Drawing the oblates

She describes it this way: “Benedictine life is a way of living the gospel that is profoundly spiritual, deeply practical and ultimately transformative. It is rooted in community, lived in prayer, listening and reflection and embodied through service, simplicity and care for all.

“I’m kind of provocatively saying, why do we think people have to fit into the traditional box of Roman Catholic vowed life? Let’s try some new structures, some new wineskins, if you will, from the Christian tradition,” she added.

The sisters have been working toward these new structures, slowly, for years but made official changes three years ago.

“In 2020 there was a formal passing of the baton, if you will,” Jackson explained. 

The oblates began leading themselves, independently. It’s the first time a sister hasn’t directed the oblate program. An oblate is a lay person committed to living a Benedictine life.

Somerton, who now lives in Oregon, was one of the original eight people to become a St. Gertrude oblate a few years after her first visit there 39 years ago. 

Today there are about 100 oblates from all over the country, though most are in Washington, Idaho and Montana. The pandemic, Somerton said, made the group stronger as they learned to stay connected digitally.

In recent years, she said, they’ve been working resolutely on finding creative ways to secure the future of St. Gertrude’s.

“We’re starting to shift from being receivers of grace from the sisters and getting information, mentorship, love from the sisters to offering that to the sisters and to one another,” she said.

Somerton said lay people, volunteers, and employees are committed to St. Gertrude’s and its future.

“At the core, we’re all completely connected to those sisters and to that monastery,” she said. “It’s holy ground. Up there, it’s truly sacred. It’s healing.”

Some unavowed women are hoping to move into St. Gertrude’s in the coming years. Benedictine Cohousing Companions is a new program the monastery launched when it rolled out its new name. This is for single women who want to make an indefinite commitment to live and participate in monastic life with the sisters — without taking vows.

Traveling to St. Gertrude’s

Janine Mariscotti is on the co-housing project committee. Most years she travels twice annually from Pennsylvania to Cottonwood to visit St. Gertrude’s. 

“I think there’s a real natural beauty in the area. To me, it’s a little magical there,” she said, adding that it’s like a pilgrimage to get there, taking two days of travel.

She flies from Philadelphia to Spokane, Washington, nearly three hours away, stays the night, and then takes a bus or finds a ride to the monastery.

“It’s harder for me to get to St. Gertrude’s than it is to get to Europe from Philadelphia,” she said.

But she fell in love with the place, and the community, when she first visited in 2017. The sisters’ honest hospitality, she said, is a draw that keeps her coming back. She said back in 2018 Jackson started talking to her about the co-housing community.

During the pandemic, the sisters renovated the fifth floor of their building to house the co-housing companions. Each resident would have a private room with its own bathroom and window overlooking the prairie.