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The lecture series, “Listening to Other Voices,” is an attempt of the Benedictine Monks of Glastonbury Abbey to share their spiritual search for God with friends and visitors to the abbey. For centuries, Benedictine monasteries have been a shelter for people in stormy times. They have offered education and learning in many areas of life. They have offered a stable place for people yearning for God, for meaning and community. This lecture series centers on spiritual topics from various religious traditions and thus is a ministry of inter-faith dialogue.

 

       GREAT LECTURE SERIES CONCLUDES FOR YEAR

We live in a time dominated by many fears and a tendency to feel overwhelmed, if not impotent, in the face of world threats. Political and economic systems seem to have too much power for us to do anything constructive. This past year's series of lectures (2007-08), "Prophets of Compassion: Who Cares?", the ninth annual series, has featured speakers who have dared to bring their concerns to bear on the public sphere.

 

The concluding lecture of this ninth annual series, “Listening to Other Voices” took place on April 17th. This was the final talk of “Prophets of Compassion: Who Cares?” The speaker was Ruth Messinger who gave a stimulating and challenging talk on “Am I My Neighbor’s Keeper – If My Neighbor lives a World Away?”

The attendance this year was very heavy with many a packed house. Obviously the speakers and their topics touched the interest and curiosity of the many who attended. Back in October the series began with Lloyd Salvetti giving an insider’s view of a CIA  agent’s  care for truth and truth-telling. In November we heard former Gambian diplomat, Dr. Sulyayman S. Nyang, give an eloquent lecture on Islam and its beliefs. In January we heard a Buddhist monk, The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, who presented very practical suggestions on the practice of compassion in one’s daily life. The Rev. Mpho A. Tutu gave a very personal and spiritual presentation in February on the topic, “Pilgrims on This Earthly Journey: We Who Must Care.” This personal approach was again evident in March’s lecture by Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ. She spoke to us of her mid-life conversion to ministering to the poor and to the imprisoned and her opposition to capital punishment. All these speakers piqued our interest and our conscience in how we live out our own religious and spiritual ideals.

The tenth annual lecture series, 2008-2009, will speak directly to inter-faith sharings. The title of the series will be “Old faiths in New Times: The Abrahamic Religions Today and Tomorrow”. Various speakers will speak to us of the significance of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam today. The first lecture will be on October 16th. Professor Alan Wolfe, Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, will give us the background of religious practice in America today from the viewpoint of a political scientist. We hope you will mark your calendar for this special evening.