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.

Earth Hour countdown

Want to participate in a global phenomenon and work together for a future with cleaner air? In three days and 4 hours, at 8:30 p.m. local time on March 27 we encourage you to participate in Earth Hour 2010.
Call for action on Climate Change by turning off your lights for one hour.
The Empire State Building and 54 states and territories will do it this year.
Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, and during the past three years the World Wildlife Federation has taken this idea to a global level.
Learn more here: https://www.myearthhour.org/about

Every drop counts

Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets and other household leaks?

Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. That's why WaterSense is promoting Fix a Leak Week March 15-21, to remind people in the United States to check their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.

Learn more about kits for checking leaks at http://www.amwater.com/customer-service/detecting-leaks.html

Our Green Valley Alliance of Sustainability

Our Green Valley Alliance for Sustainability had their first public event last night at Indiana State University.

Pat Martin, Terre Haute chief planner, presented “Sustainable Planning, Design and Redevelopment: Terre Haute’s Commitment” as the first in a speaker series.

Thank you to those who braved the winter weather to attend — about 80 people.

Please mark your calendars for these future presentations:

April 21 — Sister Jeanne Knoerle, SP, “Cosmology and Sustainability,” at Rose-Hulman’s Myers Presentation Room

June 5 — Ivy Tech Professor John Rosene, “Sustainable Crop Production,” at the Downtown Terre Haute Farmer’s Market near Clabber Girl

Sept. 8 — Indiana State University Professor Don Richards, “What Economics Gets Right About Sustainability, What Economics Gets Wrong About Sustainability,” at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Dec. 1 — Rose-Hulman Professor Michael Moorhead, “Human Powered Vehicles,” at Ivy Tech Community College, Terre Haute

Our Green Valley is a new group seeking to increase awareness about sustainability in the Wabash Valley, Terre Haute, IN area. It is a collaborative effort among Indiana State University, Ivy Tech Community College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, the Sisters of Providence/White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Union Hospital, the City of Terre Haute, Trees Inc., Downtown Terre Haute, Wabash Valley Community Foundation, and the Vigo County School Corporation.

Holiday dinner table conversations

Do you face questions about the environment from friends and family? Now that it's the holidays we could be around family we may or may not see on a regular basis. Who knows what conversations might arise — like the day I offered my Uncle Dave some organic raisins and he went on about how he'd never eat organic because he thinks they're fertilized with human...well you get the picture. Oy vey!

The Sierra Club is here to help us out. They call it "A Sierra Club Holiday Survival Guide: How to Win Arguments and Influence People." It's what they call ready responses to all the predictable dinner table arguments about the environment.

Enjoy!

Christmas party

The staff gathered at the home of Sister Maureen Freeman and Sister P.B. Bounk yesterday for our annual Christmas party.

The home was decorated beautifully for the season and we all tried to guess how many strands of lights adorned the brightly decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Lots! It was great!

Jeremy and Tristand kept adding logs to the fire that popped and cracked. There were amazing sights, sounds and smells of Christmas.

Elaine and Tristand were the winners of the two games of pass the "snowball." Then it was time for the gift exchange. There were handmade gifts like a beeswax candle and shopping bag and locally produced gifts such as a bottle of wine from Oliver Winery. It was fun to see what everyone gave and received.

By this time the vegetable lasagna from Market Bella Rosa in Terre Haute and the onion pie made by Sister Jean were heated and ready to eat.

Ten of us fit perfectly around the festive dining room table as we enjoyed the delicious meal. It was so good!

The goodness didn't stop there. For dessert we enjoyed chocolate stout cake make by Candace (complete with some of their homemade beer as leavening), homemade cookies from Chad and some sugar coated pecans I threw together.

The time spent together sitting around the table telling funny and interesting stories was priceless. It was a memorable time together.

We wish everyone memorable moments with family and friends this season.

Merry Christmas from the staff, volunteers and alpacas at White Violet Center!

(Caption: sitting in the center is Elaine Yaw, at left, and Sister Ruth Johnson; standing from left are, Sister Jean Fuqua, Sister Maureen Freeman, Candace Minster, Sister P.B. Bounk, Sister Jeanne Knoerle, Jeremy McKenzie, Chad Beck and Tristand Tucker.)

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.

Cap and Trade

At the climate change summit in Copenhagen next week (Dec. 7-18) world leaders will have a historic opportunity to commit to actions that protect us from the disastrous consequences of dangerous climate change.

Approximately 15,000 participants from 192 countries representing governments, the business community, and civil society are anticipated at the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15).

From the event materials: "The world is facing a major challenge. We cannot continue using fossil fuels the way we do today. Scientists have laid out the risks we face and it has become clearer than ever that now is the time to take serious action on climate change. If we do not act today, the opportunity will not only slip out of our hands but it will also become much more expensive to carry out the necessary low-carbon transition in the future."

To better understand the effect of Cap and Trade on climate change check out this Free Range Studios video by Annie Leonard: http://storyofstuff.com/capandtrade/

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!