Oklahomans Turn Out to Honor Benedictine Nuns
The Benedictine Sisters from Red Plains Monastery, Piedmont; St. Joseph Monastery, Tulsa; and Osage Monastery, Sand Springs.

By Eileen Dugan
Sooner Catholic

OKLAHOMA CITY — Bryce Hall at Epiphany was the site of a joyous celebration March 6. More than 250 individuals gathered to honor those belonging to the three Benedictine communities of women religious in Oklahoma.

Organized by Chairperson Paula Hearn and her group of laywomen, Benedictine women from Red Plains Monastery, Piedmont; St. Joseph Monastery, Tulsa; and Osage Monastery, Sand Springs were brought together with those who had benefited from their ministries and wanted to say, “Thank you”.

Celebrants mingled with the nuns  enjoying refreshments and renewing old acquaintances. In the foyer, information on each monastery and crafts made by them were displayed and dispensed to interested parties.

As everyone adjourned to the church, Archbishop Eusebius Beltran offered the opening prayer. Then, Mary Diane Steltenkamp, parish nurse at Saint Francis Parish, gave the keynote address. She summarized the impact Benedictine women have had on Oklahoma, both as Indian Territory and as a state.

The reasons people came to celebrate varied. Jackie Chong had spent some time at Red Plains Monastery on retreat. Judy Taylor had gone through the pastoral ministry (MAPM) program. “Sister Jan [Futrell] was our spiritual director. We utilized Red Plains Monastery for spiritual direction. She convinced me that spiritual direction is worthwhile,” Taylor said.

Rudy Valenta and Linda O’Hern wanted the nuns to know they cared. Valenta, one of the nuns’ Piedmont neighbors, helps the nuns with odd jobs and made the sign in front of their monastery. O’Hern, a lawyer, had met the sisters when they lived in Oklahoma City near her law office.

Steltenkamp told of the establishment of Osage Monastery in 1980: “due in no small part to the welcoming efforts of Archbishop Beltran, a monastic ashram of five women” was established in Sand Springs, she said. “Their primary focus is on contemplative prayer concentrating on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Retreats, spiritual direction, and an emphasis on East-West Intermonastic Dialogue are offered.”

Debra Schachle, Teresa Schachle, Barbara Corrigan, Bernadine Lynch, and Gerry Schwarz came to celebrate with Sister Mary Michael Schwarz from Saint Joseph Monastery. Debra is Sister Mary Michael’s niece, and Teresa and Gerry are her sisters.

Debra Schachle is also the niece of Red Plains Sister, Roberta Schachle. Teresa Schachle’s husband James was the brother of Sister Roberta. “We named two of our 13 children after...[these two nuns]: Michael and Roberta,” Teresa said.  

Barbara Duer, from Saint Patrick’s, said, “I’m here because I’m an Oblate. Oblates practice Saint Benedict’s Rule in everyday life. We have monthly meetings and the nuns’ support. On the second Saturday of every month, we have potluck dinners at the monastery.

“These Oblates of Saint Benedict [Christian lay people] affiliate with a particular Benedictine monastery and pledge to live lives according to the Gospel, as interpreted by Saint Benedict,” Steltemkamp said.  

Duer also said she had attended the festivities for the nuns because of her involvement with the Retreat in Daily Life. It “is the study of Saint Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. The nuns have sponsored it in the community. It changed my life,” she said.

Steltenkamp explained that in 1983 the Sisters of Benedict had brought this “invigorating seven-month process based on the Spiritual Exe- rcises of Saint Ignatius” to Oklahoma. Since then, “Over 900 people have availed themselves of this intensive small-group retreat process. These groups are present in Piedmont, Okla-homa City, Norman, Moore, Edmond, Guthrie, and Enid.” she said.

Becky Gomez, Gerry Lantagne, and Diane Powers are all happy to have had the nuns in their lives.  We “appreciate their humility and openness and their acceptance,” Powers said.

“I really got close to them in the pastoral ministry program when it first started,” Fanny Everette of Corpus Christi Parish said. “Sister Benedicta [Boland] taught me so much. It was a passion she passed on to me for social justice and for the Eucharist. She inspires and moves you to do it!”

Marilyn Anderson, also from Corpus Christi, added, “Anytime the Benedictines are having a celebration, we show up to celebrate with them because they have impacted us, and, through us, our parish, Corpus Christi.”

Janet Oden spoke for the rest of those in attendance when she said, “We’re here to celebrate all the good things the Benedictine women have done for the community and for our family, personally.”

After the keynote address, Tom Temple entranced the crowd with his guitar, playing a composition he had composed especially for the occasion: “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life”. Sister Benedicta Boland of Red Plains Monastery, assisted by cantor and Oblate, Margo Hayes of Custer City, then led the congregation in song and prayer.

Sister Benedicta spoke briefly of how she had traveled by Greyhound bus at the age of 14 from Tulsa to Guthrie to attend the Benedictine school there. “As I got out of the Yellow Cab, I heard the sisters singing Matins [part of the Liturgy of the Hours]. It touched my heart,” she said. She was so moved that eventually she became a Benedictine sister herself.

Sister Jan Futrell, Prioress of Red Plains Monastery, thanked everyone for coming and joined with the other nuns from Red Plains in singing a final blessing.
 

At left: The Sisters of the RedPlains singing the final blessing.