The Fifteenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society
was held at St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, New York from June 15-18, 2017

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Conference Photographs

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Thomas Merton‘s experience of the God of Mercy was the basis of his many conversions. The spirit and landscape of St. Bonaventure helped Merton to focus and clarify what he was to do with such great Mercy, namely to follow God’s call to the monastery at Gethsemani. At the end of The Sign of Jonas, Merton imagines God speaking to him: “I have always overshadowed Jonas with My mercy … Have you had sight of Me, Jonas My child? Mercy within mercy within mercy. I have forgiven the universe without end, because I have never known sin.” In the years that followed, the “endless, infinite mercy of God” shaped his vision and witness in the areas of contemplation, spirituality, social issues, interreligious dialogue, racism, war and non-violence. The Fifteenth General Meeting will focus particularly on the ways in which Mercy informed Merton’s pilgrimage, contemplation, and witness, and invites us to consider how we might live Mercy in our own lives. As Merton wrote in his journal: “mercy, always, in everything, mercy.”    

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

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Conference Timetable

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Plenary Speakers:

M. Shawn Copeland	Luke Timothy Johnson	Michael N. McGregor	Scott Russell Sanders

		Robert Lax: In His Own Words
“Why Should I Buy a Bed When All That I Want Is Sleep?” - a film by Nicolas Humbert & Werner Penzel				Robert Lax's Psalm with spoken word, dance and piano Christine Bachich and Jacqueline Chew

Presidential Address Michael W. Higgins

Performance Six Contemplative Poems of Thomas Merton James D'Angelo / Scott Dispensa

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Opening Sessions:

First-Timers' Session Robert Grip	Chapters Workshop Donna Kristoff, OSU	Merton Scholarship Deborah Kehoe, Patrick O'Connell, Paul Pearson and Joseph Raab	Merton at St. Bonaventure Jan Sheridan	Emerging Scholars Phillip Antilla / Stephanine Redekop

Guide to Opening Sessions

  

Concurrent Sessions:

Merton and the Carmelite Tradition Alan Kolp / Cristóbal Serrán-Pagán	Merton at St. Bonaventure Christine M. Bochen / Mary Frances Coady	Merton and Inter-Religious Pilgrimage Leslie D. Alldritt / Edward K. Kaplan
Merton and Contemplative Life Patrick F. O'Connell / Bonnie Thurston	Prophetic Voices David Golemboski / Gordon Oyer	Merton, Mercy and Wisdom June-Ann Greeley / Jonathan Sozek
Merton: Revelation and Redemption Daniel P. Horan / Ryan Scruggs	Merton and Foolish Mercy Nass Cannon / Michael Plekon	Merton and Archaic Wisdom Robert Toth / Deborah Kehoe
Merton and Merciful Praxis Dominiek Lootens / Anna Pfaff	Merton and Formation for Mercy Christopher Fici / Jonathan Montaldo	Merton, Mysticism and Mercy Paul R. Dekar / Kathleen Deignan
Merton and Literary Figures Andrew Belfield / Tom Stewart	Merton and Artistic Expressions Jon Sweeney / Robert Whalen	Communication and Communion William Apel

Guide to Concurrent Sessions and Workshops

 

Workshops, Guided Prayer & Special Presentations:

The Enlightened Teacher: An Inquiry into a Contemplative Curriculum William Meyer	In Pursuit of Silence: A Documentary Film Cassidy Hall	Overshadowed by Mercy: Thomas Merton and Pope Francis on Experiencing and Sharing God’s Mercy Paul M Pearson
Merton and the Merciful Gaze as a Creative Act Marianne Hieb	Merton at St. Bonaventure Paul J. Spaeth	Merton’s Love of the Natural World and His Sense of the Sacred: A Meditation Morgan Atkinson
Spirituality of Thomas Merton and Robert Lax through Movement and Music Jacqueline Chew / Christine Bachich	… saturated with the dew of mercy …  Bernard, to his beloved son, Thomas Kevin Burns	A Muslim/Christian Peace Pilgrimage with Thomas Merton Sahar Alsahlani / Mark C. Meade
Allowing Landscape to Nudge Us to Prayer: The Power of Place Monica Weis	Conversion of Place: Geographic Change in Merton’s America Kathleen Baker	Merton, the Catholic Peace Fellowship and Peacemaking as an Apostolic Work of Mercy Maria Surat
Merton’s Death Seen from the Homegrounds Paul Quenon		Sturgeon Bay Sunset: A Prayer Service of Silence, Music, and Words Inspired by Christopher Pramuk and Thomas Merton Jeffrey Kiernan

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Contact the Site Coordinator for further information:
Julianne E. Wallace
P. O. Box 845
Reading, PA 19607
Email: [email protected]

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Program Committee David J. Belcastro, Columbus, OH (C0-chair) Paul M. Pearson, Louisville, KY (Co-chair) Julianne E. Wallace, St. Bonaventure, NY (Site Coordinator) Christine M. Bochen, Rochester, NY Margaret Carney, OSF., St. Bonaventure, NY Michael W. Higgins, Bridgeport, CT Joseph Q. Raab, Adrian, MI Paul Spaeth, St. Bonaventure, NY Monica Weis, SSJ., Rochester, NY

St. Bonaventure Site Committee Julianne E. Wallace (Site Coordinator)   Paul Spaeth, St. Bonaventure, NY