Br. Benet Tvedten, OSB, Oblate Director at Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota, has graciously permitted the editors of The Oblate to reprint his article on the recent Oblate Directors’ Biennial Meeting at St Martin’s Abbey in Lacey, Washington. Fr. Greg Miller, OSB, and Fr. Allen Tarlton, OSB, also attended this meeting.
Benedictines Across North America Meet, Discover Insights
Dear Oblates,
I have returned from the biennial meeting of the North American Association of Benedictine Oblate Directors. This year it was hosted by St. Martin’s Abbey and St. Placid’s Priory, both in Lacey, Washington. A little over a hundred directors and oblates attended. The theme of the conference was “The Charism of Benedictine Leadership.” The speakers were Abbot Peter Eberle, former Abbot of Mt. Angel Abbey, Oregon, and now Abbot President of the Swiss-American Congregation, and Sister Jacquelyn Ernster, former Prioress of Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton. After meeting so many oblates from all over the country and being at the tables with them during the small group discussions, I came away deeply impressed by these oblates. They have a good knowledge of Benedictine spirituality and are sincerely committed to it. And as is the case most everywhere else, not all of these oblates are Roman Catholic. The conference theme of leadership was clearly manifested by those oblates who were present bearing the title “Associate Oblate Director.”
