The Mary Garden at Wisdom House

The Medieval Mary Garden at Wisdom House was given in memory of Mary McCaffrey Kenel as the gift of the Kenel& Skeffington families.

The garden contains flowers named for Mary of Nazareth. They are arranged in crescent shapes to evoke the crescent moon, upon which Mary is often depicted in art.

The plants are native to Northwest Connecticut. The architectural designer of the garden was Barbara Putnam of Litchfield.

Ewart Cousins, PhD, Dies on May 30

Dr. Ewert Cousins was a presenter at the October 2001

Casagrande Institute for Interfaith Conversation

on the theme of "Violence and Faith: Hard to Believe."

Ewert Cousins, PhD, theologian and pioneer in interreligious dialogue, died on May 30, 2009. Dr Cousins was a presenter of programs at Wisdom House. His presentations on Teillard de Chardin and on his book, Christ of the 21st Century, were always moments of theological exploration.

In 1999, Dr. Cousins was integral to the development of the Casagrande Interfaith Institute which is held yearly at Wisdom House. A full obituary for Dr Cousins can be read here.

Practice of Tonglen

Sr. Jo-Ann was part of an interfaith gathering of over 500 persons who attended a weekend workshop at Omega Institute given by American Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron.

The theme for the weekend was the Tibetan Buddhist practice of "tonglen," a practice which means "taking and sending." This practice is known to aid in transforming difficulties into the path of awakening.

In the Gallery: "Healing - Sign Language" by Kim Tester

Presently, in the Marie Louise Trichet Gallery are works which comprise the second of our three retrospectives to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the gallery. Each of the artists have had a solo show in the gallery since it opened in April, 1994. In the upcoming weeks, we will feature on our blog one of the pieces in the show and a brief reflection by the artist who created it.

Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm. The present show will run until August 22, 2009.

"Healing - Sign Language" by Kim Tester

I had received a grant to explore, through my art, my experience with ovarian cancer. I wanted to document the changes that took place in me physically, emotionally and spiritually. I printed my body on paper then drew images over the printed surface with color pencils and oil pastels. I

used the shapes found on box turtles' shells as the pattern around the figure as well as the "spine" found inside. I was most interested in that shape since it looked like ovaries and tubes at the end. As I worked, I wondered how turtles communicate with one another. Do the shell patterns look different to turtles? Is it a form of language for them? It made me think about my patterns. What do people see when they look at me? I then chose to add my version of American Sign Language to the work. The stylized hands drawn around the outside spell "healing."

June 5: World Environment Day

The United Nations has designated June 5 as World Environment Day. We encourage you to visit the website of the UN's Environment Program, the mission of which is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Set in the rolling hills of Litchfield, Connecticut, Wisdom House has long sought to respect and protect the integrity of the environment. We appreciate the relationship between a healthy environment and a healthy mind and spirit. With this in mind, this October's Casagrande Interfaith Institute at Wisdom House will focus on the topic of climate change.