Annual Meeting of the MID Board: 1998
For its twentieth-anniversary meeting, the board of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue met for the first time at a Canadian site, the Trappist abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Lac in the province of Quebec. The meeting began the morning of Saturday, October 10 and continued through the weekend. In addition to members of the board itself and members of the advisory board, the general secretary of the worldwide Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique, Fr. Pierre de Béthune, OSB, traveled from Belgium to be present for the meeting.
The first part of the meeting was given over to extended discussion of what would be the most appropriate way of following up on the Gethsemani Encounter of 1996. Many suggestions were made regarding such matters as theme, site, number of persons to be invited, and the like. All of these were duly recorded and entrusted to a planning committee that will be chaired by Fr. James Wiseman, OSB, and will include both Christian and Buddhist members.
The next item on the agenda concerned the contact persons workshop to be held in July of 1999 at the Benedictine retreat center in Schuyler, Nebraska. In the months since the board meeting, many of the suggestions made at that time have been effected, including arrangements for an outstanding program of speakers. These include Bishop Michael Fitzgerald from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Prof. Ewert Cousins of Fordham University, Dr. Bettina Bäumer of the Abhishiktananda Society in Varanasi, India, and Swami Nityananda Giri of the Tapovanam Ashram in South India.
Fr. Pierre de Béthune then made a presentation suggesting ways in which the international bulletin of DIM/MID, which he edits, could be combined with the bulletin of the North American MID. The present print issue sent to subacribers represents the agreed-upon way of doing so. The combination has the twofold advantage of providing the international bulletin with a larger audience in the United States and Canada and of allowing North Americans who have been receiving the MID bulletin alone to receive international news as well at no additional cost.
The above-mentioned three matters took up the greatest amount of time at the meeting, but a number of other decisions were made and reports given. It was, for example, agreed that MID will cooperate with AIM in planning prayer vigils to be held on New Year’s Eve at the turn of the millennium, that Abbot Leo Ryska OSB will represent MID on the committee that has been meeting in Chicago to plan for the next Parliament of the World’s Religions, and that MID will provide financial aid to allow contact persons to participate in sessions conducted by the National Association of Diocesan Ecumenical Officers to train persons for leadership in interreligious affairs. The next such session will be held in Chicago in the year 2000. The board also heard a report from Sr. Mary Margaret OSB concerning progress on the volume that will contain reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict written by four Buddhists living in the United States.
At the business meeting, members whose terms were expiring were thanked for their years of service on the board. These were Sr. Johanna Becker, OSB, Sr. Pascaline Coff, OSB, Fr. Jacques Côté, OSB, and Fr. Kevin Hunt, OCSO. The board had earlier received the resignation of Sr. GilChrist Lavigne, OCSO, who has joined other members from her abbey in starting a foundation in Norway. New members elected to the board at this time are Sr. Virginia Matter, OSB, Sr. Barbara McCracken, OSB, Sr. Jeanne Rennick, OSB, and Fr. Daniel Ward, OSB. Br. Harold Thibodeau, OCSO, who has long been in charge of mailing out the MID Bulletin, was elected to a five-year term on the board of advisors.
As the final item of business, the board sincerely thanked the abbot and community of Notre-Dame-du-Lac for their outstanding and generous hospitality. As a sign of appreciation, an African carving of Madonna and Child was presented to Abbot Yvon Moreau. The next board meeting will take place in conjunction with the contact persons workshop in Schuyler, Nebraska.
The first part of the meeting was given over to extended discussion of what would be the most appropriate way of following up on the Gethsemani Encounter of 1996. Many suggestions were made regarding such matters as theme, site, number of persons to be invited, and the like. All of these were duly recorded and entrusted to a planning committee that will be chaired by Fr. James Wiseman, OSB, and will include both Christian and Buddhist members.
The next item on the agenda concerned the contact persons workshop to be held in July of 1999 at the Benedictine retreat center in Schuyler, Nebraska. In the months since the board meeting, many of the suggestions made at that time have been effected, including arrangements for an outstanding program of speakers. These include Bishop Michael Fitzgerald from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Prof. Ewert Cousins of Fordham University, Dr. Bettina Bäumer of the Abhishiktananda Society in Varanasi, India, and Swami Nityananda Giri of the Tapovanam Ashram in South India.
Fr. Pierre de Béthune then made a presentation suggesting ways in which the international bulletin of DIM/MID, which he edits, could be combined with the bulletin of the North American MID. The present print issue sent to subacribers represents the agreed-upon way of doing so. The combination has the twofold advantage of providing the international bulletin with a larger audience in the United States and Canada and of allowing North Americans who have been receiving the MID bulletin alone to receive international news as well at no additional cost.
The above-mentioned three matters took up the greatest amount of time at the meeting, but a number of other decisions were made and reports given. It was, for example, agreed that MID will cooperate with AIM in planning prayer vigils to be held on New Year’s Eve at the turn of the millennium, that Abbot Leo Ryska OSB will represent MID on the committee that has been meeting in Chicago to plan for the next Parliament of the World’s Religions, and that MID will provide financial aid to allow contact persons to participate in sessions conducted by the National Association of Diocesan Ecumenical Officers to train persons for leadership in interreligious affairs. The next such session will be held in Chicago in the year 2000. The board also heard a report from Sr. Mary Margaret OSB concerning progress on the volume that will contain reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict written by four Buddhists living in the United States.
At the business meeting, members whose terms were expiring were thanked for their years of service on the board. These were Sr. Johanna Becker, OSB, Sr. Pascaline Coff, OSB, Fr. Jacques Côté, OSB, and Fr. Kevin Hunt, OCSO. The board had earlier received the resignation of Sr. GilChrist Lavigne, OCSO, who has joined other members from her abbey in starting a foundation in Norway. New members elected to the board at this time are Sr. Virginia Matter, OSB, Sr. Barbara McCracken, OSB, Sr. Jeanne Rennick, OSB, and Fr. Daniel Ward, OSB. Br. Harold Thibodeau, OCSO, who has long been in charge of mailing out the MID Bulletin, was elected to a five-year term on the board of advisors.
As the final item of business, the board sincerely thanked the abbot and community of Notre-Dame-du-Lac for their outstanding and generous hospitality. As a sign of appreciation, an African carving of Madonna and Child was presented to Abbot Yvon Moreau. The next board meeting will take place in conjunction with the contact persons workshop in Schuyler, Nebraska.
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Fr. James Wiseman, OSB, is a monk of Saint Anselm’s Abbey in Washington, DC, and teaches theology at the Abbey School and at Catholic University. He served as Chair of the Board and President of MID, has been editor of the MID bulletin since 1998, and again serves as a member of the Board of Directors of MID.