Town Hall Meeting Apr. 17

What a great year this is shaping up to be! 

• We'll meet at 2 p.m. this Sunday (Palm Sunday), Apr. 17, for a "town hall" style meeting to discuss the upcoming 12th General Conference of the ITMS June 9-12 at Loyola University (Lake Shore Campus). Members who have attended past conferences will participate in a panel discussion, sharing their recollections of past conferences so you'll have a better idea of what an ITMS conference is like.
• Jim Forest, keynote speaker at the 2007 ITMS conference in Memphis, will be the featured speaker at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at the Cenacle Retreat and Conference Center, 513 Fullerton Parkway, Chicago. Tickets will be available at Sunday's town hall meeting.  The Cenacle Sisters are hosting this event, and tickets are required, available for $10 by sending a check payable to CC-ITMS to Mike Brennan, 4537 N. Melvina Ave., Chicago, IL 60630, by April 28. Seating is limited to 100, and we have sold 50 tickets so far.  I have attached a brochure and press release with parking info on the back. Parking is very limited and most will have to park at the Children's Memorial Outpatient lot at 2515 North Clark Street for $6 with Cenacle validation, so consider carpooling!
• Jim is launching his new book, "All is Grace - A Biography of Dorothy Day," and he will speak on the friendship between Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. Copies of some of Jim's other books will also be available, including "Living With Wisdom - A Biography of Thomas Merton." For more information about Jim's books visit: http://www.jimandnancyforest.com/books/. He will be available to sign books after the talk.
• Deadline to register for the ITMS conference at Loyola is May 15. Brochures will be available at Sunday's meeting, or reply to this email if you would like one mailed to you.
• Jonathan Montaldo, former ITMS president, writer and editor, promotes the legacy of Thomas Merton and his teaching on the monastic contemplative tradition. We are working out details of having Jonathan as retreatmaster later this year at the Cenacle. It appears the weekend of Dec. 9-11 will work best. This will give us an opportunity to have our annual Mass commemorating Merton's life at the Cenacle Chapel on Saturday, Dec. 10. The Cenacle will cosponsor this retreat, which will be open to CC-ITMS members as well as the general public. More information should be available by the time of Jim Forest's talk May 5.
• The schedule for next fall and spring is still being determined. Speaker suggestions are welcome!

With prayers for you and your families as we begin Holy Week, and for a very Happy Easter,

Mike