The Universe Story

New Cosmic Walk at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

A group of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice (WVC) staff members, volunteers, interns, and guests, and Sisters of Providence gathered for the inaugural Cosmic Walk at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. this afternoon.


The Cosmic Walk is, “A ritual, a prayer, a time of remembering and being in awe of how the Universe began and how it got to where it is today,” explained Sister Maureen Freeman, director of WVC. “You can go in and out in six minutes or it could take three hours. It depends on the individual.”
Sister Maureen said the project has been in the works for several years. When Sister Kara McKenney was searching for an internship project this summer Sister Maureen recommended completing the Cosmic Walk. Sister Kara and another WVC intern, Matthew Bush, took on the finishing step of creating and putting up the signage and mowing the area.

Ribbon cutting:  S. Kara and Matthew.

Sister Kara and Matthew built the oak frames with the help of Tony Dubois, Sisters of Providence carpenter.

Matthew and Sister Kara cut the yellow ribbon that opened the walk today.

“I’m very happy to see people using it and to know that people will enjoy it for many years,” Sister Kara said.

Sister Maureen looks forward to the same.

Cosmic Walk.

“There are a lot of butterflies here right now, so you really feel that you are united with the Universe when you walk it today,” Sister Maureen said. “Divine grace surrounds us.”

The public is invited to visit the Cosmic Walk. For more information, call  812-535-2932 or email rmorton@spsmw.org.

"It's so hot that ... "

White Violet Farm Alpacas enjoying the water sprinklers.

The temperature at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., is expected to reach 98 degrees today, with a heat index of 115 degrees.

It’s been like this all week and is to continue throughout the weekend.

With that in mind, the staff and interns who work outside every day have come up with ways to complete the following statement:

“It’s so hot that … “

—today is clean-out-the-pond day.
—it’s a three t-shirt day.
—we’re making the alpacas share their water sprinklers with us.
—the garden irrigation is working overtime.
—we pray for a hot breeze to cool us down.
—we’re watering the alpacas three or four times a day.
—even the fans in the barn are getting tired and “crying.”
—we start work earlier to try to avoid the hottest part of the day.
—we watch the sweat line on David’s hat get higher as the temperature rises.
—we fill the bird bath three times a day and the birds are enjoying the fountain.
—the okra plants look beautiful.
—Matthew is wearing a bandana.
—the fly catchers are catching them by the hundreds.
—we take breaks under the shade tree.
—we want to go home.
—Jim isn’t wearing a hat.
—the alpacas are making “lakes” in the barn because they don’t want to go out in the pastures.
—we know it’s summertime in Indiana!

How would you complete the statement?

Medical herbalism

Recently, White Violet Center hosted Matthew Wood as the presenter of a medical herbalism course at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Spearmint — excellent for digestion and intestinal complaints.

Matthew has a master's degree from the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine. He has lectured in all parts of the United States and taught in Canada, Scotland, England and Australia. He is also the author of four acclaimed books on herbal medicine. 

Robyn Morton, associate director of White Violet Center, captured the herb walk portion of the course in pictures. She also added useful information in the captions. See the virtual tour of the herbs at White Violet Center in this photo gallery.

True Cost of Food

Listed below are 10 significant messages Sister Maureen Freeman, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, shared in her presentation, “The True Cost of Food,” at this year’s Human Rights Day at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Sister Maureen Freeman talks about The True Cost of Food.

1. We make a choice to help or harm the environment with every meal.

2. Be more active about what we buy. Find out where your food comes from. Read labels. (Is your fruit cup from the Philippines?)

3. Know your local farmers/farms. (Resource: www.localharvest.org)

4. Eat according to the season. (It’s strawberry season in Indiana. Woot!)

5. Learn to cook.

6. Buying local food saves 17 times the fuel costs as opposed to buying food in the supermarkets that have traveled an average of 2,000 miles from farm to table.

7. If you keep buying the food in the supermarkets (that have traveled 2,000 miles) they will keep supplying it. We vote three times a day.

Showing The True Cost of Food video on Human Rights Day.

8. We shouldn’t be against high fructose corn syrup, but we should be against the quantity of it currently in our food. It’s in “everything” today.

9. What it really costs to grow, ship and sell food is staggering. Buying locally keeps more of that money in your community.

10. 80-90 percent of our food depends on our pollinators, the bees. They are at risk because of Colony collapse disorder.

To watch “The True Cost of Food” video (15 minutes), presented by The Sierra Club Sustainable Consumption Committee, go to http://www.sierraclub.org/truecostoffood/.

Happy Earth Day!

A sincere "thank you" to everyone who attended the 13th Annual Earth Day Celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods last Saturday. We appreciate everyone braving the cold, windy and wet weather conditions.

On a beautiful spring day we expect between 2,000 and 3,000 visitors for this event, but the weather forecast of 50 degrees and scattered showers had us a little worried this year. Surprisingly, we estimate about 800 people supported the event and we couldn't have been more pleased. We appreciate the visitors, vendors, educators, sponsors, and volunteers. It was great celebrating with you all!

We look forward to seeing everyone next year on April 21. But hopefully you won't wait that long to visit us again. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you to the Dobbs Park crew.

 The Women of Erin entertained us with their beautiful Irish music.

 Zann Carter was weaving and sharing her beautiful works.

 Families enjoyed time together laughing and learning.

 Awesome newspaper hats were created in the children's area.

 Silly Safari was a big hit with their animals and wildlife education!

 Plants for sale!

 Sister Karen Van De Walle, CSJ, traveled from Indianapolis to sell her gorgeous pottery.

 Sister Jeanne Knoerle spins alpaca fiber in the warm lodge during the celebration.

 Sister Joann Quinkert lets David try his hand at weaving.

 Thank you to the vendors who offered quality handmade products.

Healthy lunch items were enjoyed by all!

The alpacas welcomed hundreds of visitors. (Thanks to Julie O'Neil there in the background!)

 Sister Jean Fuqua explains the spinning of fiber to this little bundled one.

Mark Booth and his raptors were a big hit again this year.

Advisory board member spotlight

Dennis Evers, of Terre Haute, is a member of the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice advisory board. Dennis has 40 years experience as a public health engineer, biochemist in waste water treatment and is a microbiologist with special interest and field experience in optimizing resource recovery from waste.

He invented the Viable Organic Waste (VOW) process, a total recovery and zero waste treatment system, based on bioaugmentation, that yields energy as biogas (methane) and organic fertilizer, single cell protein for aquaculture and animal feed, and recyclable water.

He owns Everstech Consulting and VOW Resources Pty., Ltd.  VOW has current projects in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, Greece, Egypt, United Kingdom and United States.

We thank Dennis and all advisory board members for sharing their time and talents with us.

Wabash Valley Going Local Food Fair 2010

If you were unable to attend the Going Local Food Fair at the Vigo County Fairgrounds on Sept. 9 (or didn’t know about it) hopefully you’ll find this post full of useful info.

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice participated by having a table and talking with folks about our CSA, participation in the Terre Haute farmers market, and answering questions about organic gardening, our farm, and such. We also had our handmade alpaca fiber items for sale. (Pictured: Candace Minster, left, talks about our ministry with two women.)

L&A Family Farms and CSA of Paris, Ill., had a table and was promoting their pasture raised meats, eggs and produce. Learn more about them at www.lafamilyfarms.com

Marta Shelton’s and Amelia Vallely-Compton’s Harvest Bakery, llc, of South 34th Street, Terre Haute, sold their homemade goods. They offer artisan breads, specialty pastries, special occasion cakes and delicious cookies. Give them a call at 812-235-7515.

Life of Riley Honey Farm had a corner full of soaps, lotions, candles, and honey. Perry and Beverly Riley are at 13239 S. Sullivan Place in Terre Haute. Email them at riley.honey.farm@gmail.com and check out their blog at rileyhoneyfarm.blogspot.com.

Swiss Connection’s cooler truck of meat and dairy was popular. The Yegerlehner’s family farm is in Clay City. Their cows are 100 percent grass-fed…absolutely no grain supplementation. All the milk cows are moved to fresh grass twice a day. Find them at www.swissconnectioncheese.com or give them a call at 812-939-2813.

Terre Foods Cooperative Market had a table and spoke with people about the progress of what will be the first food cooperative in Terre Haute and becoming a member. Terre Foods needs 800 members to secure a store location. Membership is at 354 now. See their website for more info at www.terrefoods.org.

Appleseed Farm, of Fairbanks, Ind., participated in the Food Fair by selling their jars of Pour-A-Pie and other yummy things. They can be found at the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers Market (as can many of the others who participated in this event) every Saturday 8 a.m. to noon, in the Clabber Girl parking lot at Ninth and Cherry Streets. Call Charlotte and Jennifer at 812-382-9189 or find them on Facebook at appleseed farm.

Deanna Franklin and Jim Luzar of the Vigo County Purdue Extension office were there with information about planting, growing and cooking autumn produce. They had a big pile of pumpkins and were giving tastes of pumpkin soup and pumpkin bars. Click here for extension office info.

Thank you to Jim Luzar for pulling the event together. Hopefully it will become an annual gathering of sharing information and products.

Going Green with Artwork

White Violet Center participated in "Going Green with Artwork," presented by Art Totality and the Swope Art Museum, on June 26. About 70 people were pre-registered for this family event.

Upon arrival, the families participated in a self-guided inspiration tour. Then everyone participated in the activities at Halcyon Contemporary Art, next door to the Swope.

The Swope provided boxes and boxes of recycled materials where children and their parents could make sculptures. What creativity!

White Violet Center provided the opportunity to make alpaca masks by gluing real alpaca fiber to a printed alpaca face that could be cut out. "You mean I'm touching alpaca?!," said 6-year-old Avery.

Keaton, age 2, is shown in the photo at the right having fun with the mask he and his mother made.

It was fun spending time with these families who also made button bracelets with Emily Brown; sanded wooden bowls with Jeff Wilkinson and Bob Tidd; made newspaper pots for seedlings and decorative boxes from used holiday cards with the ISU Recycling Center; made banana paper note cards and newspaper hats with Art Totality; and made Origami cranes and cubes with Yoshimi Fuqua, a River City Art Association artist.

Seton Hill University group visits

A group from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., is visiting White Violet Center for Eco-Justice and White Violet Farm Alpacas today.

They tell us they're trying to set up a sustainability program and eco-conference center, so they came out to learn more about this ministry of the Sisters of Providence.

Part of their visit here today also included speaking with Jim Speer of Indiana State University, Mark Minster of Rose-Hulman School of Technology and Sister Mary Lou Dolan of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to learn about sustainability efforts at those institutions.

Pictured above, from left are, Sister Maureen Freeman, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Frank Klapak, of Seton Hill, and his wife, Sharon Klapak, Sister Mary Elizabeth Lawrence, Sister of Charity, Michael Cary, of Seton Hill, and his wife, Eloise Cary.

Farmers' market

The June 5 opening day of the Terre Haute Downtown Farmers' Market at Ninth and Cherry streets was a big success. We sold out of strawberries by about 10:30 a.m. and pretty well sold out of everything else by noon.

We certainly enjoyed meeting new people and answering questions about growing this and that.
Our participation in this farmers' market is very important to us. We’ve been a part of it since its inception in 2005 and we’re proud of what it has become.

Last year we were only able to have a presence once a month. But this year we’re back in FULL SWING and LOVIN’ IT! We’ll be there 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through October sharing our pesticide- and herbicide-free vegetables and fruit and value-added products.

With such a small staff we always welcome volunteers who can help us out on Saturday mornings. Even an hour or two is appreciated. Interested? Contact Candace Minster at cminster@spsmw.org or 812-535-2935.

Hope to see you often this season!

Our alpacas helping animals in Gulf of Mexico

This week, about 50 pounds of alpaca fiber from White Violet Farm Alpacas of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN is being shipped to Florida to help with the devastating oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

Our alpacas are sheared annually in May. That fiber is used in our fiber program to make hats, scarves and other items to be sold at our center and on the Internet.

As we watch footage and read the updates of the BP oil spill disaster we try to think of ways we can help. One way is to donate some of our fiber to clean up efforts through A Matter of Trust, a hair for oil spills program.

“We want to do whatever we can to help the eco-system down there,” said Sister Maureen Freeman, CSJ, director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice. “This is a step we can take to help stop the oil from ruining precious marshland and destroying native species.”

Quiet Directed Retreat May 6-10

This personally directed retreat provides the opportunity for time away from the usual activity of life to be quiet, to pray, to reflect and to experience the beauty of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

We have walking trails, gardens to enjoy or work in, and alpacas and bees.

The cost of $400 includes room, meals and daily spiritual direction. Check-in is 3-5 p.m. on May 6 and the retreat concludes with lunch at noon on May 10.

The registration deadline is April 22, so please register today. Contact Sister Maureen Freeman, CSJ, at 812-535-2930 or mfreeman@spsmw.org to register or for more information.

Earth Day celebration Saturday

This Saturday is the 12th Annual Earth Day Celebration at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods!
11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Live entertainment, fun activities for children, alpaca meet and greets, alpaca shearing demo, spinning and weaving demos, straw bale house and garden tours, food from local restaurants, plant sales, a bake sale, and more.

The theme this year is "Going local." A full list of educational booths and vendors and the event schedule are at www.WhiteViolet.org.

The event is free, but there is an opportunity to give a free-will donation at the gates.

We hope you bring your friends and family and have a wonderful time enjoying Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in all its spring glory this Saturday for this family-friendly event.

This time of year

It's a nice time of year to share our thoughts and give you a peek inside the doors of White Violet Center. We hope you enjoy this Note from the education coordinator.

Eco-friendly gift ideas

It's hard to believe Christmas is only three weeks away! Fortunately, the staff has pulled together a list of some favorite earth-friendly gift ideas to help us all avoid getting caught up in the commercialism of the holidays. Many of the suggestions can be found online. Click on the title of this blog to go to the Web page listing.

Towards the end of the Web page there is a list of items that can be purchased at White Violet Center. Maybe adopting an alpaca or beehive would make a loved one smile this Christmas.

If you're in the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. area we have some great stocking-stuffers: organic fair-trade coffees and teas, delicious fair-trade chocolate bars, hot cocoa and baking cocoa, handmade lip balm made with wax from our own bees, alpaca fiber Christmas ornaments, socks, gloves and more.

Enjoy time with family and friends this month!

Fiber mill

We just received another shipment of our alpaca yarn from the fiber mill. Thanks to Candace for making the trek to Warsaw.

White Violet Farm Alpacas are sheared once a year in the spring. We send about 99 percent of that blanket fleece to the fiber mill to be cleaned, carded and spun into yarn.

Frontier Fiber Mill in Warsaw, Ind., is the mill we've used for about three years. Sister Jean Fuqua said the process can take anywhere between six weeks and three months.

See photos of yarn being made at Frontier Fiber Mill here.

Celebrate Fiber!

Sycamore Farm Bed and Breakfast Inn in Terre Haute is hosting "Celebrate Fiber!" a one-day fiber event this Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

We will have a booth and will be selling our alpaca yarn, roving and handmade alpaca hats and scarves. We'll also have socks, gloves and felted art wall hangings by Sister Ruth Johnson for sale.

We have many Sisters of Providence, staff and volunteers who knit and crochet hats and scarves that are sold to help offset the costs of the hands-on environmental education programs at White Violet Center. We look forward to catching up with friends and meeting new ones at this event, so we hope to see you there.

Sycamore Farm is on the East side of Terre Haute, 2.5 miles north of I-70, exit 11, and one mile south of U.S. Hwy 40. The address is 5001 East Poplar Drive, Terre Haute, IN 47803.
There will be workshops, vendors and artisans. You'll find rug hooking, spinning, weaving, knitting, jewelry, stitching and antiques. The event is sponsored by Riverwools and A CommonCloth.

International Day of Nonviolence Oct. 2

Oct. 2 is an important day for everyone in our global village but especially for those of us committed to living the good news of peace, justice and reconciliation.

The public is invited to participate in the Sisters of Providence International Day of Nonviolence prayer service at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, at St. Joseph Chapel in Owens Hall, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN

The following was written by the Sisters of Providence:

Litany of Non-Violence
Providence God, aware of our own brokenness,
we ask the gift of courage to identify how and where
we are in need of conversion in order to live in
solidarity with Earth and all creation.

Deliver us from the violence of superiority and disdain.
Grant us the desire, and the humility,
to listen with special care to those whose experiences
and attitudes are different from our own.

Deliver us from the violence of greed and privilege.
Grant us the desire, and the will, to live simply
so others may have their just share of Earth's resources.

Deliver us from the silence that gives
consent to abuse, war and evil.
Grant us the desire, and the courage, to risk
speaking and acting for the common good.

Deliver us from the violence of irreverence,
exploitation and control.
Grant us the desire, and the strength, to act
responsibly within the cycle of creation.

God of love, mercy and justice,
acknowledging our complicity in those attitudes,
actions and words which perpetuate violence,
we beg the grace of a non-violent heart. Amen.


Oct. 2 is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who helped lead India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom around the world. On June 15, 2007 the International Day of Nonviolence was adopted by the 192 member States of the United Nations during their General Assembly. Mahatma Gandhi has become an icon for people all over the world who believe in nonviolence as a way of life and as the best way to overcome oppression.

Celebrate autumn!

Sisters of Providence, White Violet Center for Eco-Justice staff, volunteers and friends gathered in the Reflection Garden at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., to celebrate the Fall Equinox on Sept. 21.

Everyone blessed the four directions, sang, reflected on the past year and looked toward the future. It was beautiful. The sun was shining and the orange pumpkins and mums were glowing. The sounds of singing voices and the rain sticks echoed throughout the area.

Everyone participated in answering the following questions: If this is the time of harvest, then what have you harvested? What is your gift? What is the thing, the value, that you have brought to fruition?

Each person chose a random quote and read them aloud one by one going around the circle.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. Albert Camus