ONLINE EVENT, September 23, 2023: I’ll be sharing my film, Day of a Stranger, and offering a talk at The Contemplative Prayer Summit. Here, my talk is titled, Queering Contemplation: Exploring Thomas Merton & Contemplation through a Queer Lens.

Beginning with sharing my award-winning short film Day of a Stranger (30 min), featuring the voice of Thomas Merton from his hermitage space, I will then guide us on a journey to queer the contemplative tradition––and see the ways its innate queerness has existed for time immemorial. My exploration will include notes on queering the deserts of our lives to queering the liminal spaces, which will be featured in my forthcoming book, Queering Contemplation: Finding Queerness in the Roots and Future of Contemplative Spirituality.

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SOLD-OUT, IN-PERSON EVENT, September 16, 2023: I’ll also be giving a talk at The Spirituality of Howard Thurman event put on by Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. My talk is titled: Queering Contemplation: Examining the union of contemplation and activism through a queer lens. 

Here, I plan to share a little about my contemplative journey, a few notes on what queer theory and queer theology are, expand on what I mean by “queer” as an invitation to disrupt, dive into the innate connection of contemplation and activism (also drawing from my thesis, Awakening Mysticism with the Scholarship of Three African American Women), and conclude with invitational questions to examine our own roles in contemplative life.

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FREE ONLINE EVENT, October 10, 8pm EST, 2023: QUEERING THOMAS MERTON. What Would it Look Like to Queer Thomas Merton? What is queer theory and queer theology and how can they be used as a lens to better understand Merton—and ourselves? In our time together, I will examine the ways the traditional western Christian contemplative canon has left out far too many voices from the conversation. I will share a part of my own contemplative journey which led me to traveling to all 17 Trappist Monasteries of the US, Directing a film about Thomas Merton’s hermitage years, and writing the forthcoming book Queering Contemplation: Finding Queerness in the Roots and Future of Contemplative Spirituality.

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