While Fr. Keating was alive, every year, St. Benedict's Monastery would hold interreligious dialogs in Snowmass, CO, and Roger LaBorde attended these for many years. He had an intimate relationship with Fr. Thomas Keating, and Roger graciously shared some of his memories of this relationship with us. These Snowmass Gatherings were described as intimate dialogs among friends; the participants learned to respect and appreciate each other as individuals and also how different religions enrich the experience of the individuals involved.
A key emphasis in Interreligious Dialogue is relationships, the relationships between individuals from different religious traditions, and it was this emphasis on relationships that made the dialogue of the Snowmass Interreligious Conference an inspiring experience in the religious world for over twenty years.
Fr. Thomas Keating began The Snowmass Conference in 1984 as an experiment. Fr. Thomas knew from the beginning that it would have to be based on relationships. The participants were invited into a friendship that would feel safe and comfortable enough to trust and discuss their spiritual journey. The experiment was a success and resulted in one of the world’s oldest and longest-running interreligious dialogues.
Eventually, the “Conference” transitioned into a “Dialogue” group, which lasted for thirty-three years. These Snowmass Gatherings were described as intimate dialogs among friends who learned to appreciate one another as individuals and everyone’s different traditions. This long-standing intimate exchange dramatically demonstrated how very much we can learn from one another.
Roger LaBorde is a Shaman who lives in Longmont, Colorado, and participated in the Snowmass Conference for many years. From his relationship with Fr. Thomas Keating. Roger graciously offered to share some of his memories of their relationship.
