Four Nazareth College students participated in the Tenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society, which took place June 7 to 10 at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn.
Students Jessica Funk, Meghan Robinson, Jessamyn Slon and Marjorie Smith were awarded the Daggy Youth/Student Scholarship, a full scholarship to attend the meeting “Wide Open to Heaven and Earth: Contemplation, Community and Culture.” The scholarship, for people ages 14 to 29, cultivates the next generation of Merton readers and scholars. It is named for Robert E. Daggy, a founding member of the society.
Three Nazareth faculty members also joined them: Christine Bochen, professor of religious studies; Sister of St. Joseph Monica Weis, professor of English; and Jamie Fazio, Catholic campus minister. Sister Weis and Bochen also presented.
Nazareth College will host the society’s 11th general meeting in June 2009. Bochen will serve as site coordinator, and she, Fazio and Sister Weis will serve on the program committee for that meeting.
According to the society, Thomas Merton was a spiritual theologian, a social critic, a catalyst for interreligious dialogue and an important American literary figure.
