Fall/Winter 2001/02 Newsletter

Imprisonment and Transformation:

An Interfaith Conference on Contemplative Prison Service
April 25 - 28, 2002

Co-led by MercyCenter, Burlingame, (site of the 1998 National Meeting) and Contemplative Outreach of Northern California, this conference will bring together people of several faith traditions who serve prisoners by sharing with them practices of meditation. The purpose of the conference is to find ways to better serve prisoners, their families, victims of crime, and prison staff so that incarceration can be a time for true transformation and to find ways to support people doing this stressful ministry. Confirmed speakers include: Father Thomas Keating, Kiran Bedi, highlighted in the movie Doing Time, Doing Vipassana, Gangaji, an American meditation teacher in the Hindu tradition, Fleet Maull, a Buddhist teacher and former prisoner, founder of the Prison Hospice Network, and several ex-prisoners who will share their experience of transformation through meditation.

 Conference costs:  $300 for residents, $270 for commuters

Register by contacting MercyCenter, Burlingame, CA 650-340-7474

Fred Eckart's Call for Volunteers

Fred Eckart, the coordinator of prison ministry for Contemplative Outreach, is asking for volunteers who would like to correspond with one prisoner, once a month, to support their practice of Centering Prayer. Sr. Marguerite Buchanan is coordinating the correspondence. 

If you are interested, please write to: 

Marguerite Buchanan, RSM
Box 1832
Burlingame, CA  94011

Other Newsletter Articles:
The Theological Foundations  | President's Letter 
Spanish Corner | Locked Up ... And Free | Reflection  
Imprisonment and Transformation | 2001 Updates 
The Central American Experience