I’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. I would like to introduce you to my friend Steve Volesky, a volunteer who helps with event planning at Prairiewoods. Here are his thoughts on…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. Last month, I introduced you to Katie Gerhart, a student at Coe College and an AmeriCorps intern at Prairiewoods. I told Katie about how I…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. One friend I want to introduce you to is Marianne Abel-Lipschutz. She and I spend a lot of time together at Prairiewoods … on the…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. Hungry! I come hungry to the place where I know I’ll be fed: Prairiewoods. Overwhelmed with the burdens of caring for my family, scrambling for the…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. One such friend is Kathy Petsche, who volunteers in the office and helps plan and facilitate some programs at Prairiewoods. Kathy and I have become…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. I, Otis, being of sound mind and body, do solemnly swear … I had the bejeebers scared out of me the other day—but in a…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. During this school year, I have become friends with a local college student, Katie Gerhart. She is a student at Coe College double majoring in…
DetailsI’m Otis, Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel, and I’ve taken over this blog for 2016 in honor of Prairiewoods’ 20th anniversary. You’ll hear from me or one of my friends each Friday. First, let me introduce myself … As I said, I’m Otis, a resident of Prairiewoods and a member of the menagerie of animals. I will…
DetailsThroughout 2016, Otis (Prairiewoods’ favorite squirrel resident) will be writing a weekly blog. Check back each Friday beginning Jan. 1 for insights from Otis and his friends!
Celebrate the Feast of Saint Nicholas with two unique holiday shopping opportunities at Prairiewoods! On the weekend of Dec. 5 and 6, you can get in the giving spirit when you buy your loved ones charitable gifts to local and global nonprofits or handcrafted gifts from local artists. Alternative Gift Market at Prairiewoods Saturday, Dec.…
Detailsby Katie Gerhart Catholics realize that the Pope is a man who is capable of wearing many hats other than the miter. He can be a peacemaker, a listener, a preacher. However, I never really thought of the Pope as being an environmentalist. Pope Francis’ Praise be to You: Laudato Si’ showed me that…
DetailsThis is our time in history. We are the people on stage. Do we know our lines? Do we even have the right vocabulary? We’ll need to learn quickly, creating awareness of the dangers that lie in the future and forming the collective human response that will be needed to carry the story forward. An…
DetailsDo you struggle with the question of what one individual or family can do to care for Earth? What do you tell the children in your life about the planet and the damage it is suffering? How do you deepen your own understanding of your responsibility to Mother Earth? Just in time for Earth Day…
DetailsOur Prayers Will Bring Hope. Our Lights Will Guide the Way. December 2014/January 2015 December 1 to 12, world leaders will try to agree on the fundamentals of a climate change treaty in Lima that will guide the 2015 Paris climate talks. If we are to stop climate change we need a strong meaningful agreement that everyone can…
DetailsPrairiewoods’ friend Chris Gaunt recently wrote an article for Prairiewoods about her extensive attempts to create peace in this world. Here are her thoughts … My Iowa friends and acquaintances from across the country are actively protesting armed drone warfare and going to jail for it. But I am not with them. My history is…
Detailsby Pia Fritsch, Prairiewoods Intern What Greater Cathedral? Why are monuments to the Living God Made of stone? I do not comprehend this Holy Weight. What greater cathedral could we build than an Oak savannah? What taller ceiling than the sky? What greater columns than the Trunks of old oak trees? What purer communion of…
Detailsby Pia Fritsch, Prairiewoods Intern One of the exercises that we did that stretched people the most was the animal embodiment workshop. In this workshop we had to enact an animal that represented who we are. We were split into groups of three that Sister Marj and Sister Joan had tried to mix introverts and…
Detailsby Pia Fritsch, Prairiewoods Intern Delving further into the hero’s journey we looked at the archetype of Parsifal as presented by the movie “Search for the Holy Grail.” Robert A. Johnson, the speaker in the film, tells the story of this archetype as it reflects his life journey and the journey of many modern day…
Detailsby Pia Fritsch, Prairiewoods Intern On Monday as part of the Dream Retreat we watched Finding Joe. This was a really touching and illuminating movie. I have looked at the hero’s journey before, but it was communicated in a novel and heartfelt way in this film. A lot of people appreciated how it expressed religious…
Detailsby Pia Fritsch, Prairiewoods Intern I sat in on the facilities meeting this Thursday. Since I’ve never sat in on a facilities meeting at any other place it’s difficult to have perspective on this, but I am pretty sure that it is run slightly different here. The meeting started with a gong to the singing…
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