Volume 39, Nr. 1b, February 2009 Richardton, ND 58652
St. Vincent's Archabbey will host the meeting, with its theme "60 Years and Growing: Formation for the Benedictine Way of Life," on the campus of St. Vincent's College in Latrobe, PA. Speakers will include Mother Mary Anne Noll, OSB, Father Justin Matro, OSB, and Sister Cecilia Dwyer, OSB in Bristow, VA, each drawing from their life experience to speak about the Rule of St. Benedict. There will also be workshops on practical aspects of oblate formation, input from a panel of oblates, orientation of new directors and election of officers. Information and schedule are at the NAABOD website: <www.naabod.org.
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The second annual institute for Benedictine oblates will be held at Sophia Center, a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, KS. Along with keynote speaker Abbot Jerome Kodell of Subiaco, AR, there will be other presentations and activities and an opportunity for oblates to network with one another and enrich their monastic formation. More information will be forthcoming at: <www.mountosb.org/sophia.html>. To be placed on the mailing list for the program, contact <sophia @ mountosb.org> or call (913) 360-6173.
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"Universal Church, Local Church: Liturgical Law and Monastic Practice" is the title for the MLF/BMA convention hosted by the monks of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN and the sisters of St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, MN. The group will hear addresses by Father Kevin Seasoltz of Saint John's and Sister Nancy Bauer of St. Benedict's, as well as reflect on the changes to the Roman Missal and enjoy performances by members of the organizations. A number of new texts have been written by members and are now being set to tunes. Composers are reminded to submit their compositions by the first of July. The joint local committee is working to integrate music presentations throughout the conference. Contact information is at the MLF website: <www.osb.org/mlf/>.
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The Medieval Congress, Kalamazoo, MI, brings people from all over the world together for several hundred workshops and presentations sponsored by various organizers. The American Benedictine Academy has two sessions, with the topics "The Rule of Benedict and Its Interpretation" and "Benedictine Monasteries in Their Geographic and Historical Settings." Other sessions of interest are sponsored by various religious orders and organizations, Cistercian Studies, and many scholars whose subjects are Benedictine institutions or historical figures. Information at: www.wmich.edu/medieval/.
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The Conference on the History of Women Religious invites paper and session proposals that explore how communities of women religious or their members have defined/redefined their mission in response to regional, national, or international developments. Studies may explore, among other themes and issues, the impact of change on congregational leadership, structures of governance, mission and ministry, membership, inter-congregational cooperation, relations with other organizations, and creating new modes of affiliation. Disciplinary approaches may include, but are not limited to, history, sociology, literature, anthropology, theology, and communication.
Proposals for papers and/or sessions in the form of a one-page abstract (including title and 250-word abstract) accompanied by a one-page C.V. are requested by July 15, 2009. Send proposals to:
Margaret McGuinness
Department of Religion
La Salle University
1900 W. Olney Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19141
<mcguinness @ lasalle.edu>
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Invitation: To submit sermons and homilies as well as poetry and art that reflect the relationship between eating together at the Lord's Table and our life of Christian peacemaking-for publication in a new book, We Are Each Other's Bread and Wine: Mennonite and Catholic Reflections on Eucharist and Peacemaking.
Description: This book is a collaborative effort among Mennonites and Catholics to share reflections and convictions on the profound gifts of each tradition -- the Eucharist and peacemaking -- for the sake of encouraging richer Christian worship and more faithful Christian discipleship in the world. The contents of the book will be invited from Catholic and Mennonite communities in the United States, Canada, and abroad. The Institute of Mennonite Studies (AMBS) plans to publish the book jointly with a Catholic publisher. We hope the book will explore questions such as:
How to submit entries: Any sermons or homilies that are submitted must be your original work and must actually have been preached (note the date and place on your manuscript) in a congregation or parish, a retreat, a school context or other public worship. Length of sermons should not exceed 3000 words. If you use any quotations, please include complete bibliographical information.
Poetry and art on the themes of communion and peacemaking are also invited. Photographs of art should be taken with a camera with at least 6.1 megapixels. Poetry submissions should not be longer than 25-30 lines. We are especially interested in a form used at Bridgefolk conferences called "autobiography as haiku." These are vivid, short pieces (not to exceed 100 words in length) that describe a significant personal experience, in which there is some value expressed that is even greater than the experience itself. The form doesn't literally follow the 5-7-5 syllable form of haiku poems; instead it imitates the simple, concrete and specific language of the form.
Send hard copy as well as electronic documents (if possible). By submitting material, you are granting permission for your work to be edited and published. Entries will not be returned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included.
Deadline for submissions: March 15, 2009
Send to:
Marlene Kropf
Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership
PO Box 1245
Elkhart, IN 46515-1245
<MarleneK @ MennoniteUSA.org>
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Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB), the worldwide organization of Benedictine women, met in Rome in conjunction with the Congress of Abbots in fall of 2008. Sisters Kristine Anne Harpenau (Ferdinand, IN), Mary Catherine Wenstrup (Covington, KY), and Judith Ann Heble (Lisle, IL) represented the North American region. At the Congress, CIB presented goals for the coming years.
The first is to develop a profile for the 21st century, with Benedictines around the world getting to know one another better, so they might work on the second goal of questioning whether Benedictine women have something to say to the contemporary world. The third goal is to enhance the dissemination of monastic material and resources between and among monasteries worldwide, and the fourth is to review the structures of CIB now that the organization has been active for a decade.
The monks of Blue Cloud Abbey, Blue Cloud, SD, have chosen Father Denis Quinkert, OSB, to be their abbot. Father Mark Serna, OSB, of Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, RI, is serving as administrator for Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, MA. Father Paul Mark Schwan, OCSO, was elected abbot of New Clairvaux Abbey in Vina, CA.
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Each year, the ABA offers grants providing funds to support projects which foster the mission of the ABA, "to cultivate, support and transmit the Benedictine heritage within contemporary culture." Grant support may be used for research, travel, or other modes of exploring and promoting the Benedictine heritage. It may also be used for travel expenses and registration fees for the purpose of presenting a paper on a monastic topic related to the Benedictine heritage at a scholarly convention. Sister Mary Kay Panowicz, chairperson of the awards committee, has announced that three grants were approved at the recent board meeting.
Cheryl Crozier Garcia, PhD, Honolulu, HI, received assistance to complete the second part of an article on monastic humility, tentatively titled, "Sixth Century Values for Twenty-First Century Careers, Revisited: Monastic Humility for University Professors." The second grant went to Maria S. Guarino of Charlottesville, VA, for research related to her doctoral work in studying the genre of monastic music at Weston Priory. The third grant is to Orlando Rivera, a doctoral student from Nyack, NY, who is investigating the contribution that Benedictine Monasticism can make to the current leadership debate on vertical and shared leadership in organizations.
Members of the evaluation committee were Gerry Allen, OblSB; Dorothy Jean Beyer, OSB; Eugene Hensell, OSB; Dorothy Neuhofer, OSB; Phyllis Thompson, OblSB.
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