Thomas Merton and the Unspeakable in 2013
Public Talk by Jim Douglass – Thur. March 7 @ 7:00 pm
Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, Room 1520 – 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC
As a Trappist monk in the hills of Kentucky, Thomas Merton saw and spoke out against the Unspeakable evil of nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, and a national security state that cut down the most hopeful leaders of the sixties. Douglass meditates on the interweaving of his friend Thomas Merton's journey with those of the Kennedys, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. Is Merton's death in Bangkok, six months after RFK's in Los Angeles, another example of the Unspeakable? Admission is by donation at the door. Co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and and The Institute for the Humanities at SFU Harbour Centre.
JFK, Gandhi, and the Unspeakable in 2013
Public Talk by Jim Douglass – Fri. March 8 @ 7:00 pm
Canadian Memorial United Church, West 15th Avenue and Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC
Had John F. Kennedy not been willing to risk his life by turning toward peace with his enemies, reinforced by his disarmament initiatives, the world today would be a nuclear wasteland. Guided by Merton's questions and Gandhi's methods, what experiments into the Unspeakable truth of Kennedy's story (and our own) will lead us toward a new world today? Admission is by donation at the door. Co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and Canadian Memorial United Church & Centre for Peace.
Martyrs to the Unspeakable: JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK
Workshop led by Jim Douglass – Sat. March 9, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, 1825 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
President Kennedy's remarkable turn toward peace with his enemy, Nikita Khrushchev, saved the world from becoming a nuclear wasteland. JFK's assassination, followed by the murders of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, also killed the hope of the Sixties. The death of hope receded into a denial of systemic evil that Thomas Merton identified as "the Unspeakable." Can hope come from confronting the Unspeakable? Jim Douglass believes it can. A paradoxical hope can be discovered by walking with Merton into the stories of JFK, Martin, Malcolm, and RFK -- and perhaps in the collective story of us all. Join us in exploring that hope, as we prepare for the JFK jubilee year months ahead of us...a time of critical decisions for the future of humanity and Mother Earth.The cost is $50 for TMSC members and $55 for non-members (includes lunch and refreshments). Please register by contacting Susan Cowan, Community Relations Director, at tmsc@telus.net or 604-988-8835. Co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and Canadian Memorial United Church & Centre for Peace.
Jim Douglass is a Canadian-American theologian from Hedley, British Columbia, who has served time in U.S. prisons for resistance to nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. He now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where he co-founded Mary's House Catholic Worker with his wife, Shelley. His most recent books are "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters" and "Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment with Truth."
Public Talk by Jim Douglass – Thur. March 7 @ 7:00 pm
Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, Room 1520 – 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC
As a Trappist monk in the hills of Kentucky, Thomas Merton saw and spoke out against the Unspeakable evil of nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, and a national security state that cut down the most hopeful leaders of the sixties. Douglass meditates on the interweaving of his friend Thomas Merton's journey with those of the Kennedys, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. Is Merton's death in Bangkok, six months after RFK's in Los Angeles, another example of the Unspeakable? Admission is by donation at the door. Co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and and The Institute for the Humanities at SFU Harbour Centre.
JFK, Gandhi, and the Unspeakable in 2013
Public Talk by Jim Douglass – Fri. March 8 @ 7:00 pm
Canadian Memorial United Church, West 15th Avenue and Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC
Had John F. Kennedy not been willing to risk his life by turning toward peace with his enemies, reinforced by his disarmament initiatives, the world today would be a nuclear wasteland. Guided by Merton's questions and Gandhi's methods, what experiments into the Unspeakable truth of Kennedy's story (and our own) will lead us toward a new world today? Admission is by donation at the door. Co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and Canadian Memorial United Church & Centre for Peace.
Martyrs to the Unspeakable: JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK
Workshop led by Jim Douglass – Sat. March 9, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, 1825 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
President Kennedy's remarkable turn toward peace with his enemy, Nikita Khrushchev, saved the world from becoming a nuclear wasteland. JFK's assassination, followed by the murders of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, also killed the hope of the Sixties. The death of hope receded into a denial of systemic evil that Thomas Merton identified as "the Unspeakable." Can hope come from confronting the Unspeakable? Jim Douglass believes it can. A paradoxical hope can be discovered by walking with Merton into the stories of JFK, Martin, Malcolm, and RFK -- and perhaps in the collective story of us all. Join us in exploring that hope, as we prepare for the JFK jubilee year months ahead of us...a time of critical decisions for the future of humanity and Mother Earth.The cost is $50 for TMSC members and $55 for non-members (includes lunch and refreshments). Please register by contacting Susan Cowan, Community Relations Director, at tmsc@telus.net or 604-988-8835. Co-sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and Canadian Memorial United Church & Centre for Peace.
Jim Douglass is a Canadian-American theologian from Hedley, British Columbia, who has served time in U.S. prisons for resistance to nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. He now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where he co-founded Mary's House Catholic Worker with his wife, Shelley. His most recent books are "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters" and "Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment with Truth."