Mepkin Abbey 75th Anniversary Symposium Series: "Contemplative Ecology," an in-person one-day event with Sam King, Saturday, March 16, 10:00 AM -3:30 PM Eastern Time

This in-person, one-day event in Mepkin Abbey's Clare Boothe Luce Library will take participants on a holistic journey into seeing the world as what Thomas Berry calls a "communion of subjects." We will attempt to experience an "ecological conversion" in hopes of re-membering our relationship with our more-than-human kin. At a time of climate crisis and biodiversity loss, participants will reflect on how such awareness might inspire regenerative action and the emergence of resilient eco-spiritual communities in their home bioregions.

Sam King is an environmental educator, writer, speaker, and activist. He serves as Director of Integral Ecology for the Marist Brothers USA where he works with youth leaders across the country to create more just and sustainable communities. He is also a Research Associate for the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and Project Manager for the Emmy Award-winning Journey of the Universe film and multimedia project, hosting the Journey of the Universe: 10 Years Later podcast and editing the monthly newsletter.

Sam received a Master's in Religion and Ecology with a certificate in Educational Leadership and Ministry from Yale Divinity School, as well as a Master's in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. He also served as a Teaching Fellow at the Yale School of the Environment. A former Fulbright Scholar in Sri Lanka, Sam taught at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and researched agrarian Buddhism in a rice-cultivating village. He has also taught English, Environmental Science, Philosophy, and Religion at The Hotchkiss School and Phillips Academy Andover Summer. An avid gardener, forager, and outdoorsman, Sam lives on ancestral Quinnipiac land in New Haven, CT.