Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton, who died on Dec. 10, 1968, is being honored on the 50th anniversary of his death with events at Bellarmine University. Artist Joe McGee is involved in two Merton-related art shows, one, “Merton Among Us: The Living Legacy of Thomas Merton,” now at KyCAD’s 849 Gallery through Jan. 18. The reception is Saturday, Dec. 1. The second, “Searching for Thomas Merton: An Artistic Tribute” with McGee and textile artist Penny Sisto, is at Bellarmine (she and her husband, jazz musician Dick Sisto, were friends with Merton). “Merton is still as relevant today as when he died in ’68,” said McGee. “An environmentalist, against all war, all nuclear weapons, racial discrimination, so many social issues of the ‘60s, all here still today in our world.” The opening reception is Friday, Nov. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. Kentucky poet Lynnell Edwards will do a reading during the reception.