THE SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL THOMAS MERTON SOCIETY MEETING

Report by Rev. Dan K. Phillips

Editors Note:--Should you never hear from me again you can be assurred that what has happened is that I have shot my computer, thrown it in the trash, and swore never to touch a computer again! Again, I have been having computer problems. Mainly because of my ineptness with this gadget. I lost everyone of my Merton e-mail addresses. I have since found them (although I may lose them again because it may be temporary). In the meantime if anyone knows how to save a Netscape E-Mail address book onto a disk where you will not lose it, or KNOWS HOW to print the address book out so one can keep it on file and re-enter later, I would appreciate it! NOW TO THE NEWS!!! (Got that off of my chest!!!)

The International Thomas Merton Society meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in June (2001) was absolutely stunning. Jonathan Montaldo and his troups did an outstanding job in planning and carrying out the program.

Over 400 persons attended, with over twenty percent of those from foreign countries. Never have I seen such a knowledgeable group of persons interested in one person, Merton.. In every session one realized the depth of knowledge and commitment of the attendees. It was an exciting time of getting to know others who appreciate Thomas Merton also.

Highlights included: Brother Paul Quenon's slides of hermitages throughout the Trappist order, Kevin Burns multimedia presentation Invisible light shining like the son , Will Campbells' episodic tales of his midnight rides with Merton to, of all places, Fort Knox, where no doubt Merton bombarded them with prayers. And Wendell Berry's poetic sytlistics which concluded the conference.

Daggy Scholars Scholarships, named for longtime director of the Merton Center Bob Daggy, were given to numerous younger persons wishing to attend the conference. They were an energetic group, reminding us older Mertonites of Father Louis younger days. Vibrant, willing to risk, some even dared to stay out past ten at night!!! Still, these attendees brought an energetic aliveness to the conference that was one of the personal highlights for me.

REPORT BY REV. WAYNE BURNS

Father Carlos Rodriquez and Rev. Wayne Burns

The first week in June I was able to attend the International Thomas Merton Society meeting (ITMS) at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. The following is a brief review of the meeting from my perspective.

Since you are interesting in reading and studying Thomas Merton, I thought you might like to know about meeting. (if not, hit delete.) The ITMS meets every two years. This was the 7th meeting.

THE PLACE OF MEETING Bellarmine University was a beautiful setting for this meeting. Bellarmine meant much to Thomas Merton. The Thomas Merton Center is located at Bellarmine. If you are in the Louisville area, you should make a visit to the campus and to the Merton Center.

THE MEETING

It will be impossible to give a preview of session by session. There were many conferences to attend. The negative of this was that when the concurrent sessions were held you could only attend one of the four or five offered. It was hard to chose. Some of the topics were: "Merton: Death and Rebirth...Merton and the East...:Learning from the unexpected: What the Merton/M relationship can teach us"...Merton and Poetry...Merton and Civil Rights...and many more.

There were so many outstanding leaders and speakers. Some were: Monk Paul Quenon, Arthur Biddle, Patrick O'Connell, Walt Chura, Lawrence Cunningham, The Abbot of Gethsemani, and many others.

It seemed that one of the most popular speakers was Will Campbell, a Baptist Minister and friend of Thomas Merton. He spoke of the many personal visits and encounters he had with Thomas Merton. His topic was: Thomas Merton: Southern Churchman. Will Campbell is 79 years old. He was very humorous about many of his visits with Merton. He told some great stories of visits with Merton at the Hermitage. I think Merton would have been more than pleased to be spoken of so highly by a Baptist minister who was his friend. Campbell kept us laughing and crying at the end. He said that he told Tom (Merton) that he gave a whole new meaning to the vow of silence (as there was little silence when they got together) and of solitude (Merton had so much company). It seems that it is always so interesting to hear someone who knew Merton personally. Since Merton died in 1968, there are not many left that had personal visits with Merton.

One of the great joys of the meeting is the great fellowship around the tables. You get to meet so many wonderful people from so many different places. About 20% of those attending were from outside the US. It was a joy to share time with people from Holland, Canada, and etc...And, there were a number of young adults and students there as Daggy Scholars. To keep this from going on too long let me tell you about the trip to The Abbey of Gethsemani on Saturday. It took 8 buses to get all of us (about 400) to the Abbey. It was the first trip to the Abbey for many. Gethsemani was the home of Merton for 27 years.

He is buried on the grounds of the Abbey. HIs Hermitage is not far from the Abbey. Most walked to see it. We were able to be in the Abbey church for greetings from the Abbot and a talk by Cunningham, a response from former Abbot Flavian Burns (Merton's last Abbot), and to be a part of Sext with the Monks. Also, a number of the monks fellowshipped with us during the visit. It was joy to visit with them (especially with Fr. Carlos and Brother Patrick Hart...and others).

The Abbey is a wonderful place to experience love, silence, solitude, acceptance, and the Spirit of God. What a great day. Thomas Merton is a spiritual giant because of his many works on spirituality. He is also a giant because he was ever on a journey to know and understand God, himself, and others. And, it was because of Merton's walk with Christ that he left us so much to think about and to share with one another. It is amazing how many lives he has touched and will touch. It was a joy to share about spirituality and Thomas Merton with so many people in just a few days. This summary does not do justice to the meeting, but it gives you some idea of what happened for me and those in attendance. It was life changing for some, and life challenging for all. It was a 4th and Walnut experience. Thanks be to God for those special days. Wayne

Theresa Cullen (Daggy Scholar) and Wayne Burns with unusual Merton manuscript!!!(I'll never tell!!)

Will Campbell and yours truly. What great respect I have for Will Campbell. He stole the show with his talk about his times with Thomas Merton.

Jonathan Montaldo did an "exceptional job" making this one of the greatest Thomas Merton Events Ever!!!

Theresa Sullivan, another Daggy Scholar, has one of the most unusual stories of anyone attending the event. Read her story on the St. Joseph College website in Mainer. Go to the following link http://www.sjcme.edu/ and click on news first, then summer 2001, then page 9 in the PDF File. UNBELIEVABLE!!

This Link might work. Click here! If that doesn't work try the www.sjcme.edu website and click on NEWS, then SUMMER OF 2001, and go to page 9 of the PDF to here her story. If you don't succeed let me know and I might download the story on this site.

THE NEXT EDITION OF THIS WILL BE A REVIEW OF THE THOMAS MERTON/ROBERT LAX LETTERS!

HOPE IT WILL BE READY SOON, ALTHOUGH I AM GOING TO ALASKA IN LATE AUGUST FOR A WEEK. I only need two more states to complete going to all 50. One is Alaska and the Other is North Dakora. ENUFF!

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY REGULAR MERTON SITE FOR NEW LINKS AND UPDATES ON RETREATS ETC. REMEMBER: http://go.to/merton

or http://edge.net/~dphillip/Merton.html

MAY GO BLESS EACH OF YOU!!

Dan Phillips dphillip@edge.net