Honorary Oblates named in OMI Lacombe Canada!

Long-time Associates Jim and Adele Longstaff and Sister Margaret Dick [posthumously] were named as Honorary Oblates during the Saskatchewan District Community Days, June 20-21, 2019.

We applaud the recognition of their Oblate hearts and celebrate their presence among us, Jim and Adele’s in the SK community and Margaret in the communion of saints. Their witness as Oblates has enriched us all.

Please see below for some details about our newest ‘HOMIES.’

In a moving ceremony, Jim and Adele Longstaff accept their scrolls, signed by Superior General Louis Lougen.

Jim & Adele Longstaff, HOMI with Fr. Bill Stang, OMI

Jim and Adele Longstaff, Oblate Associates 

[named as Honorary Oblates June 2019].
We are Jim & Adele Longstaff. We live in Saskatoon where we have resided our entire married life. We were married in 1967. We raised two sons- Brent and Sean. Our youngest son, Sean, passed away in 1998. We are now the proud parents/ grandparents of our son, Brent, daughter-in-law Casey and grandparents to Sarah, Elanor and Rose.

We have journeyed as Oblate Associates for the last 10 years. However, we have been associated with the Oblates from across Canada and around the world in many ways over the past 35 years in our work with Worldwide Marriage Encounter. The Oblates were instrumental in working with couples to get the ministry of Worldwide Marriage Encounter started in Saskatchewan and beyond. We were impressed with their willingness to not just work with couples and families, but to be in relationship with them; from writing talks and becoming a presenting priest on weekends, to babysitting children while their parents attended a weekend, to grabbing a tea towel and drying dishes.

We were initially attracted to the Oblates because of their hospitality, their service and their option for the poor. Through our work with and relationship with the Oblates, we have become much more aware of and sensitive to our call to serve the poor with their many faces. We have gained the courage to step out of our “comfort zone” to serve others.

One of the most significant experiences in our journey to get to know St. Eugene, and his charism, was the opportunity to travel with other Oblate Associates to Aix en Provence. While there we stayed in the residence where St. Eugene founded the Oblates. A team of Oblates from around the world hosted us. We had the opportunity to “walk in the footsteps” of St. Eugene, guided by Fr. Bonga. This experience made St. Eugene come alive for us.

As we have learned more about the charism of St. Eugene we come to recognize the importance of living in community and serving the poor and marginalized that is so integral to the Oblate way of life. As Oblates we are called to live that charism in our marriage and beyond. It means that we live out the Oblate charism in our day to day lives- for us this is in serving and loving one another as spouses and being open to responding to the needs of others.

Sister Margaret Dick, SNJM – Oblate Associate

Sister Margaret was posthumously named as an Honorary Oblate of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.  Below is her website post as an Oblate Associate as well as some excerpts from the letter submitted on behalf of her nomination as an Honorary Oblate.

Margaret formally became an Oblate Associate in 2014 but she has been associated with the Oblate community, its charism and works long before that. She has been a member of her Manitoba-based community since her first vows on August 22, 1957, serving over the years in a variety of ministries, including teaching and administration in several elementary schools, and parish pastoral ministry including with the Oblates in several places.

Gradually Margaret began to do more spiritual direction ministry, as well as enneagram workshops and team retreats.  With that wealth of experience in 1987 she came to Queen’s House Retreat and Renewal Centre in Saskatoon, where she worked on the programming team, with a focus on spiritual direction formation.  She helped co-found the Qu’Appelle House of Prayer, Fort Qu’Appelle,  in 1995, where she has been since that time.  She has been a participant in the Saskatchewan District of OMI Lacombe Canada since 2003.

From the nomination letter:

Sr. Margaret first and foremost is a person who seeks to deepen her relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, meditation, the Word, and liturgy. She has a passion for the people of God and sees dignity in all. Sr. Margaret’s care reaches across boundaries, and her kindness is not confined by religion, race, or gender. As an instrument of Christ in the world, she has empathy for those who are suffering and marginalized. To this day, so similar to the original founding of the Holy Names sisters, she has a special affection for young children.  She will always greet a child, whether in Costco, at the Co-Op in Fort Qu’Appelle and elsewhere.

Sr. Margaret has a personality which is joyful and calm, and people are at ease with her. In her ministry at Qu’Appelle House of Prayer, she is known for her hospitality, generosity, and warmth.   A recent guest at the house of prayer, one who was the first to come there in 1995, wrote this:  “Life is made up of many small joys.  For me, last week at QHP, my greatest delight was Margaret.  We found ourselves alone at table once; and, both of us giggling, deliberately chose to break the luncheon silence (no other retreatants being there) and have a chat.  It was sweet beyond words.  I had expected to find her diminished since last Fall; yet, she seems happier and more engaged.  Her memory is still in free fall, but her dear essence is so present.  And, I had the very real pleasure of enjoying her company.  We had a great visit –  and not about trivial things.”

Sr. Margaret’s request to be accepted as an Oblate Associate of OMI Lacombe Canada included the lines: “I have long appreciated and have been encouraged by the direction of the Oblates in Canada – their being close to the people, their missionary spirit, their sense of community, and no less than anything else, the ways the Oblates include others from outside the community as full partners in their life and ministry.”