The Prairiewoods Holiday Bazaar is just a few weeks away. Join us Saturday, Nov. 16, from 8 a.m.–1 p.m. in the Prairiewoods Center for a day of shopping and holiday cheer! Vendors include the Prairiewoods Knitters & Stitchers, Bound to Write journals, Crafts by K & K, Dori Patrick Art, International Pastries Revisited, Angela Tornabane…
Tomorrow, Oct. 4, will mark a significant step in the story of Prairiewoods, when most of these 70 acres of woods and prairie will be placed in a conservation easement with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Through the signing of this easement, the land will be forever protected from future development. This is a guarantee…
Prairiewoods is excited to invite area green thumb seniors to come soak up the sun in our new Seniors in the Sun volunteer program! In teams of two or three, we invite you to come on a regular rotation to tend to our Guest House Flower Garden, the Green Prairie Garden for vegetables or the…
Prairiewoods recently completed our eleventh annual year-long retreat called Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL). On the closing day in May, participants were invited to reflect and write about their experiences with God through SEEL. Here is the loving, awe-filled prayer from one participant: O Creator of the majestic universe! Out of nothing you loved…
Area student Mitchell Janechek completed his Eagle Scout project at Prairiewoods this spring. He rebuilt four raised beds in the Green Prairie Garden, our 1,400-square-foot vegetable garden. Thanks to the hard work put in by Mitchell and his team, the garden will continue to provide about 2,000 pounds of produce each year! About two-thirds of…
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…
Prairiewoods 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…
Last 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…
A 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…
In 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…