Fall Events Will Commemorate the Life and Work of Dorothy Day
In observance of the 35th anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day in 2015, a cooperative series of events about her life and work will be held at Marywood University and the University of Scranton.
Dorothy Day, who has been given the title “Servant of God” as the first step in the process towards being declared a saint in the Catholic Church, was called many things during her life: an activist, a journalist, a radical, a bohemian, a mother, a convert, a mystic, a prophet, and a faithful daughter of the Church. After her death on November 29, 1980, historian David O’Brien famously called her “the most important, interesting, and influential figure in the history of American Catholicism.” [See: http://dorothydayguild.org]
The events will include movie presentations; public lectures by Ms. Day’s granddaughter, Martha Hennessey, and her editor, Robert Ellsberg; documentary screenings; and a symposium. In addition to celebrating the gift of Dorothy Day’s life, the series of events will explore ways in which her witness can challenge each person to respond more fully to God’s love and call to service, justice, and non-violence.
Marywood University will present the movie, Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story, on Wednesday, September 16, at 7 p.m., in Conference Room A, Swartz Center for the Spiritual Life. The University of Scranton will show the movie on Tuesday, September 22, at 7 p.m., in the Pearn Auditorium, Room 228, Brennan Hall.
Robert Ellsberg, former editor of The Catholic Worker, as well as the diaries and letters of Ms. Day, will present the public lecture, Encounters with Dorothy Day, at Marywood University, on Tuesday, September 29, at 7 p.m., in the Latour Room, Nazareth Student Center. Mr. Ellsberg will appear at the University of Scranton on Wednesday, September 30, at 7 p.m., in the Pearn Auditorium, Room 228, Brennan Hall.
Screenings of the documentary, Dorothy Day: Don’t Call me a Saint, will be held at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, October 13, at 7 p.m., in the Pearn Auditorium, Room 228, Brennan Hall, and at Marywood University on Wednesday, October 14, at 7 p.m., in the Latour Room, Nazareth Student Center.
Martha Hennessey, who is Ms. Day’s granddaughter, will present the public lecture, Memories of My Grandmother, Prophet and Catholic Peace Activist, at Marywood University on Wednesday, October 21, at 7 p.m., in the Latour Room, Nazareth Student Center. Ms. Hennessey will appear at the University of Scranton on Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m., in the Rose Room, Fifth Floor, Brennan Hall.
Sunday, November 8, 2015, would have been Ms. Day’s 118th birthday. A symposium is being planned for that afternoon on the theme “Shared Bread for the Journey: Living Dorothy Day’s Legacy of Justice.” During the symposium, people who have been influenced by her writings or example can use this opportunity to share how they are attempting to live out the values to which Ms. Day gave witness in her life as a foundress of the Catholic Worker movement.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Sister John Michele Southwick, IHM at southwick@marywood.edu or Phil Yevics at Philip.Yevics@scranton.edu