SistersOfBenedictNewsletter_v9.no1.1998.Spring.pdf
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Property of the C r'!cr
Sisters of <Benedict
NE-w-SLETTER
Spring 1998, Vol. 9: Issue 1
T
CAJPKTA1LCAMPAIGN
BENEFKT§
OUR MONASTERY
he recent Capital Campaign benefitted our monastery in significant ways. Following are descriptions of the
changes and modifications made to our monastic home because of the Campaign.
Our monastery is comprised of three homes located adjacent to one another on 21.5 acres of property near Piedmont,
Okla, which is west of Oklahoma City "about 15 minutes." It is the residence for twelve of the fifteen members of our
community; it is where we care for our monastic family. Our family life is similar to that of any other family--with
daily activities of cooking, shopping, housecleaning, gardening, and, of course, enjoying the company of each other
and especially our guests.
continued on page 4
Sister C£uniceCefe6rates{JoUenJu6ifee
Sister Eunice Ballmann celebrated her sot1t
year as a Sister of Benedictin early January
with parishioners of St. John the Baptist,
Edmond,Okla. She was honoredat a Mass
attendedby many parish friends as well as
her Benedictine sisters. The Mass was
followed by a reception which featured her
favorite
Glenn
Mi 11 er
tunes!
As religious education director of
the parish,
Eunice
bespeaks
humility
about her
work, but
the parishioners and staff
are ever
enthusiasticabout her many contributions.
Their appreciationgift given to her at the
celebrationwas a trip to the Holy Land and
Rome in May.
"We're going to all the importantplaces,"
Eunicewas eagerto say. " Ourtour guidewill
be Father KevinRatterman.The other Sister
Ballmann,my own sister, Marie, will be my
companion.We'IIvisitJerusalem,Bethlehem,
Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Cana-- even Mt.
Carmel." Following time in these sacred
places,thetour willtravelto Romewherethey
willhavean audiencewithPopeJohnPaulVI,
tour St. Peter's Square,the Sistine Chapel,
and other pointsof interestin VaticanCity.
In preparationfor the trip, Eunice is avidly
readinga bookof historicaland geographical
information to bone up on "even the
terrain"ofmanyholy placesthey'll visit.
Reflecting on her life as member of the
Benedictinecommunity, Eunice has found
satisfaction being a teacher of young
children.As a child herself, learningto read
was very difficult. "My motherwas diligent
in helpingme learn,"she said, "patientin the
repetitionnecessaryfor me to learn. Laterin
my life, I discoveredthat during times of
change
in my
CO m munity,
I tried
to rem a in
'CO
n-
stant'
throughout the
change,
a n d
have
continuedonpage 5
By Sister Jan Futrell, O.S.B.
A fundamental ministry of our community is Retreat in Daily Life.
Sisters Marie Luecke and Benedicta Boland pose these questions to our
readers:
1.
Are you taking time to grow spiritually?
2.
Do you find it difficult to take time away for a retreat-especially one of some duration?
3•
Do you want to experience God as a more integral part of
your on-going life experience?
Sister Marie Luecke
has a grin for everyone.
Retreat in Daily Life is a way for busy people to grow more deeply in their
relationship with and commitment to Jesus Christ. It is based on the seven-month experience of the
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. This form of retreat involves giving personal time each day
to prayer, committing to the method of the Exercises and its entry into the Gospel.
"It will again be offered October 1998 to May 1999 under the guidance of Sister Benedicta, myself, and
a number of other trained prayer guides," according to Sister Marie. "Some retreatants meet at the
monastery near Piedmont, Okla, while other groups meet in various areas of Oklahoma City, and also at
Enid, Guthrie and Moore. Groups of eight to ten persons will be led through 30 weekly group sessions.
Each person will have a personal spiritual guide who leads them through 15 one-to-one individual
meetings every other week," she continued.
A $60 monthly fee is suggested as compensation for participation in all group meetings and individual
sessions. Since the Benedictine tradition has always been hospitality to all, no one is turned away for lack
of funds. Scholarships are available. Sister Marie noted "St. Benedict's Rule is very clear: 'Those who
have been blessed with more may wish to contribute more, and those who have less, give less, so that all
may at peace in the house of God. ' "
In the past 15 years, over 450 persons of varying denominations have benefitted from this enriching prayer
experience. Registration occurs in the summer months, with a period of personal preparation for a few
weeks before the actual beginning in early October. Other kinds of retreats are also available at the
Piedmont retreat house.
Page 2
ooCsPor Vocation(J)iscernment
by Sister Joanne Yankauskis, O.S.B.
The Way of Benedict:Journey of Faith, Path of Love
is a newly released video depicting Benedictine life in twelve
monasteries located in the "heartland" of the U.S. The video is
available through the respective vocations director of each
community for individuals or groups seeking information about
monastic life.
The primary focus of the video is to give insight into Benedictine life
as lived today. Comments from members of the various
communities describe different aspects of Benedictine life.
Alternating with their comments, the video features descriptive
scenes at the various monasteries, explanations of portions of St.
Benedict's Rule, and audio recordings of Benedictines at worship.
SisterBenedicta Boland is one of the featured spokeswomen for Red
Plains Monastery on the video. Her commentary concerns the
prevalent element of hospitality mandated by the Rule for all
Benedictine communities. There are, in addition, several "still"
photographs of life at Red Plains Monastery.
If you would like to view the video or obtain a list of the participating
monasteries, please contact Red Plains Monastery's Vocation
Director Sister Joanne Yankauskis at (405) 373-4565, or
osbokc@ionet.netor 728 Richland Road SW, Piedmont, OK 73078.
Red Plains Monastery also is featured with other Benedictine
communities in a double-paged advertisement in the 1998
edition of the Religious Vocation Discernment Handbook,
VISION, published annually by the national Religious Vocation
Conference, Chicago, Illinois.
POf\JDER
T
H
E
~:~c:,iB--,
ll·-··l'"f"li-S
P r)·
~,J ,_J l ·.
Have you considered a
vocation to religious life?
If you are a single woman,
Catholic, and twenty years
of age or older, we invite
you to consider life as a
Sister of Benedict. You
may choose to "COME
AND SEE" at our Monastery for a day, a weekend,
or even longer.
--
"BETHANY NIGHT" ts
for women interested in
knowing more about monastic life.
It is held
monthly on the third
Wednesday evening from
5:00 to 8: 15 p.m. Vespers
is celebrated at 5: 15 p.m.,
followed by supper and
conversation. The evening
concludes with night prayer
beginning at 8:00 p.m.
Please call (405) 373-4565
if you would like to
participate in either activity.
Page 3
CAPKTAJL
BENEFITS
CAMPAIGN
OUR MONASTERY
We gather for common prayer four
times daily in our newly completed
chapel, or oratory, its name in the
Benedictine tradition. Classic in its
simplicity, it was designed and
crafted by long-time friend of the
community, Tom Temple. We can
easily contemplate the glory of God
as we behold Nature's grandeur
through the spacious windows of the
chapel. The chapel has an eastern
exposure overlooking our lake and
is attached to the southernmost wing
of the main monastery house. The
names of our benefactors were
sealed inside the vertical support
beam of the central cross, and the
name of each member of our
community is etched into the
cement footing of the chapel's
perimeter. Visitors are always wel-
continued
come to join us m community
prayer.
We recreate and relax in the main
house. Five sisters live there, and it
is in our large community room
where the entire community comes
together to read, assemble jigsaw
puzzles, work on crafts projects,
enjoy television or movies. We
share meals, celebrate birthdays,
and host receptions in our lovely
new dining room which has been
enlarged to accommodate 18 persons. Our expanded kitchen has
many amenities: two dishwashers,
two double sinks, the ever-popular
microwave, a double oven and a
large pantry equipped with "lazy
susans."
The original
cramped
kitchen
has
now become a
most pleasing
room in which
to prepare food
for ourselves
and our guests.
Two views of new business/development office
Page4
One of the new retreatants rooms
Lucy's Guest
House is the
second home in
our monastery
complex. Frequently
through
the
year it serves
as temporary
"home" to the
dozens
of
retreatants who
seek quiet respite in their
daily
lives.
During one phase of renovation we
~ere able to convert its garage into
two small bedrooms and an adjoining bathroom. Lucy's is the setting
for spiritual direction for persons
who come to us seeking our
guidance and counsel, and is
available for small groups to use for
workshops or retreats. Two sisters
utilize Lucy's as their personal
living space.
Our other home, known as "The
Third Place," has likewise been
renovated. We converted a playroom into two bedrooms, added a
handicapped accessible bath, and
enlarged the library by creating
shelf and storage space. Five
community members live at the
Third Place. The Art Barn is located
nearby and houses a potter's wheel
and two kilns. The Art Barn has also
received some TLC-- it has been
heated, air-conditioned, and reroofed.
Because the splendid response to the
Campaign, we were also able to
convert two thirds of our garage at
the main house into the community
business/development office. The
office is outfitted with standard
business equipment and furnishings,
and we are delighted to find e-mail
Property o~the Center
from our friends across the nation
from time to time as we utilize yet
another aspect of our computer
system! Many of the storage spaces
in the office and in the adjacent
pantry facility were created by
using recycled cabinet doors and
materials salvaged from renovated
portions of each of our three
monastic homes.
Since we began these projects, our
household has increased by three
persons.
Two new members,
Sisters Melissa Letts and Judith
Martin, have become a part of our
Benedictine journey. Sister Marie
Mundell returned home from New
Orleans last year, bringing the
number of Sisters at the monastery
to twelve.
We are grateful indeed to our God
for providing us with our monastic
home and for seeing us through the
CapitalCampaign which resulted in
so very many improvements,
changes and construction at Red
Plains Monastery.
New kitchen spaces
to replace the old
The accompanying photographs illustrate many, but not
all, of the improvements which were made to our
monastery as a result of the Capital Campaign. Any reader
of these pages is welcome to visit our monastery by simply
calling and arranging a mutually convenient time. Our
telephone number is 405 373-4565.
SisterP.uniceCefe6ratesqo{cfenJu6i{eecontinued/rampage
1
takenpainsto rememberthe needsof the childrenI taught.I triedto remainpatientin theirattemptsto learnto read,rememberingmyownyouthful
struggle."
Herlongyearsof ministrywerespentas a primaryteacherin Tulsa schoolsand parishes--Churchof Madalene,St. Catherine's,St. Francis,and
MonteCassino.She also spent 6 years at St. John's in McAlester,and her longeststint was 18years at John CarrollSchoolin OklahomaCity.
To personsconsideringreligious life today, Eunice suggests a mindfulnessin helping others. " In religious life, one can find support,
encouragement
and helpthat is needed.Livingwithina group, one willfindthat the communityis interestedin seeingthat one's gifts are used."
"Community
lifefor me is veryimportant.Learningto live withstrangersof variousageshelpsyou learnwhoyou are. It is growthin Benedictine
spirituality,
for you nevercometo a stoppingplace. Thereis alwaysmoreto learnaboutyour relationshipwithGod and others. Communitylife
providesmanyopportunitiesfor this growth,"Eunicecontinued."We learnthroughthe giveand take of the commonlife to grow into the person
Godwantsus to be. We recognizeand call forththe varietyof gifts each one has and are askedto sharewith one anotherand others. This gives
the strength,supportand interdependenceneededor requiredfor sharedactivitiesin meals,work, ministryand especiallyin commonprayer,
liturgiesandcelebrations."
Eunicehasservedhercommunityas formationdirectorfor manyyears."At my age,my goodheathhas servedme well. I havetriedto be flexible,
thoughsometimesI havenotbeenas spontaneousas some,butI havegrown,seekingnewhorizons,learningmoreaboutprayerandcontemplation,
andseekingthe will of God in my life." She addedwistfully,"thereis alwayssomethingnew to embrace."
Page 5
§I[§TERS
ON
THE
MOVE
Sister Marie Ballmann, prioress of Red Plains Monastery, was among 55 Benedictine leaders of the Conference
of American Benedictine Prioresses recently convened by President Judith Ann Heble at Monastery of the
Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Indiana.
The workshop, which drew Benedictines from the U.S., Canada, Bahamas and Australia, took the theme
"Sacramental Life of Monastic Communities and the Liturgical Roles of the Prioress."
Nathan Mitchell of the University of Notre Dame spoke to the prioresses on the Rule of St. Benedict as it relates
to the Benedictine tradition of ritual and the prioress' role in the monastic rites of her community.
Sister Joanne
meeting of
Conference at
theme of the
Adults."
1f /k(f;
Y ankauskis attended the regional
the National Religious Vocation
Lake Dallas on February 9-12. The
conference was "Engaging Young
ffeJff,
Tf (j})Tf (f;§ § 5!§
On March 3-5, Sister Joanne was present for the
Heartland Monastic Vocation Directors Conference
at Assumption Monastery in Ava, Missouri. Women
and men monastics present at the session supported
one another as they discussed current activities and
challenges of vocation ministry.
Ml
(f;§§(!JI, fl (f;by Sister Marie Ballmann,O.S.B.
Gratitude is the predominant feeling in our hearts as we Sisters of
Benedict, Red Plains Monastery,
near completion of a $530,000
Capital Campaign.
You, our
cherished friends, have been part of
a thirty-year journey in Western
Oklahoma, and we are grateful for
our past history with you, for our
present time with you, and for our
future with its special promise of
God's grace and goodness to us
through you.
The largest pledge in the Campaign
was $60,000, generously donated
by Sister Adorers of the Blood of
Christ, of Wichita, Kansas. We
have enjoyed their friendships and
support and have worked side by
side with their members in ministry
in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma
City. $40,000 of their three year
pledge has already been received.
There are only five other individual
pledges representing $3,100 outstanding.
We began this Campaign two and
one half years ago. To date, we
have received gifts, pledges and
grants totaling $506,900. Of that
amount $239,064 was in 1328 gifts
and pledges, and $78,000 was
received in two grants.
Our
community itself contributed another $189,836 from sale of our
urban property, individual salaries,
and personal gifts.
We are establishing an endowment
fund to provide for future maintenance needs on our properties, with
an initial contribution from the
Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
forming the basis of that fund.
Though we deeply appreciate the
services that many volunteer friends
render, we are realistic about the
expenses related to maintenance,
ever mindful of a tenet of St.
Page 6
Benedict that we remain faithful
stewards of the gifts that we have
been given.
We are so very near our goal
because of your help, and also the
assistance from many other sources,
as well as the competent and
creative labors of Barbara Nichols,
who began working as our parttime Development Director in
1995. Because of incredible generosity, we were able to complete
each and every project during five
phases of construction/renovation.
(Please see related article on page 1
for details of the projects.)
We are appreciative of the dedicated hard work of our Sisters and
are especially grateful for our
friends, family members, volunteers, co-members and donors who
enabled all of this to be possible.
We are thankful, we are thankful!
PRAYEROFGRATITUDEANDPRAISE
Edward Hayes
BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD OUR GOD.
WHODAILY GIFTS US WITHTIME.
You who are Lord and Creator of Space and Time
yet who lives beyond them,
we praise Yau and honor Yau
for the gift of minutes, hours, days and years.
Each second of life that You give
is precious and profound.
We pause now so as not to take these gifts for granted,
so that we may remember in a holy way
that all time is holy,
a gift which calls forth
songs of gratitude from our hearts.
We pause to gratefully remember
those holy persons of ages past
who call us to measure time in a godly way.
We call to mind:
Noah, counting forty days and nights
Job, waiting with longing in prayerful patience,
and Mary of Nazareth, numbering her nine months.
For those persons today who call us
to take time for work and play,
to make time for love and praise,
to create time for rest
and the leisure necessary for creation,
we lift up our hearts in thanks.
We who live in the present
recall the past
so that by our remembrance
we might more fittingly prepare
for the future time.
We stand in the middle of a trinity of time,
past, present and future,
and do bless Yau, Source and Sustainer of All Seasons.
Blessed are Yau, Lord our God,
who daily gifts us with time.
Amen+
Page 7
Sisters of <Benedict
Non-profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Oklahoma City,
728 Richland Road, SW
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
OK
Permit No. 1359
RETURNSERVICEREQUESTED
Herland
Sister
Resources
2312 N.W. 39th
Oklahoma City OK 73112
You are cordially invited ....
SPRING TASTING LUNCHEON
and STYLE SHOW by Tres Chic
Benep"tting the Sisters of Benedict
Wednesday, April 29, 11 :30 a.m.
in the home of
Governor and Mrs. David Walters,
Reservations by Friday, April 24
$15.00 Luncheon
• Riviera Drive
6219 Riviera Drive*, Oklahoma
Patty Baker (405) 755-2180
Silent Auction
is 1 block south of N. W. 63,d Street, and runs east from Villa.
Complimentary Sl,uttle Service will be provided from All Souls Episcopal Clrnrcl, bot!, to, and from,
tl,c Walters' borne. All Souls is located at N.W. 63•dStreet and Nortl, Pennsylvania.
Please use tl,c cast parking lot of tl,c clrnrcl1
T],e slmttlc will run continuously from 11,00 to 2:00 p.m.
City
Part of Sisters of Benedict Newsletter : v.9:no.1(1998:Spring)