Megan Quinn: Peruvian spirituality takes shape in documentary

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Megan Quinn Faith Columnist

The Andes mountains are a dream backdrop for filmmakers hoping to capture the dramatic natural landscape but the region also drew filmmaker Jeffrey Wium to Peru for a deeper reason.

Back in 2002, Wium sought wisdom from Peruvians paqos peruvian shamans or healers whose spiritual traditions are a part of their everyday lives.

Wium was enamored with the beauty, mystery and deep love behind the paqos' practices. After many trips to Peru in the past few years, he learned enough from paqos in the high Andes near Cuzco to become a paqo himself.

He has now created a new documentary about the seldom-documented lives of the Peruvian spiritual practitioners.

"Wisdomkeepers: Paqo Andino" tells a visual story about the breathtaking Andes mountains and its inhabitants, focusing on the daily spiritual traditions, such as ceremonies honoring the earth and fertility and healing ceremonies.

"It's a profound and powerful eco-spiritual" film, said Therese Wells, a member of Boulder-based Indigenous Alchemy, a group of shamanic practitioners who teach the community about ancient sacred healing traditions by hosting workshops and events.

"Wisdomkeepers" will be screened at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Unity Church, 2855 Folsom St. Tickets are $15 in advance at paqoandino.com or $20 at the door.

There also will be a one-day workshop about paqos and Peruvian spirituality on March 23 at the Solstice Center, 302 Pearl St.

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Megan Quinn: Peruvian spirituality takes shape in documentary

Lenten retreat at Trinity Lutheran is March 29

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MASON CITY | Trinity Lutheran Church, 213 N Pennsylvania Ave., will host the Heartspace: Creative Expressions of Spirituality Lenten retreat, on Saturday, March 29.

The retreat is from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Heartspace explores the intersections of art and spirituality, inspiring growth and reflection.This retreat is a result of the creative collaboration of the Rev. Barbara Huisman and Kris Christensen.

Huisman is a pastor,artist and would-be poet Currently she is serving a non-traditional church in Fort Dodge. Going on its fourth year, Cana's coffee-shop setting welcomes all to discover a faith journey inward and the journey outward.

Christensen is an artist and art missionary. Having served the local church for nearly 20 years, she has branched out to gather others, explore creativity and grow in spirituality.

Register for the retreat in advance at Trinity Lutheran Church, 641-423-0536. Space is limited.

The cost of the retreat is $20, which includes mid-morning refreshments and lunch.

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Lenten retreat at Trinity Lutheran is March 29

NASA Administrator Visits Marshall, Views Space Launch System Progress, Talks Budget

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Posted on: 5:44 pm, March 14, 2014, by David Wood, updated on: 09:09pm, March 14, 2014

Marshall Space Flight Centers SLS Testing & Operation Integration Laboratory (PHOTO: David Wood, WHNT)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) -NASA Administrator Charles Bolden today toured the agencys Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville where testing is underway on the avionics unit for the largest, most powerful rocket ever built.

At Marshalls System Integration Laboratory, Bolden, along with staff from Alabamas congressional delegation and community leaders, had the opportunity to view the Space Launch System (SLS) avionics unit arranged in flight configuration, along with booster hardware, which are being integrated and tested together to ultimately guide the entire vehicle. He also watched flight software simulations of how SLS will perform during launch.

Its great to be back at Marshall and see, firsthand, the impressive progress made by the SLS team, said Bolden. SLS will help take American astronauts an asteroid and Mars, and it all starts here in Huntsville. My hats off to the entire team for their hard work.

The completed rocket will stand 321 feet tall and include the core stage, which stores the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will fuel the vehicles four RS-25 engines and, with two five-segment solid rocket boosters, power the rocket.

The avionics unit including its hardware, software and operating systems will guide the rocket to deep space destinations, including an asteroid and Mars. The flight computers will be housed in the SLS core stage, while other avionics are distributed throughout the vehicle.

Engineers from NASA and Boeing, the prime contract for the SLS core stage and avionics, integrated and powered up the core stage avionics unit for its initial run, called First Light, in early January and have since been running numerous tests using the latest flight software.

This is a significant and exciting milestone for both NASA and Boeing, said Lisa Blue, stages avionics system manager in the SLS Program Office. We are using and testing technologies that include the most powerful computer processor ever used in a flight system.

In 2015, the avionics unit will be shipped to NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the core stage is being manufactured, and attached to the actual rocket.

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NASA Administrator Visits Marshall, Views Space Launch System Progress, Talks Budget

NASA Administrator Visits Marshall, Views Space Launch System Progress

Posted on by

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden toured on March 14 the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., where testing is underway on the avionics unit for the largest, most powerful rocket ever built.

At Marshall's System Integration Laboratory, Bolden, along with staff from Alabama's congressional delegation and community leaders, had the opportunity to view the Space Launch System (SLS) avionics unit arranged in flight configuration, along with booster hardware, which are being integrated and tested together to ultimately guide the entire vehicle. He also watched flight software simulations of how SLS will perform during launch.

"Its great to be back at Marshall and see, firsthand, the impressive progress made by the SLS team, said Bolden. "SLS will help take American astronauts an asteroid and Mars, and it all starts here in Huntsville. My hat's off to the entire team for their hard work."

The completed rocket will stand 321 feet tall and include the core stage, which stores the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will fuel the vehicle's four RS-25 engines and, with two five-segment solid rocket boosters, power the rocket.

The avionics unit -- including its hardware, software and operating systems -- will guide the rocket to deep space destinations, including an asteroid and Mars. The flight computers will be housed in the SLS core stage, while other avionics are distributed throughout the vehicle.

Engineers from NASA and Boeing, the prime contract for the SLS core stage and avionics, integrated and powered up the core stage avionics unit for its initial run, called "First Light," in early January and have since been running numerous tests using the latest flight software.

"This is a significant and exciting milestone for both NASA and Boeing," said Lisa Blue, stages avionics system manager in the SLS Program Office. "We are using and testing technologies that include the most powerful computer processor ever used in a flight system."

In 2015, the avionics unit will be shipped to NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the core stage is being manufactured, and attached to the actual rocket.

For its first flight test in 2017, the SLS will be configured to lift 70 metric tons (77 tons), and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit. In its final stage of evolution, the SLS will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system. Marshall manages the SLS Program and Michoud Assembly Facility.

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NASA Administrator Visits Marshall, Views Space Launch System Progress