Trappist Monk to Speak on Forgiveness At Aspen Institute

December 15, 2010

Contact: Cristal Logan
Director, Aspen Community Programs
The Aspen Institute
cristal.logan@aspeninstitute.org
Tel. 970-544-7929

Aspen, CO, December 15, 2010 –– The Aspen Institute Community programs kicks off its winter Fireside Chat Series on Saturday, December 18, with an event featuring Father William Meninger. The Fireside Chat will take place from 4:30–5:30 pm at the Aspen Meadows Restaurant located at 845 Meadows Road on the Institute’s Aspen Meadows campus. The topic of the event is, ‘Forgiveness and Spirituality.’ An expert on forgiveness, Father Meninger has written a book, lectured, and counselled on the difficult process of forgiveness.

Father Meninger was born, raised, and educated in the Boston area. His mother was born and raised in County Kerry and his father was a Quaker from Pennsylvania. Ordained in 1958, after eight years in St. John’s Seminary, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, where he worked on an Indian Reservation and with Mexican traveling workers for six years. In 1963 he entered the Trappists at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA, where he served in the guest house for 15 years, taught Scripture, liturgy, and patristics; and served as subprior, prior, and dean of the junior professed monks.

In 1979 he was transferred to a daughter house, St. Benedicts Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado, where he served as Prior, vocation director, novice master, and teacher of theology and scripture. He spent 3 years in Israel where he studied scripture and taught at the Center for Biblical Studies in Jerusalem and at the Trappist Monastery of Latroun.
He also did graduate studies at Seattle University, Harvard Divinity School, and Boston University. In 1974 he originated the workshop on Contemplative Meditation (later known as Centering Prayer) which he now teaches worldwide along with workshops on Forgiveness, the Enneagram, Sacred Scriptures, and Prayer. He leaves the monastery only 4 times each year to do this lest he lose his own monastic orientation while sharing it with others.

Tickets to this event can be purchased online at https://secure.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-community-programs or by calling Beth Slater at 970-544-7914. 

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