the photo taken on Oct. 31, 2015 (above). We each bring a short reading and light a candle at the end of our gathering.
Well, I’ve gotta say—writing this has been more work than I anticipated but I learned a lot. If you want to attend an upcoming event, be sure to click “Register” on the Prairiewoods website where you can find your Zoom ID and Password numbers. “I Simply Remember My Favorite Things.”
—Carol Nilles, friend of Prairiewoods