Events & Retreats – 09.29.2021

Painting Class

A painting class will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, November 9, at Sinsinawa Mound Center. Please check our website for current COVID protocols. Sarah Barnes, artist and owner of Create It Art Studio in Dubuque, will guide participants in painting a snowman on wood. People of all skill levels are welcome to attend, and painters can add their own personal touches. Materials will be provided. The registration deadline is Nov. 5, and the fee is $40. For more information, contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Tree Ecology: Conduits to the Creator

Tim Andrews will lead a tree walk—Tree Ecology: Conduits to the Creator—at Sinsinawa Mound from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6. This walk will be an educational and contemplative look into the natural world of Sinsinawa Mound, with attention to the interrelationships between the plants, animals, humans, and the rest of the creatures that make up this community of life. Participants can also learn how to identify different plants and trees. Andrews is a horticulturalist and educator who nurtures and stewards the natural world. The fee is $20 per person, and the registration deadline is Nov. 4. Please register by contacting Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter. Please check our website for current COVID protocols. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

On the Threshold of Three Strokes: A Simple Practice for Visual Journaling and Reflection

Artist and spiritual director Sister Stella DeVenuta, OSF, will lead a three-part series that involves combining lines and words. Sponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center, On the Threshold of Three Strokes: A Simple Practice for Visual Journaling and Reflection will be held virtually Wednesdays, Nov. 3 and 17 and Dec. 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. CDT. Similar to Chinese brush painting, participants will create three effortless strokes to evoke the essence of the three-line verses that will emerge. Attendance at the three sequential sessions will enable the process to unfold. Participants will playfully engage their imagination using words and their inner vision to give expression to the simple brush stroke images. Personal contemplation, through soul reflection, will unfold Haiku-like verses. The short, poetic lines will be similar but not limited to the typical 17 Haiku syllables using three lines and a five-seven-five syllabic formula. Art skill is not needed, just an openness to creative expression. Participants provide materials for this series. The fee is $75 per person for all three sessions, and the registration deadline is Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Natura Divina-Wild Church

Come to Sinsinawa Mound Center for Natura Divina-Wild Church: All Hallows Eve from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31. Please check our website for current COVID protocols. Fire and song, ritual and community, prayer and quiet: this outdoor, ecumenical gathering is centered on honoring the sacred time of All Hallows Eve and All Saints and All Souls—situating ourselves within the wider community of creation. Our Natura Divina-Wild Church gatherings draw on the liturgical calendar, Celtic spirituality and its calendar, as well as the growing Wild Church and Forest Church movements. We will meet inside the main entrance and proceed outdoors. Dress for outdoor weather. Sinsinawa Mound Center’s Ecological Programming Coordinator Eric Anglada will facilitate. No registration is necessary, and a freewill offering will be accepted. For more information, contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

Glass Art Classes

Sinsinawa Mound Center is sponsoring two Glass Art Classes with artist Barb McKinlay Saturday, Oct. 23. Please check our website for current COVID protocols. Create a glass tray during the 10 a.m.-noon class and a glass bowl in the 1-3 p.m. class. Come to one session or stay for both (bring your lunch). McKinlay will help you design your own usable piece of art glass using many pieces of cut glass, pebbles, stringers, and noodles. Included is a pendant/magnet or worry stone. All class materials will be supplied. The fee is $80 per person per class, and the registration deadline is Oct. 18. Please register by contacting Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

‘Doctrine of Discovery’ Workshop

Sister Christin Tomy, OP, will facilitate “The ‘Doctrine of Discovery,’ the Catholic Church, and Native Americans: Exploring a Path toward Truth and Healing” from 7 to 8 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 20, via Zoom. In recent years, you may have heard of the “Doctrine of Discovery,” a series of 15^th-century Papal statements that were used to justify European colonization of the Americas. But what is the “Doctrine of Discovery,” and does it really still matter today? What was its impact on Native American communities? What does an authentic Catholic faith ask of us in response to this history, and how might we support a path toward truth and healing? Sister Christin will help us examine these and similar questions, with the goal of deepening participants’ knowledge and commitment to justice for Native communities. For several years, her work has focused on the intersections between land, food, faith, and justice. She is currently working toward a Master of Divinity at Catholic Theological Union. The fee is $10 per person, and the registration deadline is Oct. 19. Please register by contacting Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Exploring the Parables of Jesus 

Sinsinawa Mound Center is sponsoring Exploring the Parables of Jesus from 9:30 to 11 a.m. CDT Tuesday, Oct. 19, via Zoom. Jesus was a master teacher and shared with his listeners many stories of God’s reign. Sister Mary Ellen Green, OP, will explore a few of these parables and how they relate to our lives today. She has served as teacher and administrator and on the leadership team for the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Sister Mary Ellen has done retreat work throughout the United States as well as New Zealand, Australia, and France. The fee is $15 per person, and the registration deadline is Oct. 18 at noon. Please register by contacting Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.