The scholars left the discussion with, in David Odorisio?s words, ?a renewed sense of mission and determination that no matter how great the evil, a greater love will and must prevail.?

     The International Thomas Merton Society will once again sponsor the Daggy Youth/Student Scholarship Program to make it possible for young people to participate in the ITMS General Meeting.  The program is named in honor of the late Dr. Robert Daggy, founding member and second president of the ITMS and longtime director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University.  Up to fifteen scholarships will be awarded, covering all costs (except transportation) of attendance at the Eighth General Meeting of the ITMS, to be held at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, June 5-7, 2003.  The awards will also include one year?s free membership in the ITMS.  Young people between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine, and full-time undergraduate students up to the age of forty, are invited to apply.

     Kristin Wisniewski, a 2001 Daggy Scholarship recipient, writes of her time at the Seventh General Meeting: ?It was wonderful to see so many other people who were as interested in Merton as I am.  I attended talks on Merton and technology, Merton and interreligious dialogue, Merton and Rabbi Heschel, Merton and the East, Merton and civil rights, as well as many others.  It was three and a half days of pure knowledge overflow.  Looking back on my time at the conference, I have to say it was the most incredible, life-changing experience I have ever had!  This would have to take into account the people that I met, such as Brother Patrick Hart, Tommie O?Callaghan, Rev. Wayne Burns, other Daggy Scholars, and scores of other Mertonians, as well as the discussions I had, the sleep I lost (totally worth it!), information I gained, and the incredible flood of emotion that I felt.  I am sure it is an experience that I will not soon forget!?

     Scholarship applicants should submit a statement explaining why they are interested in learning more about Thomas Merton and how they think they would benefit from attending the ITMS General Meeting.  They should also obtain a recommendation from a youth minister, campus minister, pastor, teacher, or other qualified adult explaining in what capacity he/she knows the applicant and why the applicant should be considered as a qualified candidate for an ITMS scholarship.

     Completed applications, including the recommendation, must be submitted by April 15, 2003, to the scholarship committee chair, Dr. Virginia Ratigan, Department of Religious Studies, Rosemont College, 1400 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont, PA 19010; email: [email protected].  Applications should include the age of the applicant, proof of educational status (if applicable), telephone number and email address (if available) as well as a return address.

     Any ITMS member who knows an eligible young person / student that would benefit from attending the 2003 General Meeting in Vancouver should encourage him or her to apply for a scholarship.

     A pilgrimage program to sites associated with Thomas Merton in New York City will be held May 15-22, 2003.  Cosponsored by the British Columbia Chapter of the ITMS and the Humanities Department at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, the tour will be directed by Donald Grayston and Judith Hardcastle.  The program includes daily sessions on Merton?s life and thought; a special Merton lecture and exhibit at Butler Library, Columbia University; a public talk on Merton and peace/social justice issues by Daniel Berrigan, SJ; a Merton seminar in cooperation with Zion Episcopal Church in Douglaston, Long Island; a lecture and tour at ?The Cloisters? Museum; a public lecture at Corpus Christi Church in cooperation with the ITMS Manhattan Chapter; and visits to sites that comprise ?Merton?s New York? such as Harlem and Greenwich Village. There will also be free time to enjoy the theatre, museums and ambiance of Manhattan.

     Accommodation is at The House of the Redeemer, 7 East 95th Street (near ?Museum Mile? and Central Park) on Manhattan?s upper east side.  Built in 1913, the house is the former Palazzo Fabbri, home of a scion of the Vanderbilt family.  Since 1949, it has been an Episcopal retreat house.  As accommodation at The House of the Redeemer is limited to eighteen people, those interested in participating are encouraged to reserve early as it is anticipated that the program will fill up quickly.  The cost for the pilgrimage is $1,225 (US) / $1,925 (CDN).  A ?commuter rate? of $350 (US) for those people who live in the New York City area is also available.

     For more information, contact Don Grayston at [email protected] or Judith Hardcastle at [email protected].

     Following the ITMS Eighth General Meeting in Vancouver, BC, ITMS members can take advantage of an ITMS group rate for a 7-day Alaskan Cruise on the luxurious ?Princess Mercury,? departing Vancouver Sunday, June 8 and returning June 15.  Ports of call in Alaska include Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier, Valdez, College Fjord and Seward.  Cost ranges from $735 US (inside cabin) to $1,070 US (outside cabin) plus port charges, fees and taxes.  As group space at this special price is limited, all those interested in the tour are encouraged to book reservations early.  For more information, contact Lindy Rothenburger at The Travel Group at 1-800-665-6345; email: [email protected].

     A number of ITMS members have recently published books on various topics.

Rusty Moe is the author of Our Presence Together In Chaos (Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 2001) 57 p. [ISBN: 0887533493 ? $15.95 pbk], a book of poetry that includes a section entitled ?The Gethsemani Cuttings,? culled from notes taken on retreats at the monastery over the years. Robert Lax, reviewing the manuscript shortly before his death, wrote: ?Thanks for (in this boy?s view) some very good poems!  I really like everything about them (and that?s rare around here).  Length, message, images ? every word counts, and many sing.  Sweet, heavenly voice!?  It is available from Black Moss Press (519-252-2551), Bardstown Art Gallery (502-348-6488), and the author (317-876-3093), as well as on Amazon.com.

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Paul Quenon, OCSO has edited, with John B. Lee, an anthology of poetry on spiritual themes entitled Smaller Than God: Words of Spiritual Longing (Windsor, ON: Black Moss Press, 2001) 180 p. [ISBN: 0887533574 ? $19.95 pbk]. Among the more than fifty poets included are Dianne Aprile, Ernesto Cardenal, Thomas Merton, and Paul Quenon.

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Robert Waldron is the author of a novella entitled Blue Hope (Orleans, MA: Paraclete Press, 2002)

128 p. [ISBN: 1-55725-290-4 ? $13.95 pbk], a story of spiritual renewal with an indirect Merton connection: a depressed professor encounters a Cistercian hermit-poet (with a snake in his outhouse!) at a Trappist monastery in Vermont.

    Merton Retreat 2002: Spirituality and the Environment,? sponsored by the Thomas Merton Foundation, took place June 10-14, 2002 at the Abbey of Gethsemani.  Building on the results of its highly successful Merton Retreat 2000 on Spirituality and Leadership, the Foundation brought together a distinguished international group of scholars, contemplatives, political, environmental, business, and scientific leaders from a wide variety of ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds for four days of reflection and dialogue on environmental issues and actual and potential contributions of authentic contemplative spirituality to ecological healing of the earth. The retreat concluded with a Public Forum at the Brown Theater in Louisville, in which participants engaged in ?contemplative dialogue? among themselves and with members of the audience.

     The retreat and forum were organized based on the belief that Thomas Merton?s message and life can help build a new pattern for living that integrates the contemplative in each person with day-to-day activities, and that this message can become a source of deep change in a world often distracted by superficial solutions to complex problems. The process takes its inspiration from Merton?s ?Mt. Olivet Letter? of the early 1960s, in which he wrote, ?The contemplative character of the setting and the complete absence of the pressures and routines of organizational life will favor a recovery of spiritual and humanistic perspectives, in which the emphasis will be not on the social process but on the good of man as ?image of God.?  It is believed that such a viewpoint is necessary if man is to dominate the processes he has created instead of being dominated by them.?

     Participants in the retreat included J. Robert Banks, retired vice president at Sunoco, Inc.; Rev. Sally Grover Bingham, an Episcopal priest active in the environmental community for twenty years; Peter C. Frumhoff, Director and Senior Scientist of the Global Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists; Lodel D. Magbanua, Negros Island Mission Coordinator of Handicap International, Negros Occidental, Philippines; Gugulethu Matlaopane, member of the Independent Electoral Commission in North Cape, South Africa, and activist in issues related to toxic waste and its impact on the environment; Dr. S. Madhavan Nair, Program Director, Centre for Environment Education, New Delhi; Alfredo Narvaez, convener of the first Mexico City Environmental Youth Forum, and founder of the Mexico City Environmental Youth Network; Sherry Pech, OCSO, prioress and cellarer of the Cistercian community at Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey in Dubuque, Iowa, where she manages and works on her monastery?s organic farm; Michael Rotondi, a practicing architect and educator; Carl Safina, Vice President for Marine Conservation and founder of the Living Oceans Program at the National Audubon Society; John Seed, founder and director of the Rainforest Information Centre in Australia; Fr. Alamiro Andrade Silva, OFM, founder of the InterFranciscan Office of Justice, Peace and Ecology, Brasilia; Michael Toms, founding President of New Dimensions Foundation, co-founder of New Dimensions Radio and Chief Executive Officer of the New Dimensions Broadcasting Network; Monica Weis, SSJ, Professor of English at Nazareth College, Rochester, NY, and former vice president of the International Thomas Merton Society; Pam Wilson, program associate at the Fetzer Institute, a nonprofit private operating foundation that supports research, education, and service programs exploring the relationships among body, mind, and spirit, which provided funding for the retreat.

     Retreat facilitators were Steven Wirth, founding partner of The Yardley Group, Inc.; Julie Murray, a private practitioner in spiritual direction, and faculty member at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing Science, New York; Ginny Schaeffer, Director of the Angela Merici Spirituality Center, Louisville, KY; and Gregory Acker, musician, instrument-builder, and arts educator.

     The Fourth General Meeting of the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland took place April 5-7, 2002 at Oakham School, Rutland, UK.  The conference theme was ??With the World in My Bloodstream?: Thomas Merton?s Universal Embrace.?  This is the third time that the TMS General Meeting has taken place at Oakham, which Thomas Merton attended from 1929 to 1933.

     Major presentations included Donald Grayston speaking on ?Finding ?The Great Compassion, Mahakaruna?: Thomas Merton as Transcultural Pioneer?; Robert Inchausti on ?Beyond Political Illusion: Thomas Merton on the Role of the Individual in Troubled Times?; and Bonnie Thurston on ?Three Islamic Poems by Thomas Merton.?  The presidential address was delivered by Canon A. M. Allchin.  The final day of the conference featured a panel discussion on the meeting theme with Donald Grayston, Robert Inchausti, Bonnie Thurston and Rev. Patrick Eastman, who also led meditation sessions and celebrated the Eucharist during the meeting.

     Concurrent session presentations included: David Belcastro ? ?Merton and the Beats?; Fernando Beltrán Llavador  ? ?Thomas Merton?s World Discourse: Economic Globalization vs. Religious Universality?; Richard Berendes and Earl Madary ? ?Thomas Merton And Dorothy Day: The Marriage of Contemplation and Action, a Call to Radical Hospitality?; Arthur W. Biddle ? ?Merton and the Second World War: Three Poetic Responses?; Tom Del Prete ? ?The World in My Bloodstream: Merton?s Experience of Relatedness?; Judith Hardcastle ? ?The Mysticism of World Faiths in Merton?s ?Inner Experience??; Paul M. Pearson ? ?Redeeming the Rhinoceros: The Healing Power of the Night Spirit and the Dawn Air?; Thomas W. Sheridan ? ?Merton as Odysseus-for-Everyman?; Michael R. Sobocinski ? ?Love and the Discovery of the True Self and Healing in Psychotherapy?; and Angus Stuart ? ?Grace Beats Karma: Thomas Merton and the Dharma Bums.?

     The first Thomas Merton Conference in Poland, sponsored by the newly formed Polish Merton Society and the Homini Publishing House, will take place October 24-27, 2002 at the University of Lublin. 

     After a welcome from the Rector of Lublin University, the opening presentation will be made by Abp. Prof. Józef Zycinski, entitled ?Interior Crisis of Scientific-Technical Civilization and the Role of Spiritual Values.?  This will be followed by presentations by Br. Patrick Hart OCSO on ?Merton ? Witness to Life? and by Adam Boniecki and Tomasz Fialkowski on ?Merton in Poland.?  A highlight of the first day of the conference will be an appearance by Merton?s friend and correspondent, Nobel-Prize winning poet Czeslaw Milosz.  The day will conclude with a discussion of the topic, ?Merton in Poland ? A Prophet or Adventure of a Single Generation?? and a showing of the video ?A Taste of Gethsemani.?

     Major presentations of the second day of the conference include Paul M. Pearson: ?Thomas Merton Archivist?; Maciej Bielawski: ?Merton?s Paradox: Living on the Edge ? Experience of the Center?; Stanislaw Obirek: ?Merton?s Beer?; Krzysztof Bielawski: ?Merton?s Summer Diary and the Experience of Love?; Katarzyna Bruzda: ?Merton?s Artistic Works?; Waclaw Hryniewicz: ?Mysticism of Merton and Julian of Norwich ? A Comparison?; Theresa Sandok: ?Thomas Merton?s Contemplative Vision?; Jan Andrzej Kloczowski: ?Mystics and Ethics.?  The evening will feature recollections of Thomas Merton by Patrick Hart and Basil Pennington and a showing of the video ?Merton ? A Film Biography.?

     Presentations on Saturday include: Zofia Zarebianka: ?Merton?s Literary Essays?; Elzbieta Kislak: ?Merton and Milosz in the Face of Totalitarianism?; Jan Bereza: ?Thomas Merton?s Theology of I?; Konrad Malys: ?Merton?s Cistercian Studies?; Paul M. Pearson: ?Mertonian Societies around the World: History, Aims, Actions.?  The day will also include a founding meeting of the Polish Merton Society.

     On the concluding day of the conference, participants will travel to the National Book Fair at Cracow, where a featured book will be tbe Polish translations of Silent Lamp by William H. Shannon.

     Financial contributions by the ITMS, as approved by the Board of Directors at its June meeting, helped make possible the conference and the participation of Merton Center Director Paul M. Pearson.

    The second Gethsemani Encounter between Catholic and Buddhist monastics took place at the Abbey of Gethsemani April 13-18, 2002.  Inspired by the pioneering work of Thomas Merton and sponsored by Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, the conference was a sequel to the first Gethsemani Encounter held at the abbey in July 1996 and attended by the Dalai Lama.  The theme for this second gathering, which included participation by representatives of Theravada, Zen and Tibetan Buddhism as well as by Cistercian and Benedictine monks and nuns along with lay scholars, was suffering as understood in the two traditions.  Opening presentations were given by Abbot Thomas Keating, OCSO and Ven. Henepola Gunaratana.  Other opening day presentations, on suffering caused by a sense of unworthiness and alienation, were given by Joseph Goldstein, Columba Stewart, OSB, Mary Margaret Funk, OSB and Blanche Hartman.  Subsequent speakers and topics included: a text by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (read by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin) and presentations by Kathy Lyzotte, OCSO, Ven. Thubten Chodron and James Wiseman, OSB on suffering caused by greed and consumerism; presentations by Geshe Lobsang Tenzin, Daniel Ward, OSB, Stephanie Kaza and Mary Collins, OSB on suffering caused by personal and structural violence; and presentations by John Daido Loori, Margaret Michaud, OSB, Ajahn Sundara and Donald Grabner, OSB on suffering caused by sickness and aging.  Summary presentations were made by Norman Fischer and Fr. Leo Lefebure.  Proceeding of the conference will be published by Doubleday in 2003.

    An Elderhostel experience entitled ?Delving Deeper into Thomas Merton? took place August 11-16 at Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY, coordinated by Dr. Paul M. Pearson, Director of the Bellarmine Merton Center. 

     The week included trips to the Abbey of Gethsemani, where participants visited Merton?s hermitage and gravesite and participated in the monastic liturgy, and to the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, KY, where participants received a guided tour of the village.

     Presentations included ?Merton the Archivist,? ?Seeking Paradise: Thomas Merton and the Shakers? and ?Awake to a New Language: Thomas Merton?s Recovery of a Paradise Language? with Paul M. Pearson; ?Thomas Merton and the Mystics ? Sufism? with ITMS Vice President Erlinda Paguio; ?Thomas Merton and the Cold War Letters? with Michael Johmann, Professor of Humanities and English at the University of Louisville; and ?Thomas Merton and Flannery O?Connor? with Fr. George Kilcourse, Professor of Theology at Bellarmine University.  Participants also viewed the videos ?The (Almost) Final Days of Thomas Merton: A Conversation with Harold Talbott,? ?Kentucky Friends of Merton? and ?Thomas Merton: Seeder of Radical Action? with  Joan Chittister, OSB.

     The next Merton Elderhostel at Bellarmine is scheduled for April 6-11.  For further details contact Linda Bailey on (502) 452 8161 or by e-mail: [email protected] or visit the Elderhostel website. An Elderhostel focused on Merton and led by Walt Chura will also be held October 13-18 at Holy Cross Monastery, P.O. Box 99, West Park, NY 12493-0099; for further information, phone:845-384-6660 ext.308; fax: 845-384-6631.

     Next year, 2003, will mark the 150th anniversary of the rebuilding of School House, the main building at Oakham School, Rutland, UK, which Thomas Merton attended between 1929 and 1933.  The school has just started a program of extensive refurbishment of the building.  The Trustees of Oakham School have put forward some monies but the intention is to look for sponsorship from former pupils and others, who would then have rooms named in their honor.  The total cost of each room will be about £4000 (about $6,000), the cost being quite high because each room will be given a replacement wooden window frame, a sink and wall-to-wall carpeting ? luxury compared to conditions during Thomas Merton?s time in Hodge Wing of the building.  Any member of the ITMS who might be interested in helping this project financially by sponsoring the renovation of Merton?s old room should contact Martin Minshall at Oakham School, Oakham, Rutland, England; email: [email protected].  It would be very fitting if Merton?s old room could be named after him.

    Monkscript: A Folio of Literature, Art and Spirituality is seeking poems, fiction, essays, art, retreat journals, meditations and interviews.  Monkscript invites writings that spring from the ambiance of  monasticism, eastern or western, writings by those who live either inside or outside of monasteries, writings by anyone whose art breathes the atmosphere and spirit of monasticism of whatever kind. Monkscript is a format for creative writing of a high literary standard.  It specializes in writings by authors inspired by monasteries, monastic life, and any contemplative style of living.  Monkscript includes art and spirituality, as reflective of monastic life as well as contemplative living, as major fields of interest. Editors are Bernadette Dieker and Paul Quenon, OCSO; poetry editor ? Frederick Smock, essay editor ? Jonathan Montaldo, associate editors ? Gray Henry, Bob Hill, Nana Lampton, Dianne Aprile.  Send mailings to: Editor, Monkscript, 49 Mockingbird Valley Drive, Louisville, KY 40207; phone: 502-897-3641; fax:502-893-7373; email: [email protected]. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.  Monkscript, vol. 1 will be available in December 2002 for $15.00, sent to the above address.

John Collins, a member of the ITMS Massachusetts Chapter, conducted a five-part series on Thomas Merton at St. Mary?s Parish in Shrewsbury, MA during the past year.  The focus of the series was Merton?s  book, New Seeds of Contemplation.  John will conduct a four-part Merton series during 2002-2003, open to the Worcester Diocese.

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Lawrence Cunningham gave a presentation on Merton as part of Villanova University?s Conference on Catholic Peacemakers in April, 2002; he also taught a graduate course on Merton during the summer 2002 semester at the University of Notre Dame, and accompanied fifteen high school students to the Abbey of Gethsemani July 22-24 as part of a three-week theology course at Notre Dame.

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Phil McIntyre-Paul and Christopher Page led a backcountry hiking retreat entitled ?Bread in the Wilderness: Thomas Merton as Wilderness Guide? in the interior mountains of southern British Columbia  August 4 -10, 2002.  The retreat, sponsored by the Sorrento Centre, an Anglican retreat and conference center, included four days/nights of backcountry hiking and camping, framed in a cycle of morning and evening offices, centering prayer, spiritual direction and reflections exploring Merton's relationship to nature.

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ITMS Vice President Erlinda Paguio and Merton Center Director Paul M. Pearson directed a four-week course on Merton for the St. Paul?s Methodist Church in Louisville, KY May 5-26, 2002.

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Richard Reilly, Richard Simpson and Paul Spaeth, faculty members at St. Bonaventure University, Olean, NY, presented a week-long seminar entitled ?Thomas Merton and Robert Lax: The New York Years and Beyond? at the Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY August 5-9, 2002.  The course focused on the two friends? writings, spirituality and lives, especially in connection with the Western New York area.

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A weekend retreat entitled ?Exploring the Life and Writings of Thomas Merton,? directed by Father Luke Jolly and Michael Woodward, was held at Worth Abbey, West Sussex, UK on June 21-23, 2002.

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On Sept. 18, Victor Kramer spoke on ?Thomas Merton: Compassion, Kairos and Social Action? at Cannon Chapel, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.  He is also presenting a course on ?Thomas Merton as Spiritual Master? as part of the Spring Hill College MA Program at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Atlanta, Sept.-Dec. 2002.

On October 4-6, a retreat entitled ?The Road to Joy ? A Retreat with Thomas Merton? will be held at St. Joseph?s Spirituality & Education Centre, 8 Humphreys Rd., Kincumber South, New South Wales 2251, Australia.  Retreat directors are Beth Goodwin-O?Neal and Sr. Colleen O?Sullivan.  This is the first retreat offered by the Australian Chapter of the ITMS. The cost is $130 (single occupancy) or $120 (shared occupancy). For further information, phone: +61 2 4368 4807; fax: +61 2 4368 3849.

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On October 5-6, Fr. Patrick Collins will direct a retreat on Thomas Merton at Holy Apostles Church, McHenry  IL; for further information contact Fr. Collins at [email protected]. 

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On October 18-20, Fr. Patrick Collins will direct a retreat on ?The Inner Experience? by Thomas Merton at The Cenacle, Warrenville  IL; for further information contact Fr. Collins at [email protected].  

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On November 15-17, Fr. Patrick Collins will direct a retreat on Thomas Merton at the Benedictine Center, Moline, IL; for further information contact Fr. Collins at [email protected].

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On November 30 and December 7 there will be a symposium in Newtown, N.S.W., Australia on Merton's writings on war and peace. For further information contact Elizabeth Goodwin: Phone: 02 - 95320968 or e-mail  [email protected]

On January 10-12, 2003, a retreat entitled ?Walking in Balance: Merton?s Contemplation in Action? will be held at Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA.  Retreat directors will be Fr. Robert Hale, OSBCam, and Dorothy Hulburt.  The retreat is being organized by the San Diego Chapter of the ITMS.  For further information contact Pat Hulburt, 2727 De Anza Rd., San Diego, CA 92109; phone: 858-490-0507; email: [email protected].

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On January 10-12, 2003, Fr. Patrick Collins will direct a retreat on Thomas Merton at the Vallombrosa Retreat House, Menlo Park, CA; for further information contact Fr. Collins at [email protected].

The Atlanta Chapter of the ITMS formed in February 2001 following the conference ?Thomas Merton and Buddhism: A Continuing Conversation,? sponsored by the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University.  Recent activities of the Atlanta Chapter include a retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA, as well as involvement with the ?Dialogues with Silence? conference (with Jonathan Montaldo) held in January 2002 at Emory University. The group, which meets on the last Saturday of each month, is currently discussing Merton?s The Sign of Jonas.  The chapter is planning a retreat for December 2002.  The Atlanta Chapter is minimally supported by the Aquinas Center of Theology.  For further information contact Glenn Crider at [email protected] or Millicent Hollins at [email protected], or the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University, 1703 Clifton Road, Suite F-5, Atlanta, Ga 30322; phone: 404-727-8860.

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Recent presentations at the meetings of the British Columbia Chapter of the ITMS include ?Thomas Merton?s American Prophecy? with Robert Inchausti in April; ?The Seven Storey Mountain as Modern Spiritual Autobiography? with David Leigh, SJ in May; ?Holy Wisdom: Merton and Hagia Sophia? with Susan McCaslin in June, preceded by the chapter?s annual  ?ITMS Decadent Dessert Party.?  Future events include ?Dialogues with Silence,? readings by Jonathan Montaldo with musical accompaniment on piano and flute at the September meeting; a fall retreat with Fr. George Kilcourse on October 19, and a presentation by Fr. Kilcourse on October 21; a presentation by Shiella Fodchuk at the November meeting, a retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani with Johathan Montaldo, January 2-6, 2003; a presentation by J. S. Porter at the January meeting; and a series of events with Fr. Basil Pennington, OCSO February 13-15, 2003. For further information contact Judith Hardcastle, 705-700 Chilco Street, Vancouver, BC V6G-2R1; phone: 604-669-2546; email: [email protected].

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At the May meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of the ITMS, Rose Bianchi, Sr. Mary Komar and Tony Russo led a discussion on Merton?s poetry.  The June meeting also focused on this topic.  At the July meeting, the group viewed and discussed Rev. George Kilcourse?s video presentation on ?Merton?s Vision of the Vocation of the USA?; the meeting also featured a presentation by Ms. Renae Waples, Council Member of the First United Church of Christ, where the chapter meets, explaining the creation of a Meditation Garden at the Church.  The chapter has contributed donations for four stones inscribed with Merton quotations for the Meditation Garden.  Gary Sabourin spoke at the August meeting on ?Merton and Witness regarding War and Social Justice.? On August 2 the chapter sponsored a Day of Reflection with Fr. Patrick Collins at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity in Delhi on the topic ?Contemplative Living?; twenty-five people attended the day.  The September meeting will feature a presentation by psychologist and former monk Paschal Baute on ?Merton?s Failure to Love.?  For further information contact Tony Russo, 8087 Bridgetown Road, Cleves, Ohio 45002; phone: 513-941-5219; email: [email protected].

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On September 21, the Manhattan Chapter of the ITMS will sponsor a talk by Sidney Griffith of the Catholic University of America on ?Thomas Merton and Sufism: Thomas Merton and the Christian Dialogue with Islam? at Corpus Christi Church.  On November 22-23, the chapter will sponsor the first annual retreat commemorating the anniversary of Merton?s baptism at Corpus Christi, with Fr. Dan Riley OFM of St Bonaventure University as retreat master; the topic is ?Praying  Merton?s Christology.?  For further information contact Corpus Christi Church ? ITMS Chapter, 529 West 121 Street, New York, NY 10027; or e-mail: [email protected].

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At the November, 2001  meeting of the Massachusetts Chapter of the ITMS, Bill Biddle presented a workshop on his book When Prophecy Still Had a Voice. At the March 2002 meeting Bob Waldron gave a presentation on three of Merton?s Eighteen Poems.  For further information contact Edward J. Farley, 18 Daniels Street, Lowell, MA 01852; email:  [email protected].

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The Thomas Merton Society of Michiana (Michigan/Indiana) sponsored a presentation at its November meeting by Jim Forest entitled ?Thomas Merton?s Advice to Peace Activists,? as well as a weekend retreat with Jim Forest on ?Christianity from the Bottom Up: Climbing the Ladder of the Beatitudes.?   For further information contact Jan Jenkins, 3621 Sullivan Court South Bend, IN 46614; email: [email protected].

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The Mississippi Chapter of the ITMS sponsored a retreat April 26-27, 2002 entitled ?Dialogues with Silence: Thomas Merton?s Way of Meditating,? directed by Jonathan Montaldo, at Camp Lake Stephens, Oxford MS.  For further information contact Rev. John Staggs, 1604 Jefferson Street, Oxford, MS 38655.

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The ITMS Chapter of greater Washington, DC, hosted a presentation by ITMS President Jonathan Montaldo on April 20 at St. Anselm?s Abbey School entitled ?Spirituality in the Journals of Thomas Merton.?  The next scheduled chapter-sponsored lecture will feature former ITMS President, Rev. James Conner, OCSO, in October.  The chapter has also formed a Merton Discussion Group, which has now met twice at St. Anselm?s Abbey.  For further information, contact Mary K. Stanford, 5953 Searl Terrace, Bethseda, MD 20816; phone: 301-320-4778.