Solar Dedication - Press Release

WISDOM HOUSE RETREAT AND CONFERENCE CENTER DEDICATES SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEM

Litchfield, Conn. - Wisdom House will host a dedication and activation of 80 solar photovoltaic panels, newly installed on the roof of Spruce Brook Barn. The event is planned for Thursday, August 11, 2011 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Wisdom House opened in 1949 as a novitiate for the Daughters of Wisdom and later for their college, Seat of Wisdom. The original house on the property dates back to 1770. Spruce Brook Barn was built around 1925 and now serves as a meeting space for the retreat and conference center.

In preparation for the solar panel installation, an energy audit was conducted and energy upgrades were made with an incentive from the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. The solar panels were partially funded with a grant of $50,500 from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, now known as the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority. The solar array will generate approximately 15,500 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy annually. This will displace the production of 10.7 metric tons of CO2, the amount sequestered annually by 2.3 acres of pine forest. Together with other conservation measures being undertaken, it will offset nearly 25% of the total energy use of our entire campus of 6 buildings, 9 conference rooms and 73 bedrooms.

With the installation of this efficient solar electric system, Wisdom House is taking another step to reduce the center’s carbon footprint and dependence on fossil fuels. The planet and all who live on it will benefit from a healthier and more sustainable environment.

The photovoltaic solar system was designed and integrated into the electric and structural systems at Wisdom House by Litchfield Hills Solar (West Cornwall, Conn.) with consultation from SantoDomingo Engineering, Inc., and CL&P.

The presentations and activation of the panels will begin at 6:00 p.m. The public is welcome. RSVP is appreciated by calling Wisdom House at 860-567-3163 or emailing programs@wisdomhouse.org .

About Wisdom House

Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center in an interfaith center in a country setting. The center presents programs on spirituality, education and the arts and has a commitment to energy conservation and sustainability. The center welcomes not-for-profit groups, hosting events and offershospitality . The center is a ministry of the Daughters of Wisdom. For more on Wisdom House, please visit www.wisdomhouse.org .

About the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA)

CEFIA was created by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2011. It is the successor organization to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. CEFIA’s mission is to promote, develop and invest in clean energy and energy efficient projects in order to strengthen Connecticut’s economy, protect community health, improve the environment, and promote a secure energy supply for the state. CEFIA is governed by an 11-member board of directors appointed by the governor and the leadership of the State Legislature. As the nation’s full-scale clean energy finance authority, CEFIA will leverage public and private funds to drive investment and scale up clean energy deployment in Connecticut. For more information on CEFIA, please visit www.ctcleanenergy.com.


Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center, Litchfield, CT 860-567-3163 / http://www.wisdomhouse.org/

Associates of Wisdom Attend Richard Rohr Retreat

Five Associates of Wisdom were among 140 participants at a weekend retreat presented by Fr. Richard Rohr at Wisdom House. The focus of the retreat was centered on how to live in a contemplative way, as a mystic in a world where dualistic thinking is the norm. According to the Associates of Wisdom, "the weekend reinforces the commitment to see and live each day with the eye of the heart, looking through the lens of non-dualistic thinking, being present and open to the truth of the moment, living in the presence of the Presence."

Photo (left to right), Maria Roja, Dorothy DiMauro, Ellie Filippone, Richard Rohr,OFM, Bonnie Odiorne, Pat Wolosz.

For information about the Associates of Wisdom, click here.

Grandparents

On July 26, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of  Saints Joachim and Anne.

The scriptures for the day are Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 and Matthew 13:36-43.

Following is an unedited homily submitted to the Diocese of Saginaw for their homily resources. Reprinted with permission.

On July 26, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne. They were the parents of Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. Naturally, then, they were the grandparents of Jesus. There is always a special quality in grandparents. Very often the characteristics of the grandparents can be seen in the future family line. The Scriptures do not tell us much about Joachim and Anne but we can imagine that they must have been people dedicated to God, living in kindness and justice and providing a welcome home for their family and visitors. We see these qualities and gifts in Mary and in Jesus and we can be sure they existed first, in Joachim and Anne.

In the reading from Exodus, Moses goes to the meeting tent to consult the Lord. All the people in the camp acknowledge that this tent is a special place for Divine and human interaction. To indicate the experience of God's presence, a cloud stands at the entrance of the tent. In the tent, Moses and God speak face to face. Forty days after this experience, Moses writes the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Another "meeting tent" appears in the New Testament. Mary, overshadowed by an angel, becomes a meeting place for God and humanity. Mary, through prayer, speaks with God, gives birth to the God-Man who gives the new law of love and justice to all who will follow him. Mary is the fruit of the good seed and the fruit of her parents and she gives to us, the fruit of her union with God. The divine seed of goodness and love is communicated from God through humanity to produce healing and kindness on earth.

We are called to shine like the sun in God's Kingdom. Today might be a graced day for us to reflect on the seeds of goodness that have come to us through parents, grandparents, and the long line of those who have shaped our lives today.

Rosemarie Greco, DW

July 22, Feast of St Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene is seen as “the first among the apostles,” not simply because she was the first on the scene at the resurrection, but more because she gets the message of Jesus. Of all the disciples, she is the only one who fully understands what Jesus is teaching and can fully reproduce it in her own life.

(from The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, p.41)

Fr. Richard Rohr discusses his book "The Naked Now: Seeing as the Mystics See"

This interview took place during a retreat weekend at Wisdom House. The retreat was based on the same theme as the book. Visit the Center for Contemplation and Action, founded by Fr. Richard, at the website http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/.

Click here to watch the video.

The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See - Richard Rohr, OFM

Franciscan priest Richard Rohr (author, retreat director, and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation) presented a weekend retreat at Wisdom House July 8-10 based on his book, "The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See."  Participants came from 10 states to listen and reflect on ways that Christianity has invited people to enlightenment and spiritual awakening from the beginning.  By recognizing forces such as ego resistance and dual thinking, which separate the person from one's deeper self, Rohr shows what it means to be spiritually awake.

For more about Richard Rohr, OFM and his publications and ministry, visit http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/.

Wisdom House solar panel project in process

The project will be opened to the public at a "ribbon cutting" on August 11, 2011 from 5-7pm at Wisdom House.

Catholic Charities Outreach

Pictured are Sr. Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP (right) and Judith Gough (left) in Hartford before they tape an interview for "Rich Answers", the weekly radio program sponsored by The Conference of Churches and aired on WRCH 100.5 FM between 5:30 am - 6:30 am every Sunday morning.

Sr. Jo-Ann, along with Sr. Rosemarie Greco, serve as the Wisdom Correspondents on this program.

Ms. Gough is the director of the Archdiocese of Hartford's Catholic Charities Office for Migration and Immigration Services. The office offers a wide spectrum of services to some of the newest members of the archdiocese as they begin to make this area their home.

Youth walk the Labyrinth at Wisdom House

The 8th Grade students from St. Mary Magdalen School in Oakville, CT had a retreat morning at Wisdom House where they learned about the labyrinth as a tool for prayer and meditation. Students and faculty had an opportunity to walk the labyrinth and reflect on their experience. Since 2003, the 8th grade students from the school have come to Wisdom House for this experience as a preparation for graduation and making the transition from elementary school to high school. The students also had the opportunity to visit the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery at Wisdom House and view the new chapel art window series.