.
Theme: Meister Eckhart and Modern Thought

Presentations:

A Meister among the Moderns: Hegel, Rosenborg, Bloch & Cage
Stephen Bullivant, Christ Church, Oxford

Dorothee Soelle and Meister Eckhart: Learning to Live Without a Why
Nancy Hawkins IHM, St Bernard’s School of Theology & Ministry, Rochester, NY

Re-modernity, Reliance and Creativity – Reading Eckhart after Deconstructivism
Professor Markus Vinzent, University of Birmingham

Eckhart and Jean Sulivan: From Individual to Universal
Dr Máire Aine Ní Mhainnín, National University of Ireland, Galway

Arrivals from 4 pm Friday, 10 October.
Workshops and Society AGM will take place during the afternoon of Saturday, 11 October. In the evening there will be a concert. The conference will end on Sunday afternoon.

Full Residential fee...........................................................£250
Non-Residential fee (includes meals) .........................£155
A deposit of £50 is payable in advance and the balance is due before 10 October 2008
If the full fee is paid before 31 July it is reduced to £240 and £145 respectively
For further information and a Registration Form contact:
The Treasurer, The Eckhart Society, Holly Tree Cottage, 2 New Road, Cookham,
Maidenhead, Bucks SL6 9HB
Telephone: +44 (0)1628 810240 E mail: cgg@cgglover.com
Registered Charity Number: 1042199 www.eckhartsociety.org

Christian and Buddhist monastic women will share insights around the topic of prayer in their traditions and how their monastic rule and pratices inform their prayer life. The event is sponsored by MID. Participation is by invitation only.

(Photo: Sister Jeanne Ranek and Yifa at the 2005 Nuns in the West meeting at Hsi Lai Chinese Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights, California.)

This year’s convention of the American Benedictine Academy explores a theme of special interest to those involved in interreligious dialogue. Those not members of the Academy will not be able to vote, but attendance is open to all. Besides a list of prominent speakers, breakout “circle conversations” will encourage participants to exchange ideas in a setting of mutually enriching dialogue. Click here for program information and for on-line registration.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, will visit Madison, Wisconsin July 20-24 to offer teachings from the Tibetan tradition. The four days of teaching by His Holiness are about Shantideva's Guide to a Bodhisattva's Way of Life (Cho-jug) and Kamalashila's Middle Stages of Meditation (Gomrim Barpa). These two texts, important in Buddhist practice, will be made available in multiple languages free to those in attendance.

The Dalai Lama’s visit is being coordinated by representatives from the North American Tibetan Association and The Deer Park Buddhist Center in Oregon, WS, with spiritual guidance from Geshe Lhundub Sopa. For more information about the event, please e-mail budd@fcc-cl.org.

In conjunction, an interfaith group is being organized to participate in this event. Up to 19 people from different traditions will stay together at Holy Wisdom Benedictine Monastery in Madison, attend the Ceremonies and Teachings by the Dalai Lama, and share their reflections and insights with one another in the evenings. In addition, they will offer presentations to the group about their own tradition. The Sisters at the monastery will provide an introduction to Benedictine tradition.

The Interfaith Seminar is being coordinated by Rev. Dr. Gilbert Friend-Jones, Senior Minister of the First Congregational Church (UCC) of Crystal Lake, IL. For more information, please contact him by telephone at (815) 459-6010, ext. 11, or by e-mailing budd@fcc-cl.org.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA) and the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers (CADEIO)will co-sponsor an Institute for Interreligious Leadership from July 10-16, 2008, at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. The Institute includes seminars on theological and pastoral topics related to the Church’s engagement with other religions, as well as a look at key documents and recent initiatives. An introduction to world religions and on-site visits will also be offered. The $850 fee includes room, board and materials. Click here for a copy of the brochure or contact Fr. Francis Tiso at 202-541-3020.

Sponsored by Georgetown University in collaboration with Hartford Seminary, this Institute provides the opportunity and time to learn about Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. Participants will become familiar with the Qur’an, historical developments in Islam and Christianity, discuss successful approaches to interreligious dialogue, and engage directly in it through joint sessions with Muslims who will be following their own parallel track during the program and learning about Christianity. An ideal opportunity for someone in your parish/diocese and a Muslim partner to come to Georgetown together and participate in the institute. Tuition: $590.

For further info, email Michael Peterson at MLP34@georgetown.edu or call 202-687-4005.

From May 27-31, 2008, approximately fifty North American Buddhist and Catholic monastic men and women will come together at Gethsemani Abbey, Kentucky, to identify, articulate, share, and publicize the monastic spiritual teachings and practices that manifest reverence for the environment and offer ways to preserve it for future generations. The format for the conference will be similar to that employed at the Buddhist/Catholic monastic conferences that took place at Gethsemani in1996 and 2002: presentations that flow from our experience of the monastic way of life; conversations that draw us into a deeper appreciation of another tradition as well as of our own; ample time for meditation and prayer. MID plans to issue two messages at the conclusion of the conference, one for monastic communities, another for the general public. It also plans to post video and audio recordings, as well as printed texts of the major presentations, on the MID website. Participation in the conference is by invitation only.

James Finlay and Fr. Richard Rohr are the featured presenters at this conference to be held int the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town. More information and a registration form at
Center for Action and Contemplation

A retreat lead by Ruth Dantzer to learn ‘Christ’s One Key,’ which brings together eastern wisdom with Jesus’ teachings on love. Ruth will teach ten of the forms of prayer that are used by the ancient Christians of the East to apply the One Key in their daily life.

Visit www.naropa.edu/extend or call 303.245.4800 for more information.

A week of rigorous investigation, reflection, writing, and discussion including

--sessions on pedagogical issues, including the relation between course content and contemplative practice and the benefits of stabilized attention and other qualities of mind fostered by meditation, as well as on practical issues such as evaluation, grading, instructional techniques, and use of off-site facilities;

--consideration of issues such as communicating course intent with colleagues and college administrators;

--discussions on how contemplative practices in the curriculum are affecting teaching and learning nationwide;

--substantial contemplative practice time, which will introduce participants to practices from a variety of traditions as well as practices that have been adapted successfully for secular classroom settings;

--workshops designed to aid participating academics in the design of a course well-suited to their disciplinary content and familiarity with meditation.

The summer session aims to prepare participants to return to their classrooms with a deeper understanding of the practice of contemplative teaching and a fully developed course.

More information at the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society

Each summer the School of Theology/Seminary of Saint John's University sponsors a Monastic Institute to provide continuing education and spiritual enrichment for American monastics and all interested in monastic spirituality and practice. This year's Institute, co-sponsored by Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, will be devoted to interreligious dialogue as a contemporary expression of monastic hospitality. Among the presenters are Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President of the Islamic Society of North America, Kusala Bhikshu of the Los Angeles Buddhist Meditation Center, and Fr. Pierre-François de Béthune, Secretary General of Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique/Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. The dates are July 1-5, 2007. For further information contact the School of Theology/Seminary at 800 361 8318.

Christians are increasingly aware of the need for a clearer understanding of Islam and closer relationships with Muslims. Misconceptions, anxiety, and lack of understanding have prevented some Christian leaders from reaching out to Muslims; others have desired
more information about Islam/Christian-Muslim relations, and time to reflect theologically on the teachings of Islam and Christianity.

This institute, sponsored by The Duncan Black MacDonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary and The Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University will give Christian pastors and pastoral workers the opportunity to learn and reflect with others about these topics. Through an intensive, six-day institute with experts in the field of Islam/Muslim-Christian relations, participants will study foundational elements for understanding Islam by becoming familiar with the Qur’an, reviewing historical developments in the history of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, and discussing theological approaches to inter-religious dialogue and collaboration with Muslims.

This conference offers an open and relaxed environment for Christians to learn about Islam and to extend their current understanding of relations with this religious community. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of Islam and the confidence to incorporate this knowledge in their work for addressing challenges Christians and Muslims face together in the contemporary world.

Tuition: $590
The fee for attending the intensive week-long Institute.

Available Housing: $52/night
Rooms in Copley Hall are single occupancy sharing a bath; a
limited number of double rooms are available. Housing, if one chooses to stay on campus, runs approximately $312 for the week.

Meals (approximately): $30/day
(Meals should run approximately $180 if taken on campus)

Parking (campus garage pass): $60/week

For further inquiry, please contact
Michael Peterson at:
Georgetown University - Office of the President
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20057
Phone: 202-687-4005
Fax: 202-687-5803
E-mail: MLP34@georgetown.edu

The Interfaith Academies for Religious Leaders are intensive study programs for people engaged in or training for leadership in various religious traditions. The Interfaith Academy for Emerging Religious Leaders and the Interfaith Academy for Religious Professionals provide a forum where people from diverse religious traditions can learn about each other’s faiths with and from each other.

The Academies will involve lectures, seminars, and readings on a variety of religious traditions, as well as group visits to various places of religi ous observance. Most importantly, participants will have the opportunity to build relationships
and learn from one another through conversation in the classroom, in dormitories, and at meals.

Two versions are available:

June 13-27 - The Interfaith Academy for Emerging Religious Leaders is a two-week course for people in training for leadership in their respective traditions. Participants will have all accommodation, meals, and local transportation covered by the Academy. Students need only pay for travel to Kansas City.

June 13-20 - The Interfaith Academy for Religious Professionals is a week-long course for people already active in religious leadership as clergy, professors, teachers, or in other vocations. Participants will pay a tuition cost of approximately $1500, plus travel to Kansas City.

The Interfaith Academies for Religious Leaders will be held at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO. The Academy is made possible by a partnership between Saint Paul School of Theology, Religions for Peace-USA, The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, and the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.

For more information and applications click Here

Application Deadline: April 20, 2007

Thomas Merton's monastic vocation eventually led him to a compassionate openness toward all created reality. As he wrote in his Preface to the Japanese edition of Thoughts in Solitude, "And what is the person? Precisely, he is one in the unity which is love. He is undivided in himself because he is open to all. He is open to all because the one love that is the source of all, the form of all, and the end of all is one in him and in all. He is truly alone who is wide open to heaven and earth and closed to no one" (Honorable Reader). The Tenth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society will focus particularly on the ways in which inner transformation and union with God contribute to the renewal of the broader human society and the world in which we live.

More information at Merton Conference

An Intercultural Forum for Studies in Faith and Culture featuring His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Scola, Patriarch of Venice, and Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, Director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, and Past President of the Islamic Society of America.

The Tibetan Nuns Project, in association with Crooked Trails (a non-profit travel organization), is planning to offer their friends and supporters a unique opportunity to visit India. There will be two trips, one from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3 and the other from Nov. 3 to Nov. 17. Each trip will feature a short stay in Delhi, quality time with the nuns in Dharamsala, and a special invitation by the TNP director, Rinchen Khando Choegyal, to a private tour of the Tibetan Government in Exile offices as well as a visit to Namgyal Monastery, the monastery where the Dalai Lama resides.. Anyone interested in learning more about costs and other details should contact:
Tibetan Nuns Project
619 Western Ave., #22
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel.: 206-652-8901
Email: tnpusa@igc.org

The Conference runs from September 11-15 and aims is to bring together the various religions of the world in an ecumenical spirit to address the many issues facing the world today, in the hope that this will help all become better human beings. Among the speakers will be
Karen Armstrong
Gregory Baum
Harvey Cox
Deepak Chopra,
Revered Didiji, Leader of Swadhyay Parivar
Shirin Ebadi
Rosemary R. Ruether
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Dr. Karan Singh
Huston Smith
Abdolkarim Soroush
Robert Thurman
For more information see the External link
Congress Website

A six-day retreat led by Father Tom Ryan, CP. Further information available at www.christinecenter.org 866-333-7507 christinecenter@tds.net

June 30 - July 2, 2006

The Camaldolese Institute for East-West Dialogue will be offering a conference for laity and religious on the theme: "The Continuing Quest: Carrying Forward the Contemplative and Prophetic Vision of Bede Griffiths."

2006 marks the hundredth anniversary of Bede's birth.The weekend will include conferences, a round table discussion and an Ashram worship/Eucharist service.

Monastics participating include: Fr. Bernardino Cozzarini, OSB OCam, Superior General from Italy, Fr. Bruno Barnhart, OSB OCam, Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB OCam, Sr. Donald Corcoran, OSB OCam, Fr.George Nelliyanil, OSB OCam (India), Fr. Joseph Wong, OSB OCam, Fr. Laurence Freeman, OSB (England), Bro. K. John Martin, OSB OCam (India), Sr. Pascaline Coff, OSB, Fr. Robert Hale, OSB OCam, and Thomas Matus, OSB OCam.

The conference will be at Mercy Center, Burlingame, California. Price for the weekend, including all events, room and board: $220. A deposit of $100 (50% refundable) is required. For reservations contact our Oblate Lawrence Balthasar, 805-528-0286. Email: lbalthas@calpoly.edu

Running concurrently with the World Peace Forum, this June 23-27 conference will provide opportunities to meet people from North America and around the world in a gathering to celebrate peace.

Contact: Judith Hardcastle, NAINConnect Site Coordinator at judithhardcastle@telus.net or 604-321-1302

www.multifaithaction.org

The conference will begin on June 19 and end on June 23, 2006.

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s document promoting interreligious dialogue between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions, the 2006 Spiritual Life Institute will explore the long-standing and complex relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In this exciting week-long program entitled One God: Three Faiths, three scholars of religious history, including Mr. Reza Aslan, the author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam, Sr. Marianne Farina, C.S.C., Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Theology at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California, and Dr. Martin Jaffee, the former Chair of the Comparative Religion Program at the University of Washington, will lecture on a wide range of topics including Interfaith Dialogue, Scripture, Mysticism/Monasticism, Fundamentalism, and Gender.

More information and a registration form can be found at Spiritual Life Program.

From May 4 to 6, 2006, the Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at Catholic Theological Union will be presenting its sixth annual conference entitled "For All Humanity": Catholic-Muslim Dialogue in Global Perspective. The aim of this conference is to bring together Catholic and Muslim dialogue leaders from Indonesia, Israel-Palestine, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom so that the presenters and other participants can learn from one another's contexts and grow in awareness of the global dimensions of Catholic-Muslim dialogue, thereby strengthening and encouraging this important effort in global peacebuilding. The presenters will each be addressing the following questions: What is the state of the dialogue in your region? What are the greatest challenges you have faced in the dialogue and how have you addressed them? What might learnings from the dialogue in your region contribute to a developing ‘theology of dialogue’ in your religious tradition.

To learn more about the conference and register on-line, please visit Bernadin Center. We hope can join us in Chicago in May for what promises to be an extraordinary dialogue experience, God willing.

This event, described as an "inter-religious summit" will be hled at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. It is co-sponsored by the Sant'Egidio community, Georgetown University, the Catholic University of America, and the Archdiocese of Washington and marks the first time Sant'Egidio has held the event outside Europe.

The event will run from Tuesday evening, April 25 till Thursday evening, April 27.

Further information can be had by contacting The Prayer for Peace 2006 website or email prayerforpeace2006@georgetown.edu

202.687.7862 (phone)
202.687.5803 (fax)

The Third Edinburgh International Festival on Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace begins on February 8 and runs to March 12, 2006

For more information visit the Festival Website.

The Conference begins at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, November 9, and concludes at 10:30 AM on Saturday, November 12

The full conference fee, including all means and banquet, is $175.00. A no meal plan is $80.00, and one-day conference attendance is $20.00.


Conference speakers include Dermot Lane, Karuna Dharma, Muzammil H. Siddiqi, Rabbi Asher Finkel, Francis Tiso, Francis Clooney, SJ, and Mary Margaret Funk, OSB.

For further details and registration form, contact Dr. Edward J. Mahoney [emahoney@smcvt.edu]

The Cathedral Heritage Foundation's 10th annual Festival of Faiths will take place in Louisville Kentucky from November 6-13. The theme of the 2005 Festival is "The Faces of Faith and Cooperation." The mission of the Festival of Faiths is "To celebrate the diversity of our faiths, be grateful for our unity and strengthen the role of religion in society." Details about Festival events and event registration are available at
Cathedral Heritage Foundation

The Institute for the Study of Religions and Cultures with the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies, in collaboration with Georgetown University, Washington, DC, the Cardinal Bernadin Center at The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut announces an international conference to mark the fortieth anniversary of the promulgation of the declaration of Nostra Aetate of the Second Vatican Council.

Nostra Aetate Today: Reflections 40 Years after Its Call for a New Era of Interreligious Relationships
Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University
25-28 September 2005

Plenary sessions will focus on the way in which people of various faiths have come to a new understanding of their own tradition through engagement with another tradition. Successive days will concentrate on Jewish-Christian relations, on Christian relations with the religious traditions of Asia, and on Muslim-Christian relations.

Each evening, according to that day’s focus, a panel will assess the progress made in the 40 years since Nostra Aetate, and propose future directions.

The working languages of the plenary sessions will be Italian and English, with simultaneous translation available.

The afternoons will offer concurrent sessions, providing various panels or individual papers, not necessarily tied to the religion that is the focus of the day. Participants will be able to choose according to their interests. Certain themes will continue through the three days, offering an opportunity for sustained attention to important questions.

Registration form, provisional program, and other details are available at Nostra Aetate Today

The United Religious Initiave & North American Interfaith Network, together with The Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, are sponsoring a Conference at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, August 12-16.

The topic is "Hospitality, Gratitude, & Interfaith Action in the World."

For more information go to www.NAIN.org, www.URI.org, or www.LasVegasInterfaith.org.

The National Association of Diocesan Ecumenical Officers and the Bishop’s Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs are again sponsoring the Institute for Interreligious Leadership in the summer of 2005 to provide training and professional development to ecumenical officers and others serving the Catholic community in this increasingly important area of concern. The ten-day seminar will survey key Church documents, events, theological and pastoral principles, and current issues in the field. Major religious traditions of the world, particularly those present in the US today, will be introduced by an experienced faculty. Dialogue topics arising from the current state of interreligious conversations and practical pastoral questions will shape the agenda according to the needs of the participants. There will also be opportunities to visit Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and Baha’i sites. The resource team will include Canon Francis Tiso, Ph.D. of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Vice Provost Fr. Thomas Baima of Mundelein University, Professor Donald Mitchell of Purdue University, Rev. Julian Von Duerbeck, O.S.B. of Benedictine University, Rev. John Pawlikowski and Professor Scott Alexander of the Chicago Theological Union. Academic credit for the seminar will be conferred by Mundelein University.

The Institute will begin on Tuesday, July 5, 2005 and conclude at midday on Friday, July 15. It will be held at Mundelein University. The fee of $998 will include registration, room, board, materials, and other expenses.

Application accompanied by a $100 deposit should be made to:

Institute for Interreligious Leadership
Canon Francis V. Tiso, Associate Director, SEIA
3211 Fourth St. NE
Washington, DC 20017-1194

Full tuition is due by the end of June, 2005, before the Institute begins.

For further information, write or call Canon Tiso at 202-541-3022; ftiso@usccb.org

The annual convention of the ISNA was held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, from September 3-6, 2004. More than 35,000 persons across North America were in attendance. Sr. Meg Funk of the MID Board was one of the featured speakers, and her book Islam Is . . .: An Experience of Dialogue and Devotion (New York: Lantern Books, 2003) influenced the convention theme of “Dialogue, Devotion, and Development.”