Regis University, Denver, Colorado

from June 19-22, 2025

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“The Calligraphy of Snow and Rock and Sky”

Thomas Merton and the Spirit of Place

“A sign of snow on a mountainside as if my own ancestors were hailing me.”

~ Thomas Merton, Woods, Shore, Desert

Flying over the Rocky Mountains on his way to California, May 6^th, 1968, Thomas Merton described the view as “one of the most lovely calligraphies I have ever seen.” To “be a mountain diviner” is to acknowledge that “we are all secrets,” writes Merton, and yet, opening our whole selves to the deep memory and revelatory spirit of place, we can divine a message of truth, and perhaps a way forward, in the calligraphy of snow and rock and sky. In his journeys in California, New Mexico, and Alaska, and in Asia, gazing on Kanchenjunga, Merton found himself increasingly “on the edge of great realization.” What is the essence of that realization, and what messages might be divined in the spiritual landscapes of Merton’s final year of life? Who are the “ancestors” – human, animal, mineral, cosmic – whose stories provide a word of hope in this moment of reckoning for the human community and the suffering planet? Such questions are especially fitting as we gather at Regis University at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

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Conference Highlights

Registration Information

Conference Timetable

Student Scholarships

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	Plenary Speakers
Kevin Burke, SJ Stephanie Paulsell Julia Prinz, DVMF Estevan Rael-Galvez Susan Reynolds
Merton in the American West
Fred Bahnson David Odorisio  Jeremy Siefert  Kathleen Tarr

Presidential Address   Judith Valente

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Opening Sessions:

First Timers Orientation	Chapters Workshop Michael Brennan	International Perspectives on Merton
Merton Research and Researching Merton Alda Balthrop-Lewis / David Golemboski / Mark Meade	Emerging Scholars A Matthew Riddle / Ethan Vander Leek / Guadalupe Zorrilla	Emerging Scholars B Ryan Bell / Rosys / Harley Dean Matthews

  

Concurrent Session Papers:

Michael Higgins / Charles Gillespie	Jim Robinson / Andy Stanton-Henry	Paul Quenon / Michael McGregor
Sophia Park / Ed Murphy / Megan Way	Daniel Horan / Aaron Kerr	David Odorisio / Natana DeLong-Bas
Gordon Oyer / David Golemboski	Joseph Raab / Tiffany Hunsinger	Mark Meade
Patrick O'Connell / John Gillespie	Jason Taylor / Ethan Strouse	Eric Martin / Anne Pearson
	Daniel London / Aaron Godlaski

 

Workshops, Guided Prayer & Special Presentations:

Marcela Raggio	Melanie-Prejean Sullivan	Michael Centore
Liz Burkemper	Robin Adair / John Seryak	Cassidy Hall
Paul Pearson	Paul Pynkoski	Colette Lafia
Caleb Vanderleek	Marianne Hieb	Judith Valente / Carol Lenox
Regina Sara Ryan	Douglas Hertler	Steven Denny
Abbi Fraser		Liam Myers

 

"A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton"
will be on Exhibit in the O'Sullivan Fine Arts Center

 

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Registration opens December 1st
(including conference registration and meals - US Dollars Only)

ITMS Member - $280.00

Non-Member - $330.00 (Join the ITMS)

Accommodation: 
$250.00 (Single room for three nights - per person)

$210.00 (Shared room for three nights - per person)

Additional Lodging is Available for Wednesday 18th June.

Print out and mail the conference:

Registration Form

or

Register using PayPal

Cancellation Policy

Off Campus Accommodation Options

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Travel: 

Car

Air

Public Transportation

PDF Map of Regis Campus

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ITMS Daggy Scholarships

Daggy Youth/Student Scholarships enable young seekers and emerging scholars to participate in an International Thomas Merton Society Conference, thereby inspiring the next generation of Merton readers and scholars.

These scholarships honor the late Robert E. Daggy, founding member and second president of the ITMS, and cover the costs of registration, meals and accommodation.

For further information about Daggy Scholarships and an application form go to the Daggy Scholarship Web Page. (Those under 18 at the time of the conference must be accompanied by a parent or adult chaperone whose registration will not be covered by the scholarship.)

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Contact the Site Coordinator for further information:
Christopher Pramuk
Regis University
3333 Regis Boulevard
Denver, CO 80221
Email: [email protected]

 

Program Committee: Christopher Pramuk, Denver, CO (Chair and Site Coordinator) Ben Burkemper, Troy, MO Elizabeth Burkemper, Troy, MO Roger Butts, Fort Collins, CO Emma McDonald Kennedy, New Canaan, CT (ex officio) Paul M. Pearson, Louisville, KY Paul Pynkoski, Toronto, ON Kathleen Witkowska Tarr, Anchorage, AK Judith Valente, Normal, IL (ex officio)