International Thomas Merton Society
NEWSLETTER
Vol. 20, No. 1 Spring, 2013
A Quarter-Century of Annuals
With the appearance of Volume 25 (2012),
The Merton Annual
marks its silver jubilee of a quarter-century of scholarly publication. Initial
planning for the Annual,
with its original subtitle “Studies in Thomas Merton, Religion, Culture,
Literature & Social Concerns,” began in 1966 on the initiative of Merton scholar
Victor A. Kramer, who was joined by Robert E. Daggy, Brother Patrick Hart, OCSO
and Dewey Weiss Kramer as co-editors. The first volume was issued in 1988,
marking the twentieth anniversary of Merton’s death. It was conceived as an
independent, refereed scholarly journal of articles, reviews and interviews on
Thomas Merton and on topics of interest to Merton; though the four co-editors
were all founding members of the International Thomas Merton Society, which came
into existence in 1987 simultaneously with editorial work on the initial volume
of the journal, there was no official connection between the Society and the
Annual through the
first decade of their existence.
The purpose of the journal, as presented in the
first volume and repeated in all subsequent volumes, was to “enhance Merton’s
reputation as a writer and monk, to continue to develop his message for our
times, and to provide a regular outlet for substantial Merton-related
scholarship.” According to the editors’ statement of purpose at the beginning of
Volume 1, “The Annual’s
most important function will be to provide a carefully edited and refereed organ
for scholarship related to Thomas Merton’s accomplishments as monk and artist”
(ix). Along with articles and book reviews, the first volume included a piece of
original writing by Merton (“The Zen Insight of Shen Hui”) not previously
available, an interview with a person closely connected with Merton (Matthew
Kelty, OCSO) and an extensive bibliographical review of the previous year’s work
in Merton studies, a pattern that has continued through subsequent volumes up to
the present.
The first series of five volumes was published in
cloth editions by AMS Press of New York. With Volume 6, three of the original
co-editors retired and Michael Downey and George Kilcourse joined Victor Kramer
as co-editors, with Dr. Downey continuing in that role through Volume 10 and Fr.
Kilcourse through Volume 16. The next set of five volumes were issued in paper
by Liturgical Press of Collegeville, MN with the more streamlined subtitle
“Studies in Culture, Spirituality, and Social Concerns,” which has continued to
be used subsequently through the current volume. The first volume under the new
editorial team included a majority of articles on “issues of interest to Merton”
rather than on Merton himself, but subsequent volumes returned to collections of
articles mainly or exclusively focused on Merton’s own life and work. Alternate
years of the Annual
from about this time were largely devoted to publication of papers presented at
ITMS General Meetings, fostering a closer though still informal relationship
with the ITMS.
In 1998, with Volume 11, Sheffield Academic Press
took over publication of the
Annual, under the joint editorship of Kramer and Kilcourse, and when
Sheffield became part of the more commercially oriented Continuum Publishing
Group in 2001, the new entity continued issuing the
Annual through Volume
16 (2003), when it closed the Sheffield office and decided that it would no
longer publish the journal. At that point, it appeared that the
Annual had come to the
end of its existence, and both the editors wrote valedictory pieces included at
the end of Volume 16.
However, through the efforts of the International
Thomas Merton Society and Fons Vitae Press, the
Annual underwent an
unexpected resurrection without missing an issue. As early as Volume 11 (1998),
the ITMS Board of Directors had approved a proposal to provide a substantial
subsidy for the Annual,
financed principally by reduced- rate subscriptions available exclusively to
ITMS members. With volume 17 (2004), the Merton Society took over primary
responsibility for the journal, initially on a two-year trial basis, which
proved financially viable and led to an ongoing commitment. Now published by
Fons Vitae Press of Louisville, the
Annual is available to ITMS members at a reduced price as an
optional part of their membership. Victor Kramer continued as editor, assisted
by various guest editors, through Volume 20. Beginning with Volume 21 (2008),
David Belcastro and Gray Matthews became co-editors, appointed by the ITMS
president after consultation with the Publications Committee and the Board of
Directors, for a four-year term. In 2012, with Volume 25, Gray Mathews retired
and Joseph Quinn Raab became co-editor with David Belcastro.
Merton and Dalai Lama Exhibit at Bellarmine
In conjunction with the forthcoming visit of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to
Louisville, KY, from April 29 through June 2, 2013 the Thomas Merton Center at
Bellarmine University will present a special exhibit of artifacts relating to
Thomas Merton’s meetings with the leader of Tibetan Buddhism in Dharamsala,
India in November 1968, a month before Merton’s death.
Included in the exhibit
will be Merton’s handwritten personal journal in which he recorded his meetings
with the Dalai Lama, available for public view for the first time by special
permission of the Thomas Merton Legacy Trust. Also on display will be other
artifacts relating to Merton's meetings with the Dalai Lama along with
additional items in the Merton Center archives from the final months of Merton's
life, including notebooks, photographs and correspondence. Along with the
exhibit, the Merton Center will also feature the photographic display entitled
“A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton,” a
series of 35 photographs by Merton, in the McGrath Art Gallery at Bellarmine,
from May 7 through June 2, 2013.
Louisville’s Tibetan Buddhist Center, the
Drepung Gomang Institute, and the City of Louisville will host His Holiness
the Dalai Lama May 19-21, 2013 for a three-day event entitled “Engaging
Compassion,” which will include a public talk on Sunday, May 19 at the
Louisville Yum! Center to an expected audience of 16,000, a two-part public
presentation on Buddhist teaching in the same venue on Monday, May 20, and an
address to middle school and high school students on Tuesday, May 21 at the
Kentucky Center for the Arts.
Merton Institute Closes
On December 31, 2012, the Merton Institute for
Contemplative Living, located in Louisville, KY, ended operations after
seventeen years, due to financial difficulties. Originally incorporated as the
Thomas Merton Center Foundation in September 1995, and intended primarily to
raise funds to help support the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University,
the organization soon began sponsoring its own programs, including a number of
retreats for influential thought leaders from around the world, including Merton
Retreat 2000: Spirituality and Leadership and Merton Retreat 2002: Spirituality
and the Environment, as well as conferences on Merton and Sufism (1999), Merton
and the Spirituality of the Eastern Church (2001) Merton and Judaism (2002) and
Merton and Buddhism (2005), each of which led to an edited volume published by
Fons Vitae Press. Initially sponsored by Bellarmine University, the Abbey of
Gethsemani and the Thomas Merton Legacy Trust, the Foundation ended its
affiliation with the university and with the Merton Center and moved off-campus
to quarters elsewhere in Louisville in 2001, taking the name The Thomas Merton
Foundation. In 2006, it became the Merton Institute and refocused its mission to
emphasize the central role of contemplative living in bringing about a more just
and peaceful world.
Among its many projects were study guides such as
the Thomas Merton Curriculum (2002) for elementary and secondary school
students, and the eight-part “Bridges to Contemplative Living” pamphlet series,
published by Ave Maria Press (2006-2008); it also sponsored publication of the
Merton Vade Mecum: A Quick-Reference
Bibliographical Guide, compiled by Patricia Burton (1999, 2001) and
‘about Merton’: Secondary Sources
1945-2000, compiled by Marquita Breit, Patricia Burton and Paul M. Pearson
(2002). The Institute also sponsored the annual Thomas Merton Prize for Poetry
of the Sacred contest, which drew up to 1300 entries, and was judged by such
well-known literary figures as Wendell Berry, Kathleen Norris, Mary Oliver and
Robert Pinsky. It organized an annual “Epiphany Project” encouraging people to
share their own stories of spiritual awakening, named after Merton’s famous
“Fourth and Walnut Epiphany”; it also provided financial support for the
historical marker placed at that site in downtown Louisville in March 1998. In
announcing the closing of the Institute, Director Vanessa Hurst wrote: “Thomas
Merton reminds us that now, since all things have their season, there is a time
to be unborn. Although the Institute has provided a wealth of resources, it is
not able to financially sustain itself.” Hurst also announced that the Abbey of
Gethsemani will help operate the Institute’s former retreat center, Bethany
Spring, located in New Haven, KY, less than a mile from the monastery, which the
Institute had acquired in 2006.
Alfred McCartney, OCSO (1926-2013)
Br. Alfred McCartney, a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani for nearly 66 years,
died January 15, 2013 at the age of 87.
Born in Kansas City, MO in 1926, he lived for most of his early life in New
Orleans and entered Gethsemani as a lay-brother
in February, 1948. He made simple profession on October, 15, 1950 and took his
final vows on November 15, 1953. Among his many duties at the monastery, Br.
Alfred was secretary to Abbot James Fox for some years and also served for a
time as an assistant to Thomas Merton, helping him with his correspondence. He
also worked as forestry manager on the abbey grounds. He spent time in the 1960s
at Gethsemani’s daughter house in Mepkin, SC, and lived for a time as a hermit.
More recently, he was the Gethsemani archivist.
The Gethsemani online chronicle memorialized Br. Alfred as "a genteel
monk, impeccable in his manners and deep in his prayer."
Merton Lenten Series at Corpus Christi
In commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary year of Thomas Merton’s baptism at Corpus Christi Church in New York City, the parish sponsored a Lenten Vespers Series focused on Merton’s life and work. On February 17, the preacher was Union Theological Seminary student Matthew Vaughn on “An Evangelical Reads Merton,” with music provided by the Barnard/Columbia Chamber Choir. On February 24, the preacher was ITMS President Kathleen Deignan, CND on “Transforming Deserts: Thomas Merton’s Lenten Wisdom,” with music by guitarist Will Cassatt. On March 3, the preacher was author Daniel Horan, OFM on “A Desert Cry, a Prophet’s Call: Merton’s Model for Christian Life,” with music by the Riverside Chamber Singers. On March 10, the preacher was Orthodox Fr. Michael Plekon on “Mercy within Mercy within Mercy: The God of Jonah and Thomas Merton,” with music by the Choir of Corpus Christi Church. On March 17, the preacher was Corpus Christi Pastor Rev. Raymond Rafferty on “Tom Merton’s Parish,” with music by baroque violinist Jeremy Rhizor.
Merton at CEA
Six Merton scholars
are scheduled to give presentations at the 2013 College English Association
annual meeting in Savannah, GA April 4–6. The International Thomas Merton
Society is an affiliated organization to the CEA. On Thursday, April 4,
Christine M. Bochen will speak on “Thomas Merton’s Letters to Peace Activists: A
Way to Clarify His Own Vision” in “The Peace of Nature” session; on Friday,
April 13, John P. Collins will discuss “Thomas Merton and Flannery O’Connor: A
Kinship with Nature” as part of the “Landscapes of Race and Religion” session;
on Saturday, April 6, a session entitled
“Merton: Natures of Wisdom, Reverence and Responsibility” will include
four presentations: Malcolm Cash, “‘I Have Called You by Your Name’: Thomas
Merton and the Black Experience”; J. Patrick Mahon, “The Nature of Mysticism:
Hildegard of Bingen and Thomas Merton”; Paul M. Pearson, “Wisdom Cries the Dawn
Deacon: Thomas Merton and the Ox Mountain Parable”; and session leader Monica
Weis SSJ, “From Reverence to Responsibility: Nature’s Impact on Thomas Merton.”
Gethsemani Retreat Scheduled
On November 8-11, 2013, Tony Russo will lead the twelfth annual pilgrimage
retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani. The theme of the retreat, sponsored by the
Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky IT MS Chapter, will be “Merton’s Search for
Wisdom and Wholeness.” Merton ends The
Seven Storey Mountain by stating
“Let this be the end of the book, but not the searching.” In preparation for the
retreat, Tony Russo will author periodic letters studying Merton’s on-going
search for wisdom and the whole/true self.
Retreatants will be invited to respond to Elena Malits’ description of
encountering Merton: “the reader who takes Merton seriously will be personally
challenged to confront his or her own life.” Merton texts such as
New Seeds of Contemplation,
The Inner Experience,
Contemplative Prayer, Contemplation in a World of Action and others,
along with works of such Merton scholars as Elena Malits, Anne Carr, James
Finley, William Shannon, Monica Weis, Christopher Pramuk and others will serve
as resources. The stipend for the presenter is $70 for those with e-mail, $80
for those without e-mail; $35 is refundable to anyone canceling by September 8,
2013. Registrants should mail a check payable to Tony Russo at 8087 Bridgetown
Road, Cleves, OH 45002 and include postal address, daytime phone number and
e-mail address with the check. Tony Russo will handle all room registrations at
the Abbey Guest House, which has private rooms with toilet/shower. A donation
for room and board at The Abbey Guest House is payable at the time of check-out.
For further information, contact Tony Russo at
[email protected] or by phone at 513-941-5219.
ITMS Authors
Lawrence S. Cunningham has recently published
The
Seven Deadly Sins: A Visitor’s Guide
(Ave Maria Press, 2012; $12.95 paperback),
in which he
traces the roots of the tradition of the “deadly sins” to the mystic experiences
of the desert fathers, who first identified these corrupt inner desires as
forces that twist us away from God and offers examples and insights from
scripture, Christian tradition and modern life to assist readers to meet each of
the seven deadly sins with a corresponding virtue.
* * * * * * *
Michael Higgins has recently written, with Kevin Burns,
Genius Born of Anguish: The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen
(Paulist, 2012; $17.95 paperback). Higgins is author/narrator and Burns is
producer of the related three-part Canadian Broadcasting Company series on
Nouwen of the same title, aired on January 9, 16 and 23, 2013. Nouwen,
Dutch-born priest/psychologist, was the author of dozens of books on Christian
life and spirituality, including
Pray to Live: Thomas Merton, Contemplative Critic (1972), and spent the
last years of his life as chaplain at the L’Arche Daybreak community in Toronto.
* * * * * * *
Michael Higgins has also edited, with Anthony
Ciorra,
Vatican II: A Universal Call to Holiness
(Paulist, 2012; $16.95 paperback), a
collection of presentations from the “Vatican II Conference, A Universal Call to
Holiness,” held at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, and features
presentations by nine outstanding experts on the Council and on the modern
Church. Seven of the presentations are based on the seven speeches given by
several cardinals at the conclusion of the council on December 8, 1965.
* * * * * * *
A new edition of Greg Ryan’s
Our Hearts Burned Within Us:
Reading the New
Testament with John Main OSB (Medio Media), with a new introduction by Fr.
Laurence Freeman OSB, is now available. It is based on a correlation of passages
marked by John Main in his personal copy of
the New Testament with extracts from John Main’s own writings on the same verses
that illuminate his teaching on contemplative prayer.
* * * * * * *
In
Hope Sings, So Beautiful: Graced Encounters Across the Color Line
(Liturgical Press, 2013; $19.95 paper), Christopher Pramuk offers a series of
theological, pastoral and spiritual reflections on racial justice and injustice,
a mosaic of images and sketches for thinking and praying through difficult
questions about race drawing on the perspectives of artists, poets and
theologians from many different ethnic and racial communities. The book features
a Foreword by M. Shawn Copeland and an Afterword by Edward Kaplan.
* * * * * * *
Award for Children’s Book
Jim Forest’s storybook St. George and the Dragon, illustrated by Vladislav Andrejev in iconographic style (St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press) was awarded a gold medal for the 2012 Moonbeam Spirit Award from the Jenkins Group of Traverse City, MI, which bestows the award “for dedication to children’s books and literacy and for inspired writing, illustrating and publishing.” According to Jim Barnes, awards director at the Jenkins Group, “The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. The awards recognize and reward the best of these books and bring them to the attention of parents, booksellers, librarians – and to children themselves.” The award was presented on November 12, 2012 at the Traverse City Children’s Book Festival.
Lax Lecture Week in Olean
On March 4-8 a Robert Lax Lecture Week was held at St. Bonaventure University,
Olean, NY, in partnership with The Olean Public Library, Olean High School and
members of the local community, funded by the University and by Marcia Marcus
Kelly, Lax’s niece, on behalf of the Marcus family. This was the first extended
event devoted to Lax (1915-2000), an Olean native and close friend of Thomas
Merton, and a notable poet, hermit and sage in his own right. Lax scholar and
friend Steve Georgiou of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA gave three
lectures: “An Introduction to Robert Lax” on Monday, March 4; “Robert Lax: Poet
and Contemplative” on Tuesday, March 5; and “Robert Lax: Mentor and Peacemaker”
on Wednesday, March 6. The first two presentations were held at St. Bonaventure,
the third at the Olean Public Library. On Thursday, March 7, Dr. Georgiou gave
presentations in St. Bonaventure classes. The event also featured an archive
exhibit mounted by Friedsam Memorial Library Director Paul Spaeth
and a performance on Friday, March 8 of “The Circus of Creation,” an
original musical piece for narrator, brass quintet and percussion by composer
Gwyneth Walker inspired by the poetry of Lax.
Merton Happenings
On October 14, 2012, Wayne Simsic led an
afternoon of reflection entitled “Thomas Merton: An Invitation to the
Contemplative Life” at the Jesuit Retreat House, Parma, OH.
* * * * * * *
On November 17-18, Dan Phillips led a Thomas Merton
Retreat entitled
“Bringing Light to the Darkness” at Mount Saint Joseph Retreat
Center, Maple Mount, KY.
* * * * * * *
On December 9, Jonathan Montaldo gave a presentation
entitled “Enter
the School of Your Own Experience” at the inauguration of The
Merton Contemplative Initiative at Iona College, New Rochelle, NY, with the
dedication of The Merton Wisdom Collection in the Ryan Library of the college, a
gift of the Quinlan Family.
*
* * * * * *
On December 9, Peter Savastano gave a presentation
entitled “Day of a Stranger: Thomas Merton for the Strange Times in Which We
Live” at the Interweave Institute (www.interweave.org)
in Summit, NJ.
* * * * * * *
On March 1, 2013, James Finley gave a presentation
entitled “The Wisdom of Thomas Merton” at First Community Church, Columbus, OH.
* * * * * * *
On March 2, the
Friends of St.
Benedict and St. David’s Episcopal Church sponsored a Morning of Prayer and a
Lecture by Esther de Waal entitled “Thomas
Merton: The Celtic Connection” at St. David’s Church in Washington,
DC.
* * * * * * *
On March 9, Gray Matthews
gave a presentation entitled “Centering in the
Midst of Commotion: Thomas Merton, Contemplation and the Living Life” at
the Annual Conference of Contemplative Outreach Birmingham at Saint Stephen’s
Episcopal Church in Birmingham, AL.
* * * * * * *
The Spring 2013 Road Scholar [elderhostel] “Week with
Thomas Merton” was held March 17-22, 2013 at the Thomas Merton Center,
Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY. The Fall 2013 Road Scholar Week will take
place Sunday October 13 through Friday October 18 at Bellarmine. For further
details, contact Linda Bailey: phone: 502-272- 8161; e-mail:
l[email protected].
On March 21, Canon David Scott and Stephen Dunhill
presented “An Exploration of Thomas Merton’s Poetry” at the Monastery of Our
Lady of Hyning, Warton, nr Carnforth, Lancashire, UK.
* * * * * * *
Upcoming Events
Upcoming events at the Bethany Spring Retreat Center in New Haven, KY
include a
Holy Week/Easter retreat: March 27-31; Blessings of the Celtic Wheel, with
Theresa O’Bryan: April 5-7; Seeing with New Eyes, with Kim Manley Ort: April
19-21. Bethany Spring, located one mile from the Abbey of Gethsemani, is now
under the sponsorship of the abbey. For further information, contact center
director Sr. Kelly O’Mahony: 502-549-8277; email:
[email protected].
* * * * * * *
On April 10, Paul M. Pearson will give a
presentation entitled: “‘Sentinels upon the World’s Frontier’: Thomas Merton and
Celtic Monasticism” at 7 p.m. in Romita Auditorium, Iona College, New Rochelle,
NY. For further information contact Kathleen Deignan, CND:
[email protected].
* * * * * * *
On May 4, 2013, a study day entitled “Can’t Live
with Them; Can’t Live without Them – Representations of Community: Images of
Living in Community in the Writings and Visual Texts of Thomas Merton,”
facilitated by Dr Anthony Purvis, will take place at The Well at Willen, UK. For
further details, see the website:
www.thewellatwillen.org.uk.
* * * * * * *
Chapter and Affiliate News
The Arizona ITMS Chapter discussed the Bridges to
Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton series at its January 5 meeting; the
February 2 and March 2 meetings focused on Merton’s
The Inner Experience. For further
information contact Duncan McCauley at 602-826-1982;
[email protected];
blog: AZMerton.blogspot.com.
* * * * * * *
On April 13, 2013, the Washington,
DC Chapter of the ITMS will sponsor a presentation by Monica Weis, SSJ on “The
Landscape of Prayer: Thomas Merton’s Interaction with Nature” at St Anselm’s
School. The chapter discussion group continues to meet monthly and is presently
reading The Springs
of Contemplation, discussing a chapter each month. For
further information contact Maryle Ashley at:
[email protected];
or Betsy O’Brien at:
[email protected].
* * * * * * *
On October 16, the topic of the meeting of the
Cleveland Chapter of the ITMS was “Merton, Lax and Beauty.” On January 29, the
chapter celebrated Thomas Merton’s birthday and viewed a film entitled
Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer,
continuing a focus on contemplative prayer begun at the September meeting. On
March 19, Mary McDonald spoke about her new book on Merton,
It Draws Me: The Art of Contemplation.
For further information, contact Sr. Donna Kristoff, OSU,
440-449-1200, ext. 314;
[email protected].
* * * * * * *
On October 21, the Chicago ITMS Chapter heard a
presentation by Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin entitled “How Serving as Chaplain to the
U.S. House of Representatives Changed My Prayer Life.” On November 18, Sr.
Suzanne Zuercher, OSB spoke on “Thomas Merton and the Contemplative Life.” Penny
Jaworski led the group in an afternoon of reflection on “Merton and the Lenten
Journey” on February 17. On March 17, Bob Raccuglia gave a presentation entitled
“Wendell Berry and Thomas Merton: Kentuckians and Kindred Spirits.” On April 21,
Frank Cunniingham will give a presentation entitled “The Vesper Time of Life:
Aging as a Spiritual Exercise.” The chapter reading group is currently
discussing Merton’s
The Sign of Jonas.
For more information, contact Chapter Coordinator Mike Brennan at
773-685-4736; email: [email protected];
web page: www.chicagomerton.org.
* * * * * * *
On November 18, the Northern California Chapter of
the ITMS finished their discussion of The
Asian Journal. At its January 27 meeting, the group read and discussed
Merton’s play The Tower of Babel. On
March 24, the chapter met at the Trappist Abbey in Vina, CA with Fr. Paul
Jerome. For further information, contact John Berger, 916-482-69756; email:
[email protected].
* * * * * * *
At its fall meeting, the Corpus Christi (NYC)
Chapter of the ITMS sponsored a presentation entitled “Thomas Merton’s Dialogue
with Judaism: Merton & the Rabbis on Scripture and Vatican II” with Edward
Kaplan and Brenda Fitch Fairaday. On
April 27 Sidney H. Griffith, ST & Daniel A. Madigan, SJ will speak on
“Merton and the Challenge if Islam/Sufism.” For further information contact
Teresa Scott: 212- 666-9350;
[email protected];
www.corpus-christi-nyc.org/MertonSociety.htm.
* * * * * * *
The Wall, NJ ITMS Chapter concluded its discussion
of Michael Mott’s The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton on November 14,
and discussed Merton’s Thoughts in Solitude on December 19 and January 16
and The Living Bread at its February13 and March 20 meetings. Tentatively
planned for the April 17 meeting is a discussion of Merton’s
The Wisdom of the Desert, and for the
May 15 and June 12 meetings a discussion of the book
Why Go to Church? The Drama of the
Eucharist by Timothy Radcliffe, OP, a more contemporary treatment of the
Eucharist as a follow-up to Merton’s 1956 volume
The Living Bread.
For further information contact Greg
Ryan: 732-681-6238; [email protected].
* * * * * * *
On November 10, the Thomas Merton Society of Canada
sponsored a one-day retreat entitled “Thomas Merton and Leonard Cohen: Going
Home,” led by Donald Grayston and Judith Hardcastle, at St. Andrew’s United
Church in Vancouver, BC. On November 22, the Society celebrated the publication
of Thomas Merton: Monk on the Edge, a
collection of essays by Canadian Merton scholars, with a wine & cheese reception
at the Thomas Merton Reading Room in the H. R. MacMillan Library, Vancouver
School of Theology. On March 8, James Douglass presented a public lecture
entitled “Thomas Merton and the Unspeakable in 2013” at the Canadian Memorial
United Church in Vancouver. On the following day, March 9, James Douglass and
Paul Schrade presented a day-long workshop entitled “JFK, RFK and the
Unspeakable” at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace in Vancouver, marking the
fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy and the
forty-fifth anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy; Schrade was shot
and wounded in the attack on RFK. The workshop is
co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and Canadian Memorial United
Church & Centre for Peace. For further information, contact Susan Cowan,
Community Relations Director, at
[email protected] or
604-988-8835, or see the TMSC website:
www.merton.ca.
* * * * * * *
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