Share The Thomas Merton Center began in a store front office on the Southside in 1972 to protest the continuation of the war in Vietnam. Working with a human needs coalition to reverse federal cutbacks, the Center raised funds for medical aid to Indochina and for the Bach Mai Hospital, and it provided information for schools and religious education programs on racism, poverty, and war. The Center provided seminars on contemplation and nonviolence and on simplicity in lifestyle, and it celebrated a simple Christmas by supporting workers in third-world cooperatives with its Giving Tree alternative holiday shop.
As Larry Kessler, founder of the Thomas Merton Center, put it in 1973: “We’re trying to get this group [ordinary Americans] to understand that peace and justice can be a way of life…that it’s for everyone…”
During the 1980s, the River City Campaign challenged local nuclear weapons producers, Rockwell and Westinghouse, with weekly vigils, leaflets, and civil disobedience actions. They also protested during the construction of Carnegie Mellon University’s Pentagon-funded Software Engineering Institute. Members of the campaign and Westinghouse officials engaged in two years of dialogue about the corporation’s participation in producing first-strike nuclear weapons. During that same time period, Pittsburgh delegations traveled to Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador as part of the Witness for Peace efforts.
Through the years, the Center has educated and organized against world and local hunger, exploitation of workers, militarism, and racial discrimination in Pittsburgh. Members have been arrested protesting the B-1 bomber, nuclear weapons, and apartheid in South Africa. They have organized fasts and vigils. The first Pittsburgh chapter of Amnesty International and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank were organized by Thomas Merton Center staff members.
Since the Center’s beginning, thousands of people from diverse philosophies and faiths have found common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more just and peaceful world community. Through protest as well as ongoing projects, the regular involvement of Thomas Merton Center members has been the backbone of our work. Members and staff of the Center have supported and initiated many projects that have made tangible differences in the struggle for social change.
Today, the Thomas Merton Center is located at 5129 Penn Avenue in Garfield and has expanded to include over twenty organizing campaigns and projects, including operating the East End Community Thrift Store (Thrifty). It serves as a valuable resource for dozens of social justice and peace groups within the region. We send out a weekly electronic newsletter to let people know what’s going on and how to get involved.
Description
"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” -Thomas Merton
We are thrilled to invite you to find yourself and lose yourself at the Thomas Merton Center’s 2021 Annual Fundraiser. This event celebrates the creativity and connections that have made the TMC’s activism possible for almost fifty years. This two day event features a pop-up museum with interactive exhibits, an art auction featuring local and national artists, and a digital tour of the gallery for those unable to join us in-person.
TICKETS
Pay-What-You-Can $5-$250
(visit our event site for a handy guide to choosing a sliding scale contribution!)
Suggested Donation: $40
Tickets purchased at the $50-100 level will include 5 raffle tickets.
Tickets purchased at the $100+ level will include 10 raffle tickets.
ADMISSION INFO
Tickets include drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), light snacks and 30 minute admission to the gallery spaces with priority bidding on auction items and interactive activities for all ages. Proceeds benefit the Thomas Merton Center. Each guest must purchase a separate ticket.
In order to maintain COVID-safe capacity, we're asking guests to please arrive on time and adhere to the 30 minute time limit if we are at capacity. Please check with registration if you wish to remain longer.
Auction proceeds benefit artists (60%) and TMC (40%). To view and bid on the auction, visit tmc.betterworld.org/auctions/tmc-art-auction
WHO WE ARE
The Thomas Merton Center is Pittsburgh's center for peace and justice work - organizing and mobilizing for human rights and liberation. Your contribution benefits our Garfield thrift store, anti-racism workshops, and social and environmental justice campaigns from local pandemic relief to international human rights. We also work in coalition with the PA Poor People’s Campaign, End the Deadly Exchange, Driving PA Forward, and #DropColcom. As a small organization funded primarily by members and events like this, we sincerely appreciate your support and the opportunity to do this important work with you.
For more info, visit bit.ly/TMCpopup!
We look forward to sharing this space of celebration, healing and struggle together, in solidarity.
Date & Time
Dec 3 - 4, 2021
Venue Details
Lost and Found: a Pop-Up Museum
5150 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15224
