Oblate News
2020-2021 Oblate Program
Welcome to the Oblate News web page. We hope this is a helpful resource for information about the Glastonbury Abbey Oblate program.
This year our program has been designed with COVID19 restrictions in mind. For the present time, all our gatherings will be virtual. We deeply apologize to those of you who are unable to access our meetings online. At your request, we will send you a written synopsis of the meetings and any documents that we use. When appropriate, our Zoom meetings will be recorded for future viewing.
Our program consists of speakers, a book sharing and discussions. All are focused on our lives as Oblates; Monastics outside the walls. Through these shared gatherings and readings, we hope to enrich our personal understanding of being Benedictine Oblates in the world and challenge ourselves to apply the Rule of St. Benedict to our daily lives.
As we continue to hold each other in prayer, please feel free to let us know of any specific need. If you have any questions, concerns, or if there is anyone you might invite to be an Oblate please feel free to contact any of the Steering Committee members so that we may address your query at the next Oblate or Steering Committee meeting.
For inquiries, please email: oblates@glastonburyabbey.org and a Steering Committee member will get back to you. Oblates meet the first Tuesday of every month August through June starting with Compline at 7:15 PM on Facebook, followed by our 7:30 PM meeting on Zoom. The September meeting is the official start of our new year. During Compline, we celebrate new Novice commitments, new Oblates making their Oblation and current Oblates making their yearly renewal.
Oblate Steering Committee 2020-2021: Anne Engel, Joseph O'Brien, Katherine Burbank, Denise Patts, Karen Goltz
John Hopkins from the Oblate Steering Committee, wishes to share Lynn Ungar's poem, "Pandemic," a beautiful sentiment in these troubling times. Click here to read the poem.
Oblate Updates:
April 2020
Oblates for the Future: Symposium 2021, September 28-October 2, 2021
Click here for details on this Retreat-Oblate Symposium postponed until 2021.
Oblates for the Future Symposium: Cottonwood, Idaho, October 2018
Click here for Symposium summary article on Page 7 of the American Monastic Newsletter.
5th International Oblate Congress: "Moving Forward: Living the Wisdom of the Rule."
Rome, November 2022. (Exact dates to be posted when available).
4th International Oblate Congress: "A Way Forward: Living the Wisdom of the Rule."
Rome, November 2017
Click here to read an article by Abbot Primate Gregory Polan.
Click here to read Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB, keynote address from the 4th International Oblate Congress held in Rome, November 2017
Click here to read the article by Judith Valente, November, 27, 2017, "Benedictine Oblates Stand at a Crossroads in Monastic History"
