The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

ITMS 14TH General Meeting

Merton 100: Living the Legacy

The Fourteenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society
June 4-7, 2015
at Bellarmine University, Louisville, Kentucky


The year 2015 marks the one hundredth anniversary of Thomas Merton’s birth. His life and writings are not merely historically important, but offer a prophetic witness to a vision that points a way into the future. As Merton wrote in an untitled poem, “All theology is a kind of birthday / Each one who is born /Comes into the world as a question / For which old answers / Are not sufficient…” (In the Dark Before Dawn: New Selected Poems of Thomas Merton). The centenary offers an opportunity to consider how we too might set aside easy answers and wrestle with the urgent questions of our day. The Fourteenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society will focus particularly on ways in which Merton’s life and writings challenge us to continue his legacy through ever-deepening contemplation, compassion, and unity-- a legacy in which deep prayer informs action, action on behalf of justice, and the embrace of the whole world. As Merton concludes that poem: “No one ever got born / All by himself: It takes more than one. / Every birthday / Has its own theology.”

Download the Conference Brochure as an Adobe PFD File - ITMS Conference Brochure


Conference Highlights Conference Timetable


Plenary Speakers:

Christine M. Bochen James Finley Bryan N. Massingale Rt. Revd. Rowan Williams
James Finley Bryan Massingale Rowan Williams
       

  Thomas Merton
and Interfaith Dialogue Panel
 
     
Sidney Griffith Edward K. Kaplan Bonnie B. Thurston
     
Presidential Address   Closing Liturgy
David J. Belcastro   Joseph E. Kurtz
Archbishop of Louisville
     
Art Exhibit
  Charles MacCarthy  
     

 

Opening Sessions:

First-Timers' Session
Robert Grip

 

Chapters Workshop
Michael Brennan

 

Merton Scholarship
David Belcastro, Patrick O'Connell, Paul Pearson and Joseph Raab

 

Emerging Scholars
Jason Brown / Joshua Currie / Michael Jerge
Emerging Scholars
Phil Garrity /Hyeokil Kwon / Anna Robertson / Lilin Wu
           

Guide to Opening Sessions

 

Concurrent Sessions:

Merton & Personhood
Nass Cannon / Jonathan Sozek
Merton & the Environment
Kathleen Deignan / Marilyn Sundermann
Merton & the Inner Journey
Michael Plekon / Fiona Gardner
     
Merton & Dialogue with Asia
Patrick F. O'Connell /
Jaechan Anselmo Park
Merton & Discipleship
Daniel P. Horan / Fernando Beltran
Merton & Liberation
Mark C. Meade / Robert Rowen-Herzog
     
Merton & Poetry
Deborah Kehoe / Lynn Szabo
Merton & Zen
Ed Sellner / Leslie Alldritt
Merton & the Contemplative Pause
Donald Grayston / Gary Hall
     
Merton, Politics and Prorgress
David Golemboski / Gordon Oyer
Merton & Church
Raymond Carr / Casey Holland
Merton as Educational Model
Dominiek Lootens / Thomas Stewart
     
Merton & Living Contemplatively
Alan Kolp / Jonathan Ciraulo
Merton, Writers and Saints
John P. Collins / Paul Quenon, OCSO
Merton & Racism
Paul Dekar / Michael McGregor
     
Merton & Interfaith Dialogue
Susanne Jennings / Cristobal Serran-Pagan
Merton & Historical Rebels
Michael A. Brennan / Jon Sweeney
 Merton & Gender
Peter Savastano / Christopher Pramuk
     
Merton & Peace
William Apel / James Cronin
Merton & Living in the World
Peter Ellis / Ryan Scruggs
Merton & Meaning
David Henderson / Jeffrey Cooper
     
  Merton & Nonviolence
John Dear
 
     

Guide to Concurrent Sessions and Workshops

 

Workshops, Guided Prayer & Special Presentations:

The Spirituality of Restlessness: Merton as a Model for 21st Century Contemplative Life
Johnny Sears
Merton, Arasteh, and Final Integration: Exploring Personal Pathways to Spiritual Growth and Maturity
Larry Culliford
How Does the Apple Ripen? Merton, Mepkin, and Contemplative Aging
Christian McNamara and Guerric Heckel
     
Thomas Merton: Inviting the Edges of Awe - A Meditative Workshop
Marianne Heib
Thomas Merton ... Alive at Fourth and Walnut
James Nagle
SEA & SKY: A Contemplative Performance of Robert Lax's Poetic Masterpiece
S.T. Georgiou and Jacqueline Chew
     
Learning How to Drink Tea: Studying and Teaching Thomas Merton
Christine M. Bochen
Gloria Mundi
Matthew Gesicki
The Memory Palace of Thomas Merton
Kevin Burns
     
Shadow Theatre of the Grand Sneeze
Reg Bradley
Praying in Gratitude for the Church of Our Friends
Jonathan Montaldo
Simple Gifts: Meditating with the Legacy of Thomas Merton and the Shakers
Paul M. Pearson
     
  The Echo of an Echo of a Voice Piercing the Silence: A Prayer Service 0f Silence, Music, and Words Inspired by Thomas Merton and Abraham Joshua Heschel
Jeffrey Kiernan
 


Contact the Site Coordinator for further information:
Paul M. Pearson
Thomas Merton Center

Bellarmine University
2001 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205
Email: [email protected]


Program Committee

Kathleen Deignan, CND., New Rochelle, NY (Chair)
Paul M. Pearson (Site Coordinator)
David J. Belcastro, Columbus, OH
Christine M. Bochen, Rochester, NY
James Conner, OCSO., Trappist, KY
Robert G. Grip, Mobile, AL
Judith Hardcastle, North Vancouver, BC
Joseph Madonna, Bronx, NY
Mark C. Meade, Louisville, KY
Jonathan Montaldo, Mantua, NJ
Erlinda G. Paguio, Louisville, KY
Melanie-Prejean Sullivan, Louisville, KY
Monica Weis, SSJ., Rochester, NY

Louisville Site Committee

Paul M. Pearson (Site Coordinator)
Mark C. Meade, Louisville, KY
Erlinda G. Paguio, Louisville, KY
Melanie-Prejean Sullivan, Louisville, KY

 

 

 

 

 

Program Committee

L to R: Melanie-Prejean Sullivan, Paul M. Pearson, Mark C. Meade. (Back Row)
 Erlinda G. Paguio, Monica Weis. (Middle Row)
Judith Hardcastle, Christine M. Bochen, Kathleen Deignan, David J. Belcastro, Jonathan Montaldo. (Front Row)