Community of Joy – Al Heggen, Helen Christiansen and Aman Cara

Dear Holy Wisdom Community,

During these harrowing times, when the news often leads us to feelings of despair, I am determined to also keep our focus on what is good, true and joyful. Often, at Holy Wisdom, it is no surprise that what is good, true and joyful is often our community members. Please watch for articles into 2026 that highlight our community, who they are, how they are involved and what they find at Holy Wisdom. As a community of communities, I often see my job as finding the overlap on the Venn Diagram as to where the many communities overlap – these Community Joy articles will hopefully help you become familiar with one another and other ways to get involved at Holy Wisdom. I hope you enjoy this bit of joy.

Kindly,

Erin

Al Heggen, Helen Christiansen and Aman Cara

On a sunny Wednesday in September, I found Al and Helen at their usual spot, in the Holy Wisdom Dining Room, with a carafe of coffee and a pile of books and articles in front of them. Throughout our hour together, other community members, including Sister Joanne Kollasch, made a point to stop by the table just to be in their presence and say hello. We had a deep and moving conversation and I can only give you some of the highlights here, but Holy Wisdom is beyond fortunate to have this couple’s presence, support and contributions.

What is most important to you about Holy Wisdom?

Al: The community and hospitality. The fact that the Sunday Assembly community is explicitly Christian, but not exclusively so, is extremely important in this changing and polarized world.

Helen: The openness and welcoming nature are so critical, and that it is lived out every Sunday.

How are you involved at Holy Wisdom?

Al and Helen are a constant presence at the monastery. The communities they are involved in include: Sunday Assembly, Wednesday retreat days, walking the prairie and participating in talks and events. Oh, and Al used to work here!  Their involvement goes way back. Al’s first wife, Joanne, was working at Holy Wisdom as the Conference Coordinator and the sisters invited Al to join the workforce at that time. “It was an incredible time to be at the monastery,” said Al, “as it was when they were learning about becoming ecumenical.” Al described the time and being part of the Community of Benedict as “it was like we were toddlers learning our way – it was a type of lived experiment about community.” He goes on to say that living out values for this organization was always more than an idea. The sisters have been exploring what it means to live in community from a perspective that “blows the walls off” the typical model. Al and Helen were both part of the Community of Benedict when they were married to other people; in fact, they met 20 years before that in Detroit as couple friends when they were both with their first spouses in the 1960s. It would be after they were both widowed, and many more years, before Al visited Helen in Florida, and they would eventually find themselves back in Madison and at Holy Wisdom married to each other.

Anam Cara

Most of our rich conversation on this Wednesday morning centered around a concept that Al introduced me to called Anam Cara or soul friends. Since then, I have explored a bit of John O’Donohue, and the resources Al suggested. I learned that in the Celtic tradition, Anam Cara refers to a deeply trusted companion, mentor and spiritual guide who offers unconditional support and understanding, facilitating a profound connection to the divine, oneself and others.

I have begun to understand why Al and Helen emphasized this phrase that day. They shared that, for them, the sisters are Anam Cara because of their deep, long, trusted and important relationship over the years. Anam Cara also can be a place, Al explained, and this place, Holy Wisdom, is without a doubt Anam Cara for many.

There was so much more shared and said this Wednesday morning, but I leave you with an O’Donohue quote that summarizes Al and Helen for me.

“When you send that love out from the bountifulness of your own love, it reaches other people. This love is the deepest power of prayer,” from John O’Donohue in Anam Cara.

Thank you, Al and Helen, for being you, for sharing your wisdom, for sharing your love and for being Anam Cara for so many of us.