Sr. Hilda Kleiman, OSB made her perpetual monastic profession during the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday, April 27, 2008 at Queen of Angels Monastery here. Standing before the assembly and the sisters of her community, Sr. Hilda promised obedience, stability and fidelity to the monastic life. The 31-year old woman, formerly known as Sr. Alicia, took the name of Hilda after St. Hilda of Whitby, who was a Benedictine abbess of the seventh century.
Sr. Donna Marie Chartraw, prioress, welcomed Sr. Hilda as a perpetually-professed member. "The sisters of Queen of Angels Monastery are happy to receive Sr. Hilda as a permanent member of our community. She brings many talents, especially in the literary field, and a generous spirit to our Benedictine life of prayer and service. And we, in turn, hope to support her and encourage perseverance in answering God's call."
One of two children of Mick and Cindy Kleiman, Sr. Hilda was raised in Dallas, Oregon. She graduated from Western Oregon University in 1999 with a B.S. in English and earned her master's degree in English from Oregon State University in 2001.
Baptized at age four, Hilda attended the Episcopal Church in Dallas. While at Oregon State, she began attending communion service at the Newman Center, and, eventually, started to attend Catholic Mass at St. Mary's Parish in Corvallis. To her initial surprise, this experience "felt like coming home," and this sense of belonging led her to be confirmed as a Catholic in June 2000. Her first visit to Queen of Angels Monastery came in January 2002 after she read the Rule of St. Benedict and was impressed with the "sane way of life" laid out in the Rule. Following several months of regular visits to the Monastery, as well as contacts with other religious communities, Alicia entered the Benedictine community in August 2002 and professed temporary vows in October 2004.
"Since I have been here, I've known this is the way I want to spend my life," Sr. Hilda said. "It's not just me deciding that, it's a call that came from outside myself . . . I have a deep impression that this is the place I need to be to learn what I need to know.
“I feel I am very much meant to be a Benedictine . . . For me this is the right thing to be doing and the right time to be doing it. While this particular time in our community’s history is a real challenge, I feel willing to take that challenge on.” Sr. Hilda continues to work part-time in the Shalom Prayer Center office and bookstore, while also pursuing a Master’s degree in Theology at Mt. Angel Seminary. She is a frequent presenter at Shalom Prayer Center, where her most recent retreat workshop was “A Day with William Stafford.” She also speaks regularly to school and church groups on religious life and a variety of other topics. She is a published poet, and an avid writer and reader.
Sr. Hilda is particularly interested in how connections between literature and theology are made, and feels that, with a background in both areas, she can contribute something that may be of value to people on their spiritual journey.
“My background in literature, writing and teaching seems to match up well with what people want and need to know . . . I have been really humbled by the way people have responded (to presentations). I am more than happy to hear from people and am open to ideas for presentations or retreats either here or elsewhere.”
She is scheduled to present a retreat day on the “Spirituality of Reading” at Shalom this September, and will also present a retreat at Shalom for needleworkers in November 2008.
The Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel are a Catholic religious community, which was established in Oregon in 1882. Queen of Angels Monastery, the Sisters' historic home, dates to 1887. The Sisters major ministries include Shalom Prayer Center, a retreat and spiritual renewal center, and St. Joseph Shelter and Mission Benedict, programs which provide housing, food, clothing and emergency assistance to homeless families and individuals and those in need. At present, the Benedictine Sisters have 39 professed members, and 85 oblates (lay persons connected with the Monastery).
Cooking Up a Story Features Monastery Mustard
The Benedictine Sisters' Monastery Mustard is currently featured on Cooking Up a Story, an on-line television news show which tells stories on people, food and sustainability. The video, which runs 4 minutes, 32 seconds, features Sr. Terry Hall, OSB, mustard creator, talking about the genesis and growth of the Monastery Mustard business, and how making mustard is guided by the 1500 year-old Rule of Benedict. Check out the story at
Cooking Up a Story.
Shelter Serves Area Needy During Holidays
131 needy families in the Mt. Angel area received Christmas boxes from St. Joseph Shelter during the recent holiday season.
Sr. Marcella Parrish, SSMO, the Shelter's assistant administrator, said the families provided with Christmas boxes included 268 adults and 346 children. The boxes were given out on December 22nd at Mission Benedict, which is the Shelter's food pantry and clothing distribution located in the Shelter basement.
Each Christmas box contained a large supply of food staples, including canned goods, rice, onions, potatoes, sugar and flour, as well as voucher for meat. Shelter staff estimated the boxes supplied enough food to feed an average family for two weeks. Clothing and gifts for each person in the family were also included in the boxes.
The Christmas boxes were made possible by support from many different groups in the community. The Mt. Angel Community Chest provided the meat vouchers, the Dairy Women of Oregon donated the milk, and Kraemer Farms provided much of the fruit and vegetables. Parishioners of St. Mary Catholic Church in Mt. Angel and the Church of the Resurrection in Tualatin donated a great deal of clothing and food, as well as toys for children. KGW-TV also provided many wonderful toys for gifts.
Homeless families at St. Joseph Shelter were not forgotten at Christmas. In addition to a succulent Christmas Eve dinner, prepared by the Kliewer family, Shelter residents also received gift boxes and a special visit from Santa Claus. Our Lady of the Lake Youth Group from Lake Oswego and numerous others contributed to making the holidays bright and festive for the Shelter residents.
"People said that this year was the best ever (at the Shelter)," said Sr. Marcella. "Everything went very smoothly."
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