The oblates of St. Bede are Christians, lay or clerical, mostly but not exclusively Catholic, who have chosen to associate with our monastery in order to model their lives upon the teaching of St. Benedict insofar as this is compatible with their life. They choose to do this because (1) in attempting to pursue a life of holiness, they are attracted to the humaneness, balance and wisdom of the Rule, and (2) they wish to interact with the monks in order to witness the enfleshment of the Rule in their daily live and to become extended members of the St. Bede prayer community. Some oblates who have time join the monks for office and for daily mass. In addition, monks are often invited to speak at the monthly meetings. The regular monthly meetings are held ten times a year, excluding July and August. They begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. They consist of mid-day prayer at the beginning, and evening prayer at the close. Following the mid-day prayer, there is group meditation (lectio divina), then a speaker. It could be an invited monk, it could be the oblate director, it could be one or more oblates making presentations. This is fo1lowed by a time for social interchange, and then the closing prayer service. In lectio divina, we divide into small groups and meditate on a pre-selected biblical passage in an attempt to discern what God may wish to communicate to each of us that day, Lectio divina is an ancient Benedictine meditative practice pursued by monks regularly even to the present. Our group activity is an adaptation of that practice. Often, those learning the techniques in group are led to pursue lectio individually as part of their daily interaction with God, emulating the monks. Our oblate group consists of approximately half men and half women. Some of our oblates are homebound or else live so far away that they cannot attend meetings. Usually, we have twenty to thirty-five at any given meeting. For our Days of Recollection, which are not geared strictly to the Benedictine perspective, but simply to enhancing a person’s spiritual life, we range in attendance from thirty-five to sixty-three. Many of these attending are not oblates, but subsequently do join us. Some of our members are married couples. One of the distinguishing characteristics of our group is that the people really like each other and are reluctant to leave at the end of the meetings! There is a lending library. Several hundred books are available for personal loan. We publish a newsletter five times a year. This sometimes features a profile of a monk. All of our meetings are open. Anyone is welcome to attend. After coming, if you decide to try the life of an oblate, you are initiated as a candidate for a year, given a copy of the Rule of Saint Benedict, and you see whether it is congenial and practical for you in your present life and work. If it is, at the end of a year, you make your oblation at one of the monthly meetings. From that point on, you are a permanent oblate, subject to your decision on how active you wish to be. There are no commitments other than the commitment you make for the coming year. There are no fees. The oblate movement subsists on voluntary contributions. If you wish more details about our meetings and what is upcoming, let us know by e-mail or letter, and we shall send you a copy.