Lay associates journey with the Oblate Sisters of Providence

Discussions among the Oblate Sisters of Providence regarding starting a lay associates program began in earnest in 1989, according to Oblate Sister of Providence Annette Beecham, director of the program that had its first installation in 1992. She was fresh out of formation at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh when she was assigned to develop it.

“Vatican II had come out … and said to lay people, ‘You are called to holiness,’” Sister Annette recalled. They wondered what that meant, so they went knocking on the door of religious communities, asking for guidance.

“Many communities said, alright, come in, we can talk. But there were those who said no. There was a little discomfort there,” Sister Annette explained. “As sisters, our lives were ours. We didn’t talk about them or share our spirituality. It was unheard of.” 

Still, people were hungry for spirituality, she added – and they are hungry today even if they might not realize it.

Sister Annette, who would become a superior general of her order years later, began the Oblates’ associate program by creating small discussion groups of five. 

The Oblates’ lay associates program continues to grow and even takes a few twists and turns in directions they believe God to be moving them. Their current 33 members live throughout the United States and include two men who are Protestant ministers and two married couples.

Several associates traveled recently to the Oblate motherhouse in Arbutus for their annual retreat and renewal of commitment during which they recognized 18 deceased members. Each associate has an Oblate as a prayer partner and stands ready to serve wherever needed.

Johnice Robinson of Upper Marlboro, an associate for 30 years, first met the Oblates when her children attended one of their schools, St. Benedict the Moor in Northeast Washington, D.C. A lay associate working there encouraged her to consider the program. She committed in 1995 “to learn their history and to be a more prayerful part of the community,” she said.

Vera Moukam of Owings Mills, an associate for 11 years, also learned of the Oblates from an associate in her parish who told her to “go see the sisters of the Mount.” Interestingly, she added, it was in 2013, the same year that Mother Lange’s body was exhumed and relocated to the motherhouse. The Oblate foundress was declared venerable June 22, 2023, by Pope Francis.

Mary Malcolm of Chicago was educated by the Oblates. “As soon as I heard that the Oblates were partnering with Catholic women,” she said, “I really wanted to be involved with them.”

It was a moment of great sadness for the Oblates and the associates who were gathered to renew their commitment June 7 when then-Oblate Superior General Rita Michelle Proctor announced the passing early that morning of Oblate Sister of Providence Trinita Baeza.

Associate Donna Hunter of Baltimore said that she and Sister Trinita “were real close. She would call me up if she had to do something here … and I would help her. I’d take her to the store, we went on trips. She did so many things within her community. She would have been 99 on her birthday, the Fourth of July.”

Lay associates Anthony and Phyllis Johnson of Falls Church, Va., call themselves “COVID associates,” along with Melissa D’Adamo, associate head of school at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.

“We came in just before COVID,” Anthony Johnson said, “but throughout COVID, Sister Annette kept us in tow and we were able to, if not visit, continue through Zoom.”

Married for 42 years with two adult children, he said he had become perplexed with his wife’s constant disappearances, saying, “I’m going to the motherhouse. Bye!”

“I retired in 2007 with 30 years and six days of service with the Navy,” he said. “I asked her, ‘What’s the motherhouse?’ I needed to get down there and find that out because she needed to know she has a vocation already. We’re married.”

What he discovered was that Phyllis, a gifted photographer among other things, was voluntarily helping the Oblates long before she felt led to become an associate. Considering she did everything for him on the home front while he was in the Navy, he decided to support her by joining her in service to the Oblates.

“Being lay associates is about relationship,” said Esther Sanders of Baltimore. She’s been an associate for 32 years and has taught at St. Frances Academy.

“We have an orientation unlike many associate or companion groups,” she continued. “We are steeped in the history of the Oblates and we understand what makes the Oblate sisters who they are.”

Being an associate is a calling and a vocation, she said. 

“Sometimes those who cannot be here physically will donate, pray and disseminate information,” she explained “Sister Annette always reminds us that being associates is about ‘the being, not the doing’ – being first of all who God called you to be, and in the way that God is calling you to do.”

LAY ASSOCIATES PLEDGE OF RECOMMITMENT:

“Desiring to unite myself with the Mission and Spirit of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, I, (each mentioned her/his name), commit myself to Collaborate in the Mission of the Sisters by participating in whatever way I can as a Non-Resident Lay Associate Member of the Congregation. I make this commitment for one year and call upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Frances of Rome and St. Benedict the Moor to help me fulfill it.”

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