Threshold - Winter 2004

Oblates: An Ecumenical Mix

To see how Benedictine life can foster unity among Christians, one needs look no farther than the oblate program. Although lay people have committed themselves to sharing monastic values for centuries, the modern oblate movement contains unprecedented numbers of non-Catholics among its ranks. This year, Mount St. Scholastica added six new members to its more than 100 oblates who come from at least five different religious denominations.

Michael Hernandez, a life-long Roman Catholic and resident of St. Joseph, Missouri, is very active in his local parish and has a deep devotion to both the liturgy and the needs of the world. He appreciates how his times at the Mount and with the sisters nourish his spirit and help him to serve others. “When I come to the monastery, I feel a special presence of Christ in the sisters and in their celebration of the Eucharist.”

Sheila Kelly of Topeka admits to having moved from her early Catholic upbringing through periods of doubt and rejection of the Church before returning again. She was especially moved by a priest who assured her “God has always been with you.” As a hospital chaplain, she knows how important nurturing her own faith is if she is to be a comfort to anyone else. She says of her relationship to the community, “I see the way the sisters reverence each other and I want to grow in receiving and giving God’s love.”

Patricia Erington is from Overland Park and has been an involved member of the Lutheran Church (ELCA) for most of her adult life. She became part of the Souljourners program, which trains spiritual directors, and had also attended some other meetings at the Mount. “We would periodically worship with the sisters and there was always a great sense of welcome and warmth that attracted me,” she comments.

Marge Krivjansky, a member of a Catholic parish in Topeka, was also a Souljourner. She had known the Benedictine sisters who taught in her parish school for many years, but being at the monastery on a regular basis “caused the fire in me to grow even brighter,” she says. “I love to be in the peaceful presence at the Mount, but as an oblate I join the sisters in prayer from my home while fulfilling my responsibilities to my family.”

Nancy Kolhoff is a Methodist pastor in the Topeka area. Her first trip to Mount St. Scholastica was as a seminary student at St. Paul’ School of Theology in Kansas City. Her week in the Benedictine Immersion Program inspired her to explore the spirituality more deeply. “This life of spiritual discipline is especially helpful for me as I continue to journey towards balance and wholeness in all aspects of my life with God at the center.”

Jan Whelan of Kansas City also knows about a life of church ministry. Spouse of an Episcopal priest for over twenty years, she is a deacon as well. As part of her ordination discernment, she came to Sophia Center for spiritual direction and found something more. She and her husband are trying to simplify their lives, conserve resources, engage in mission trips to Haiti and find daily time for prayer and lectio. “ Being an oblate is an important part of this process,” she notes. “I need the Benedictine sisters to serve as my role models and to be my companions on the journey. I can’t do it alone.”

This is what all these people, and the community to which they have united, know to be the truth. No one does it alone, and the sisters have also been enriched by the role models that oblates are to them. They are inspired to see people with families and stressful jobs, with financial struggles and painful personal histories, with enthusiasm and a driving hunger for holiness, continue to make the effort to add the daily prayer and other spiritual practices to their lives. The broader community of both lay and religious grows in every way from such dialogue.

Newly professed oblates receive a blessing from the community.

Each October, the oblates of Mount St. Scholastica are invited to a
day of renewal. Since there are several different oblate groups, this
gives them an opportunity to get better acquainted with each other
as well as the sisters. This year, Sister Paula Howard spoke to them
about her experiences as a writer of icons. For their reflection
various icons placed around the chapel and to spend time with them.


Kathy Slawson, Beth Denney and Diane Laughlin (seated) and
Marci Gwaltney (standing) gaze at one of the icons, while others
in background reflect elsewhere in the chapel.


Jan Kelly enters into an encounter with an image of Christ.


The participants in the renewal day also enjoy attending liturgy with the sisters, having lunch with them in the monastery dining room and having quiet time to spend in personal prayer. At the end of the day, they have their own vesper service.