Volume 30, Nr. 1, February 2000 Richardton, ND 58652
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Reading the Signs of the Times TogetherConvention 2000 of the American Benedictine Academy will meet at St. Meinrad Archabbey, August 10-13. Entitled "The Good News of Monastic Life: Reading the Signs of the Times," this year's convention will draw upon a certain prophetic aspect of monasticism. The gift of prophecy is not a magical ability to predict the future but rather a clarity of vision that allows one to get below the surface of things and "read the signs of the times." Having read those signs, the prophet proclaims what has been seen. The message is not always comforting, usually calls for change, and is always challenging. It is good news because, if listened to, it will lead to life. Monasticism, in all its various forms, has an incredibly rich past covering centuries of lived experience. Monastics love to repeat that past in order to bring its best elements into the present. There is, however, also a temptation to want to live in that past and to bemoan the results of inevitable change. Such a stance leads only to nostalgia, inertia, and more than a little cynicism. Convention 2000 wants to serve as a reminder that monasticism is not coming to an end, but clearly it is changing. If monastics cannot read the signs of the times then they will not be able to embrace fully the future. These signs of the times, however, are in its midst here and now. If read carefully, one will discover that they contain good news for a vibrant future. A variety of contemporary topics will be explored. Sister Ephrem Hollermann, OSB, and Abbot Matthew Leavy, OSB, will share their observations on the "Good News of Monastic Life." Sister Antoinette Purcell, OSB, will examine ways people live out a monastic commitment outside of traditional monastic structures as oblates, associates, or affiliates. Father Harry Hagan, OSB, and Dr. Carney Strange will look at ways these values are communicated to students and Scott Rains will talk about electronic communications. A panel of men and women in initial formation will share their perceptions of the monastic life, present and future. In addition, there will be a business meeting, discussion, and other activities included in the agenda, which is found elsewhere in this issue of the Newsletter. Special interest groups within the membership of the Academy will also have opportunities to meet. Another important feature of this year's ABA convention is to be a pre-convention workshop sponsored by the Benedictine Information Technology section of the ABA. The title of the workshop is "ABA Web Designer's Guild: From Scriptorium to the Wild and Wooly Web." It is for anyone interested or currently engaged in writing or designing web pages. Some of the topics to be addressed include: "Web Site Design," "Designing Web Sites for Universal Accessibility," "Cascading Style Sheets," "Creating Graphics for the Web," and "Web Tools." This workshop will be held August 9-10 immediately preceding the convention itself. AMN Online
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