As part of EcoFest 2019, eleven area Eco Champs were honored for their commitment to caring for Earth. According to the nominating website, “Eco Champs are individuals or groups in our Cedar Rapids and nearby communities that care about environmental health and work hard to bring that passion to wherever they are—school, work, at home…
DetailsPrairiewoods is sponsored by Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA), a Catholic community in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The FSPA community has practiced perpetual adoration (or round-the-clock prayer) since Aug. 1, 1878. For more than 140 years, at least two people have been praying day and night before the Blessed Sacrament. Nearly 20,000 prayer requests are…
DetailsHave you ever thought about all of the amazing benefits of gardening? As we welcome spring, here are some great benefits to keep in mind. (Thanks to the Doris Ackerman Team of realtors and BombBomb for sharing this beautiful infographic!) —Doris Ackerman Team & BombBomb
DetailsLast week, we hosted two dynamic events that held the energy of a tidal wave! Charles Eisenstein, author of The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, and Bayo Akomolafe, author of These Wilds Beyond Our Fences, co-facilitated a mid-week retreat-tsunami called The Grace of Decomposition. The retreat celebrated the rich composting process of letting go…
DetailsOpen the gate and come inside! This glorious destination, where sunshine and water have joined forces to bring forth a profusion of life, beckons you! Peeking out from abundant green growth are glowing colors: red tomatoes, orange nasturtium and purple plums. Beans snake their tendrils up metal trellises until they form shady alleyways, while sweet…
DetailsA direct encounter with Jesus in a Prairiewoods tree taught me how God shares life with each of us individually. During a 2015 Prairiewoods retreat called “Beauty is the Path to God’s Life,” led by Father John Quigley, OSF, I discovered some answers to questions I had about reconciling suffering and hardship. Honestly, the world…
DetailsIn October 2014, I was blessed to be able to take a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, the home St. Francis and St. Clare, with a group of strangers-turned-friends from other Franciscan institutions. And I got to share this amazing journey with my beloved mother! As the marketing coordinator for a Franciscan retreat center, it…
DetailsIt happens when I’m not looking: things appear—wrapped packages in the refrigerator or on the table surprises to open—plates of pumpkin bread bowls filled with miso couscous or mango pistachio rice, jars of hardboiled eggs as if elves or fairies had been at work while I slept or read or wrote poems, as if this…
DetailsMary Oliver, who published more than 15 collections of poems since 1963, was known for her observant, hope-filled responses to nature. As the New Yorker said, “For America’s most beloved poet, paying attention to nature is a springboard to the sacred.” Mary, like Prairiewoods, understood and celebrated the holy intersection of ecology and spirituality, that…
DetailsThis is my little friend Natalie. Natalie is 3 and enjoyed bringing her puppy to the Blessing of the Animals in September. Her mom, Stephanie, also enjoys coming to Prairiewoods to rest and explore the grounds with her daughter. As I reflected on this photo, Natalie reminded me of the young spirit inside of me. Prairiewoods is a place where…
DetailsWe are pleased to welcome Carol Tyx, PhD, as Prairiewoods’ new Artist in Residence. Carol is a gifted poet and the author of two books of poetry, The Fifty Poems and Rising to the Rim. Her newest manuscript, Remembering Achilles: Slicing into Angola’s History, was just awarded the inaugural Willow Run Poetry Book Award. Carol…
Details“For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” —Isaiah 55:12 Posted Dec. 25, 2018
Details“The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, and on those living in a land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.” —Isaiah 9:2 At Prairiewoods, our other-than-human kin often stop us in our tracks. The leafless trees are moaning all around us, and the dried prairie grasses are whispering their ancient secrets.…
DetailsIn this time of gratitude and generosity, kindness and kinship, we are reminded that we are all one. Nowhere have I felt that more keenly than at the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County’s Annual Thanksgiving Service: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks. Representatives from a huge variety of faith traditions contributed to the service, including…
Details“As Christians, we believe that we bear the image and likeness of God inside of us and that this is our deepest reality … God is fire—wild, infinite, ineffable, non-containable. If that same fire is inside us, and it is, then there are divine appetites inside of us too, appetites that are not ever satiable…
DetailsSaturday, Nov. 17, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Join us for Prairiewoods’ annual Holiday Bazaar to jump start your Christmas shopping and get in the spirit of the season! There is no entrance fee, and coffee, warm apple cider, breakfast items and lunch will be available for purchase. Prairiewoods’ newly renovated Gift Shop offers: Prairiewoods Tree-shirts in…
DetailsCome to Prairiewoods this weekend to hear the voice of the land! The fourth annual Sweetgrass Flute & Nature Festival is coming to Prairiewoods this Friday–Sunday, Sept. 28–30. This free, family-friendly festival includes live performances by internationally renowned musicians specializing in the music of Native American–style flutes and other world and indigenous instruments. Unlike any…
DetailsArriving on the Prairiewoods grounds on a morning in late summer is like driving into an advertisement for abundance: everywhere we look, there is growth and beauty. Stop for a moment and hear bird song and frogs, the leaves and prairie grasses rustling in a soft breeze. Take a deep breath and smell the earthiness…
DetailsCome hear the voice of the land! The third annual Sweetgrass Flute & Nature Festival is coming to Prairiewoods Sept. 29–Oct. 1. This free, family-friendly festival includes live performances by internationally renowned musicians specializing in the music of Native American–style flutes and world flutes. Unlike any other event in the Midwest, Sweetgrass offers abundant opportunities…
DetailsWhen I see a tyrant, Bloated with ego, I must look beyond His twisted fury At the ancient tree behind him. Then I remember what is real. Those beautiful gnarled branches Still creaking, reaching out Providing shade, even to tyrants. Her roots still pushing Against rock-hard darkness Deep in the ground Under everyone’s feet. Where…
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