Sister Benita Luetkemeyer served as the final superior for Osage’s time as a Benedictine ashram. During her six years in the Forest, she fondly remembers meeting guests from all around the world, which was always a broadening and interesting experience. She recalls Mia Weyan from Belgium who spent two months at Osage and then returned home to establish a similar place. For Sister Benita, spending time in an ashram was much like living in any of the Benedictine monasteries except for living in a cabin, which did provide a bit more space and quiet than in a big monastery.

Sister Pascaline Coff, having been inspired by the Shantivanam Ashram in India, provided the vision that founded Osage more than a quarter of a century ago. She was attracted to the three components of an ashram – simple lifestyle, open to all religions and intensive spiritual exercises. She will always remember being greeted by the community’s new members when she returned to Oklahoma from Clyde, elated by the news that the Congregation had voted to accept Osage as a Benedictine monastic ashram. She served as the appointed superior of the ashram community and was the oblate and retreat director. Memorable guests include Tibetan nuns, the Oklahoma Benedictines at St. Joseph Monastery in Tulsa, the Sisters of Benedictine in Red Plains and the monks at Shawnee St. Gregory's.

Sister Maureen Truland spent seven years at Osage, which broadened her vision of the many ways to seek God. She especially enjoyed meeting religious men and women from a variety of communities who represented denominations from around the world.

Sister Joan Ridley fondly remembers the significance of living so close to nature during her five years at the Osage ashram. The rhythm of the days, the planets and the seasons touched her in ways that cannot be experienced from living in buildings so removed from it. While it was difficult at times to blend a monastery and an ashram by finding ways to have a community life amidst an ever-changing series of guests, she believes Osage is a gift of peace and will continue to advance interreligious dialog as a private ashram.

Sister Sarah Schwartzberg was drawn to Osage’s atmosphere of interreligious dialog and its focus of sharing in different religious practices. She is a past board member for Monastic Interreligious Dialog, an organization dedicated to exploring relationships among spiritual practitioners of various faiths. She has also participated in Nuns of the West, a summit of Christian, Buddhist and Hindu sisters. Osage appeals to her interest of exploring all faiths and feels interreligious dialog is the only way to peace in our world.

Sister Kathleen Gorman has spent seven years at the Osage ashram, which has been rich in blessings in many ways. The hours of solitude and silence, the privileged place of the cabin she lived in and the celebration of Eucharist on Sundays with the friends who joined them. Meeting people from all over the world who also sought silence and solitude in the Forest has been an unforgettable experience. The conversations these visitors shared were humbling, and she became more aware of how seriously people are seeking the one thing necessary, especially through contemplative prayer. She is especially grateful for the dialog with the Muslim community and with Father Bruno Barnhart, OSB,Cam. who has shared his wisdom gleaned from Father Bede Griffiths' writings.

Sister Bede Luetkemeyer spent four and a half years at the Sand Springs monastery in the early 1990s. She said it was a challenging time with many things different than the usual routine of monastic life.  Living in a cabin and enjoying the available solitude was always counterbalanced with the influx of guests each day. Guests from all walks of life, many of them renowned scholars, many from foreign countries, were very stimulating and broadened one’s interest and outlook. There was never only one work for members of the community but many shared tasks. The ultimate task at Sand Springs was inter-religious dialogue and is confident that the good work begun by Sister Pascaline will continue to live on and be productive in the way that only the mind of God can conceive.

Sister Josetta Grant made many friends during her ten years at Osage. It was a time of stretching and meeting different people from many cultures and religions. Meeting two Buddhist Nuns who spent three months at the ashram was a very enriching experience for her.

Sister Priscilla Trost joined Sister Pascaline Coff and three other Sisters to begin the Benedictine ashram almost 30 years ago. After a year spent searching for just the right place to build, she recalls how Sister Pascaline felt the first time she saw the land that would eventually become Osage. In the first few months, they built six cabins and soon added eight more to accommodate the increasing number of retreatants who flocked to O+M to experience the Sisters’ simplicity of life. They incorporated a sun dance circle in their chapel to honor the area’s Native American history. When she realized the community would be closing, her initial heartbreak was followed by a comforting revelation. “It’s like death followed by a coming of life. Like the tree whose leaves turn color in the autumn then fall off in the winter. It looks dead,” she said. “But then in the spring the leaves return and it gets new life. Osage is dying but with God’s power and goodness he can recreate Osage in a new form but still have the same old spirit. Someone will carry on the spirit of the ashram.”

Sister Lioba Hanley spent more than two years at Osage, grateful for the simplicity of life that spoke to her and the depths of those who came to share their lives. She enjoyed being aware of people of other faiths because all are one in Christ.

Sister Monica Sanders was one a founding member of Osage. Up until her death in November at the age of 84, her heart was at the Benedictine ashram. During her years there, she spent her days in prayer, walking through the 40 acres of timber. Her pathways eventually became the many trails people still walk today.

Sister Mary Helen Barrow was an early member of Osage. Drawn to a simpler expression of monastic life, she also spent seven years as a hermit. She passed away in January at the age of 81.