IN MEMORIAM

Thomas Berry, 1914 - 2009

Thomas Berry - friend, mentor, teacher, author, poet, intellectual and imaginative giant, spiritual guide and child of the Universe - inspired thousands of people to discover their own “great work.” For us at the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, he was an inspiration for a new jurisprudence that seeks a new way to perceive our human relationship to the natural world and to shape laws and governance that honor and protect the intrinsic value of nature. Today Thomas transitioned into the next phase of his journey in Being, dying peacefully in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 6:25 a.m., Monday, June 1, 2009, in the presence of his niece. While Thomas described himself as a “geologian,” he was also a widely acclaimed cultural historian and Passionist priest, a friend and brother to many.

Funeral services are being planned in four locations:

• Greensboro NC - primarily, but not exclusively for Thomas’ family and the local community. Wednesday, June 3, 2009.
• A Passionist monastery or church, location to be determined - primarily but not exclusively for members of Thomas’ religious community.
• Green Mountain Monastery, Greensboro, Vermont - open to all. Details to be provided by Sisters Gail Worcelo and Bernadette Bostwick, co-founders with Thomas of the new religious Order.
• St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City, where Thomas was honorary canon - A more general and public memorial service. Details to be arranged by the Thomas Berry Foundation and directed by officers Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, currently of Yale University.

­ Sister Patricia Siemen, O.P.