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…
Mary 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…
“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.…
Come 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…
Have you noticed the many changes happening around the Prairiewoods Center? We’re working with Backyard Abundance to create new permaculture landscaping that features edible landscapes (with lots of veggies and herbs for snacking), a Healing Garden, a mushroom growing area and Outdoor Classrooms. These are all part of the Garden of Eat’n that began this…
Lilies Rising The Milky Way is overflowing With mother’s milk that keeps pouring Down, upon the earth. Droplets rooting as lilies. I woke up the day A lily brushed my cheek. Strong stalk and fleshy petals Trumpeted out a mother’s fierce cry- Love the earth and all who dwell upon it! Oh, drink freely from…
My name is Taryn Freilinger. I am a student at Mount Mercy University and graduated in May with a Bachelor’s of Biology and a Bachelor’s of Outdoor Conservation. I am currently interning at Prairiewoods, helping create the Garden of Eat’n in order to fulfill requirements for my Outdoor Conservation degree. When I heard of this…
This was written as my reflection following the lecture by Wendy M. Wright and her reading of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem God’s Grandeur. As I pondered these things, the Canticle of the Sun came to mind, as did the book my Companion group People of the Earth is reading, Ilia Delio’s Care for Creation: a…
On March 31, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light organized a solar tour in Eastern Iowa, inviting local elected officials to learn about solar and why organizations in the area choose solar power. Here at Prairiewoods, we choose solar for a number of reasons: 1) Solar (renewable energy) fits deeply with our missions and core values of…
A star in flight— The woods brighter. Flashes with the stardust people. Come out and be with us, the woods say. You too are stardust. Come enter our family. All there Is, is here. All creation. Here—with stars glancing in between shadows on the snow saying come. The woods saying— It is time for stories…