Heidbrink, John C.

John Heidbrink was a Presbyterian minister and activist for civil rights and peace. He writes to Merton after having been in touch with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker. It was shortly after he came to Nyack, New York, in 1960 to work as Secretary for Church Relations for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). He was a friend of Jim Forest and Daniel and Philip Berrigan, all of whom worked to found the Catholic Peace Fellowship (CPF). With Daniel Berrigan he discussed Protestant expectations for the Second Vatican Council and attended the International Peace Conference in Prague in 1964 and other Christian/Marxist seminars in Europe. Heidbrink arranged for the landmark meeting of Merton and Thich Nhât Hanh at Gethsemani in 1966. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 401.)