Keep It Light, Keep It Merton: Riding a Wave of Joy to the Bright Shores of Change
Sophfronia Scott
June 3, 10, 17, 24, 2025 from Noon-2 pm EST

What do Thomas Merton, Alexei Navalny, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Willy Wonka (as played by Timothee Chalamet) have in common? They met the challenges of leadership and influenced and inspired many from a most unlikely stance: joy. In a world obsessed with struggle and sacrifice, joy is often seen as a frivolous distraction. But what if we entered leadership roles that recognized that joy is not the antithesis of change but the very fuel that propels it forward? How can we adapt a leadership style accordingly? In this course we will explore the radical yet potent idea that joy is the foundation for creating positive change in ourselves, in our parishes, and, perhaps, the world.

Sophfronia Scott is a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker whose work has received a 2020 Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Her book The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton won the 2021 Thomas Merton “Louie” Award from the International Thomas Merton Society. She holds a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her latest book is Wild, Beautiful, and Free, a historical novel set during the Civil War. Sophfronia’s other books include Unforgivable Love, Love’s Long Line, and This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World, co-written with her son Tain. Sophfronia is the founding director of Alma College’s MFA in Creative Writing, a low-residency graduate program based in Alma, Michigan.

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