SPIRITUALITY MEETS TECHNOLOGY

    Heavy rains preceded my visit to Wisconsin. Just before I arrived in Minneapolis the Mississippi River was about to crest again. Downstream, especially in Iowa, flooding was taking place. Aside from the very heavy traffic on the Interstate there was no real problem crossing the river. I was heading for Ladysmith, about three hours from the Twin Cities and the location of the Servite Center for Life. It is one of the CSOs that was associated with the Wisconsin cluster, and its director, Nancy Wheeler, had been very helpful in giving me background on the projects in the state.

The Servite Center seemed to be an unusual organization to be involved in a community technology project like MIRA. The center offered inspirational workshops as well as a sanctuary from daily life. It is associated with the local Catholic liberal arts college in Ladysmith and is situated on beautiful grounds at the edge of town. Nancy showed me the labyrinth ("the winding path that moves us to our center becomes a metaphor for life's journey.") as well as the Peace Pole which was to be dedicated shortly after my visit. There are over 200,000 Peace Poles around the world in 180 countries. Each pole is inscribed with the prayer May Peace Prevail on Earth in four languages on each side of the post.

How had this center become involved in MIRA? Chuck Erickson a technical consultant for an education support district persuaded Nancy to join in on the application to the Kellogg Foundation. Erickson had been a Kellogg fellow and spread the word about the grant soon after it was announced. Their application was rejected the first time and was chosen in the second round. As individuals Erickson and Nancy were members of the teams, even though CSOs were supposed to be at arm's length from the grass roots groups. This rule was followed by some participants and ignored by others from one state to another.

Nancy gave me a recruiting brochure where point people for each thematic team were named. The themes were set before the training began, and Erickson recruited leaders for each team. The topics varied: alternative agriculture, literacy, youth groups, youth business, community arts, environmental education, small business support, and health. Nancy said she resisted joining because she could not see the connection between technology and the mission of her spirituality center. "What did I need email for?" was answered as soon as an outside consultant designed and wired up the center. The ability to connect with like-minded groups and look at web sites such as the Peace Project quickly converted Nancy, and she found it very useful.