International Thomas Merton Society


Twelfth Conference and General Meeting


The Twelfth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society

June 9-12, 2011

Loyola University (Lake Shore Campus), Chicago, Illinois
       

only

 

to go

 

Read the ITMS General Meeting Blog

Thomas Merton entered the Abbey of Gethsemani on December 10, 1941; so in the Twelfth General Meeting, the ITMS will mark the seventieth anniversary of this pivotal moment in his life. The Abbey of Gethsemani became the first real home that Merton had ever known. In The Sign of Jonas Merton wrote “This is the land where you have given me roots in eternity, O God of heaven and earth. This is the burning promised land, the house of God, the gate of heaven, the place of peace, the place of silence, the place of wrestling with the angel.” The monastic life provided Merton with the spirituality and the structure to produce some of the great spiritual texts of our time. Merton’s exploration of spirituality and monasticism and its relevance for the modern world transformed monasticism and influenced innumerable people around the world, as he became a prophetic critic of contemporary urban crises and an agent of social transformation.
 

Conference Highlights

Registration Information

Conference Timetable

Student Scholarships


Plenary Speakers:
Doug Christie Martin E. Marty Robert F. Morneau Esther de Waal

 

 

Saturday Evening

Thomas Merton’s Celestial and Urban Music:
A concert of Thomas Merton’s Poetry Set to Music.

 

Presidential Address Dorothy Day Roundtable Closing Liturgy
Robert Grip Robert Ellsberg , Tom Cornell and Rosalie Riegle James Conner, OCSO

Opening Sessions:
 
First-Timers' Session
Robert Grip
Merton: Monasticism East and West
Brendan Collins / Nass Cannon

Researching Merton
Mark Meade / Andrea Neuhoff

Emerging Scholars
Katharine Bubel / Eric Anglada /
Vanessa Wibberley
       
Chapters Workshop
John King
Merton and the Challenge of Technology
Paul Dekar / Gary Purdy
Merton and Inspiration for Ministry
Nancy Breitsprecher / William Mangrum / Hyeokil Kwon / Judith Hardcastle
Emerging Scholars
Valerie Savino / Hans Gustafson /
Joseph Madonna


Concurrent Sessions:
 
Merton: Vision and Revision
Mary Frances Coady / Patrick F. O’Connell
Merton’s Mysticism: City and Cosmos
Cristóbal Serrán-Pagán / Robert Peach
Merton: Shaping a Culture of Justice
William Apel / Robert Weldon Whalen
     
Merton and the Education of the Heart
Mary McDonald / Ty Anderson
Merton and Poetic Imagination
Lynn Szabo / Małgorzata Poks
Merton and Marxism
David Golemboski / Marc Boswell
     
Merton: Desert and City
Patrick Cousins / Christopher Pramuk
Merton: Camus, Milosz, Hopkins
David Belcastro /Mary Sommerset
Merton and Monastic Vision
Christine Bochen / Young-Suck Moon
     
Merton and Contemporary Culture
Jeff Kiernan / Dan P. Horan, OFM
Merton and the Wild Ones
Mac McGoldrick / Angus Stuart
Merton and Two Historical Voices
Kathleen Deignan, CND / Joshua Hollmann
     
Merton and the Human Community
Steven Millies / Larry Culliford
Merton in Correspondence
Maria Barrera / Fiona Gardner
Merton: Paradox and Struggle
Lars Adolfsson / Ed Kaplan
     
  Merton and Ecology
Kenneth M. Voiles / John O’Brien, CP
 


Workshops, Guided Prayer & Special Presentations:
 
A Signed Confession of Crimes Against the State
Gray Matthews
The Paradox of Place: Experiencing ‘All the Times and Moods of One Good Place’ with Thomas Merton
Paul M. Pearson
Another Door To Contemplation:
Wisdom in Thomas Merton’s Art
Mary Louise Heffernan
     
Thomas Merton and the Space-In-Between
Glenn Loughrey
Doing Lectio with Thomas Merton
Suzanne Zuercher
Merton and Cuba: 1940, 1959, 1962
Don Grayston
     
Soul Friends: Merton and Modern Poets
Judith Valente / Charles Reynard
Finding the Sky Within
Monica Weis, SSJ
Merton and the Marginalized
Mark Colville / Marty Shea / Tom Goekler
     
Uncommon Vision: The Life and Times of
John Howard Griffin
Morgan Atkinson
Drawn into the Mystery: Art-Journaling® with lines,
shapes and spaces as a way of meditation and prayer
Marianne Hieb
Merton and Mission
Mark Filut, OCSO
     
Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day:
Pilgrims and Prophets of Peace
Sharon Halsey-Hoover / David Hoover
  Seeing Through the Eyes of Thomas Merton:
The New York Years
Jan Sheridan


Registration Fees:
(including conference registration and meals)

Silverball ITMS Member - $280.00

Silverball Non-Member - $330.00 (Join the ITMS)

Late Registration Fees (between May 15 and June 1):
(including conference registration and meals)

Silverball ITMS Member - $330.00

Silverball Non-Member - $380.00 (Join the ITMS)

Accommodation:

Silverball $210.00 (Single room for three nights - per person)

Silverball $168.00 (Share room for three nights - per person)
 

Print out and mail the conference Registration Form.

The Conference Brochure will be available soon.


Travel Directions to Loyola University Lake Shore Campus


ITMS Daggy Scholarships


Daggy Youth/Student Scholarships enable young people (ages 14-29) to participate in an International Thomas Merton Society Conference by covering the costs of registration, meals and accommodation. For further information about Daggy Scholarships and an application form go to the Daggy Scholarship Web Page.


For INFORMATION on REGISTRATION & ACCOMMODATIONS contact the Site Coordinator:

Michael A. Brennan
ITMS Chicago
P.O. Box 31931
Chicago, IL 60631.

Email: merton2011@gmail.com

 

Program Committee

Donald Grayston, Vancouver, BC. Canada (Chair)
Michael A Brennan, Chicago, IL (Site Coordinator)
Christine M. Bochen, Rochester, NY
Vaughn Fayle, Chicago, IL
Robert G. Grip, Mobile, AL
Paul M Pearson, Louisville, KY
Monica Weis, Rochester, NY

Suzanne Zuercher, Chicago, IL

 

Chicago Site Committee

 

Michael A. Brennan (Site Coordinator)

Vaughn Fayle, Chicago, IL
Suzanne Zuercher, Chicago, IL

 

 

L to R: Suzanne Zuercher, Paul M. Pearson, Robert G. Grip, Monica Weis, Vaughn Fayle, Christine M. Bochen, Michael A. Brennan, Donald Grayston.
(Photograph by Margaret Brennan)


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