Northwest Conservation District Meets At Wisdom House

The Northwest Conservation District of Connecticut held its annual meeting and award ceremony at Wisdom House on Oct. 18. Executive Director Jean Cronauer organized the meeting where Dept.of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel Esty gave the keynote.  The Commissioner told the 80 people present that there are new ways to be more efficient and that CT can pave the way forward in energy leadership.

Recognition awards were given to towns in Northwest CT and to Wisdom House for their energy projects and installations.  The Northwest Conservation District can be visited at www.conservect.org/northwest.

125th Anniversary of The Statue of Liberty

October 28, 2011 will be the 125 Anniversary of The Statue of Liberty.

A sign for so many immigrants seeking a new and better life on our shores,

may we continue to make real that promise today.

New Artistic Director at The Hartford Stage

Sr. Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP, recently talked with Darko Tresnjak, the new artistic director for Hartford Stage, during an interview at the office of The Conference of Churches in Hartford. The conversation was taped for the program "Rich Answers" which is on every Sunday morning from 5:30 am - 6:30 am on WRCH 100.5 FM.

Mr. Tresnjak spoke about his background in the arts, his love of directing, and his hopes for Hartford Stage as it moves into the future. He has said that he hopes when people come to Hartford Stage, they  will be reminded of why they fell in love with theatre in the first place.

For the upcoming works being performed at Hartford Stage, visit www.hartfordstage.com.

To listen or download the audio from this interview, please click here.

Ralph Levesque Exhibit Opening

"New Directions: Mixed Media Works of Ralph Levesque," a new exhibit, opened recently in the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery at Wisdom House. Here are some photos taken at the artist talk and the reception that followed.

For more about his work, visit www.equilibriumgallery.com.

Timothy Radcliffe, OP, and The Imaginative Word

Dominican friar Timothy Radcliffe from Oxford, England, was the featured speaker at this year's Exploring Catholic Culture program at Wisdom House on September 23-24.

His theme, "The Imaginative Word," challenged and encouraged those present to delve more deeply into the Scriptures so that their witness and experience of the Word would have greater relevance in the world today. This program was co-sponsored with the Catholic Studies Department of Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT.

Diabetes Boot Camp

The team from the Diabetes Center of Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Torrington, CT.
Left to right: Glenell Morris, Egils Bogdonivics, MD, Lois Pelletier, Karen Cornell, Christine Pinette.

The 5th Diabetes Boot Camp held at Wisdom House shows how diet and exercise aid in control of diabetes.  For more information, call the Diabetes Center of Charlotte Hungerford Hospital at 860-489-0661.

Below, participants use the exercise rowing machines.

AND...

Sometimes nature weaves a tangled web.

Praying with Our Hands

Many traditions teach that the body mediates the spirit.  Hands, in particular, can express invitation, rejection, consolation, disdain; hands can send a curse or a blessing.  In our hands, prayer and intention become visible.

Author Jon Sweeney is one of the presenters at the Casagrande Interfaith Institute at Wisdom House

on October 28-30, 2011.  The theme of the Institute is "Prayer" in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions. Visit The Wisdom House Program Calendar for Interfaith Institute information.

An interview on Jon Sweeney's book, "Praying with Our Hands" was recorded in Hartford for WRCH 100.5 FM radio.  

Nature's Necklace

On an early fall morning at Wisdom House, nature sports a most delicate necklace.

It's Still Early Enough to Remember

September Meditation

I do not know if the seasons remember their history or if the days and nights by which we count time remember their own passing.

I do not know if the oak tree remembers its planting or if the pine remembers its slow climb toward sun and stars.

I do not know if the squirrel remembers last fall's gathering or if the Blue jay remembers the meaning of snow.

I do not know if the air remembers September or if the night remembers the moon.

I do not know if the earth remembers the flowers from last spring or if the evergreen remembers that it shall stay so.

Perhaps that is the reason for our births -- to be the memory for creation.

Perhaps salvation is something very different than anyone ever expected.

Perhaps this will be the only question we will have to answer:

"What can you tell me about September?"

~ Burton D. Carley ~

(1997 UUMA Worship Materials Collection; contributed by Bob Freund)

Wisdom Award Recipients for 2011 are Gregory and Catherine Oneglia and Roderic Oneglia of Litchfield

Litchfield Resident Catherine Oneglia wins Wisdom Award.  Watch here.