Bonnie Thurston, a native of southern West Virginia, currently lives quietly near Wheeling, WV having resigned the William F. Orr Professorship in New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2002. She earned the B.A. in English (First Honors) from Bethany College, and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. The subject of her dissertation was Thomas Merton. She has done post-doctoral work in New Testament at Harvard Divinity School; Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany; and the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. Bonnie has written or edited twenty-one theological books and many articles, has contributed to reference works in New Testament and taught at the university level for 30 years. Her scholarly interests in New Testament include the gospels of Mark and John, the Deutero-Pauline canon and, more generally, the history of Christian Spirituality and prayer. Her church affiliations include the Episcopal Church and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She was ordained in 1984 and has served as co-pastor, pastor, or interim of five churches and twice in overseas ministries. She is a spiritual director and experienced retreat leader. Her poetry frequently appears in religious periodicals, and she has authored six volumes of verse. Bonnie is a widow, an avid reader, gardener and cook, enjoys classical music (especially the opera and liturgical music) and loves the West Virginia hills.
Bonnie is the author of two collections of verse published by Three Peaks Press in Wales, The Heart's Lands and Hints and Glimpses, and Belonging to Borders (Liturgical Press, 2011). A Place to Pay Attention was published by Cinnamon Press in Wales in 2014, juried and accepted at Tamarack, "Best of West Virginia." Practicing Silence was published by Paraclete Press, also in 2014 and also accepted at Tamarack. Her most recent volume of poetry is "From Darkness to Eastering," published by Wild Goose Press, Glasgow, Scotland. Her poetry has been published in many periodicals including Anglican Theological Review, The Christian Century, The Merton Seasonal, Quattrocento (Wales), Spirituality and Health, Spirituality (Ireland), Spiritus and Theology Today. An award winning poet, she was a runner up in America magazine's 2007 Foley Poetry Contest, and most recently, won 3rd prize in the long poem category of the WV Writers, Inc. 2013 contest. She has given readings at Bethany College in WV, Cathedral College of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Society of the Sacred Cross, Tymawr Convent (Wales), and Public Libraries in West Virginia and Ohio.
