Meet the Oblates
Our lay members are called oblates. Oblates are men and women, married or single, active in any Christian denomination, who closely associate themselves with the Monastery of St. Gertrude through an initiation process and formal oblation (promise).
The Oblate Community has nine area groups:
- Treasure Valley (Boise, Idaho area)
- Prairie (Cottonwood, Idaho area)
- Lewiston, Idaho
- Palouse (Moscow, Idaho and Pullman, Washington area)
- McCall, Idaho
- Spokane, Washington
- North Idaho (Coeur d’Alene area)
- Big Sky (Western Montana)
- Puget Sound, Washington
Meet our oblate leaders:
Nadine Grady
Connections Coordinator
Oblate since: 2003
What being an oblate means to me:
Benedict’s teachings and values have been important to me since I first heard of them in the 1980s and began striving for a balance of prayer, study, and holy action in my life. Being an oblate means that I’m serious about it, and that I’m not doing it alone. I have committed to being in a community where we support each other, and are accountable to each other, as we live into our Benedictine values.
Alyse Cadez
Lead Coordinator
Oblate since: 1995
What being an oblate means to me:
Being an oblate means The Rule of Benedict is now the guide and story of my spiritual journey. By sharing my story I will extend my spiritual relationship to the landscape we all share, and expand my respect for traditions different from my own.
I will to the best of my ability incorporate balance, stability, holy leisure, and a sense of mindfulness to live a life in which I have all I need to focus on God.
The purpose is to share Benedictine spirituality, values and practices with the world. Accompanying me on this journey is the entire cenobitic and Oblate communities of the Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude.
What I gain on this journey and what I then share with each community will help contribute to what is worth doing in this life.
Lyn Russell
Formation Coordinator
Oblate since: 1997
What being an oblate means to me: When asked how my life is different because I’m an Oblate of St. Benedict, I answer that it means my life is more intentional. Becoming an oblate gave me a guide and a sense of being rooted that reminds me that life matters. What I do matters. How I treat the people around me, the Earth, and all that’s in it matters.
It also means that I have a community that understands the special gift of intentional spiritual growth, and I know that I don’t have to make that journey to spiritual fulfillment alone.
It was a privilege to be appointed to the post of Formations Coordinator. I can use my previous experience as logistics team leader to help me oversee the retreats. I also get the joy of introducing new Oblates to the community and the Rule.
I hold the charisms of Healing Hospitality, Grateful Simplicity and Creative Peacemaking at the center of my life and relish the opportunity to spread them to others, with the help and grace of Jesus the Christ, St. Benedict, and the community of St.Gertrude’s.