Aۿ۴ý Faith, Justice & Reconciliation Assembly 2024: Creation of a Hope-filled Future
July 16-19, 2024: Loyola University Chicago
This new Assembly is an outgrowth of the Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education Conference that has convened every 3-4 years since 2000.
Plenary speakers include:
- Anna Bonta Moreland,Theologian and Professor, Villanova University
- Eboo Patel,Founder & President,Interfaith America
- Rev. Marcel Uwineza S.J.,President, Hekima University College, Nairobi, Kenya
Drawing its theme,Creation of a Hope-filled Future,from the of the Society of Jesus, the Assembly will engage in areas of faith, justice, and reconciliation through its plenary speakers, presentations, and workshops. A new aspect of the Assembly is the creation of six : teams of faculty and staff across the Aۿ۴ý network who have been working together since Spring 2023 on major issues of faith, justice, and reconciliation affecting Aۿ۴ý institutions. Each Commission will present their work at the Assembly, with time for participant engagement and dialogue. Commission themes are:
- Citizenship and Democracy: Exercising Individual Freedom for the Common Good
- Student Spiritual Growth and Mental Health: Toward a Hope-filled Future
- Prison Education: A Call to Conversion in Our Shared Humanity
- Laudato Si': Advancing a Shared Agenda for our Common Home
- Justice and Reconciliation: Addressing the Legacy of Slavery and Oppression by Jesuit Institutions
- The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm: Responding to Students and their Hungers
The Assembly will also offer a variety of workshops, round table discussions, lightening round information sessions, and posters that highlight local and regional work related to faith, justice, and reconciliation across our Aۿ۴ý network of institutions and beyond.
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The ۿ۴ý Companions in Mission program is a series of twosemester-long, cohort-based formation experiencesfor staff and faculty at ۿ۴ý University. Part 1 of the program involves the study of the Jesuit Catholic tradition of higher education and contemporary issues, an introduction to Ignatian spirituality and a day of retreat/reflection, a local service experience, and a practical application to one’s work. The Office of University Mission and Identity will sponsor and staff the program with the help of campus partners and content experts. The Program is open to faculty and staff who are nominated by their area vice president or dean and consists of the following components:
Study of the Jesuit Catholic Tradition of Higher Education:
The cohort will have five two-hour workshop sessions during which they discuss brief assigned readings and videos on the following topics:
- Ignatian spirituality, rooted in the life of Ignatius, with a focus on Ignatian discernment
- How the Jesuits became involved in education and Jesuit education today
- ۿ۴ý University’s identity as (1) a university, (2) Catholic, (3) Jesuit, and (4) open to “people of all faiths and no faith”
- ۿ۴ý’s identity (continued) and inclusive excellence
- Jesuit mission: promoting a faith that does justice
An Understanding and Experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Participants will learn about the “Examen” and the ۿ۴ý Framework for Ignatian Reflection and partake in a day of reflection off campus in which there is conversation about the Autobiography of St. Ignatiusand short talks on the Spiritual Exercises to help guide their reading, reflection, and prayer.
Service Experience
Participants spend part of a day working with the poor and the marginalized in Cleveland, with whom we have established relationships. The day will conclude with a reflection. Participants can choose between one of two or three options, including the Jesuit Day of Service and Labre.
Practical Application:
Participants will come to the final session prepared to share a one-page reflection about what they have learned and how it might inspire or inform the work they do and how they lead. They will identify their own areas of interest for further study and evaluate the program to improve it for the next cohort.
Program Outcomes–As a result of participating in this program, participants will:
- Deepen their existing knowledge and understanding of Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit education
- Articulate the distinctiveness of Jesuit education at ۿ۴ý University
- Understand themselves as “companions in mission” who share responsibility for advancing the Jesuit mission of ۿ۴ý
Time Commitment:
- Five mornings (fall cohorts) or afternoons (spring cohorts) for approximately two hours.
- One day of reflection (off campus)
- One service experience with those who are poor and marginalized in Cleveland
- One concluding meal after the last workshop
For more information, please contact Fr. Tom Pipp, S.J., Director of Ignatian Formation, at tpipp@jcu.edu or 216-397-1594.
Companions in Mission II builds on the previous series of workshops by taking a deeper dive into key figures, movements, and issues that help define Jesuit Catholic liberal arts education that prepares students for inspired futures. We will investigate topics such as:
Ignatian humanism and the liberal arts
The Ignatian pedagogical paradigm
The Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus for highereducation
Faith, spirituality, and interfaith understanding
Our commitment to Justice and Reconciliation
The program consists of five two-hour sessions over lunch. Each session is moderated by a different campus-colleague.
The Ignatian Colleagues Program is a national18-month formation program for administrators and faculty in Jesuit higher education. Participants join a national cohort of 40-50 people and participate in a variety of face-to-face meetings, online education, a weeklong retreat, and an international immersion trip. As part of their capstone experience, they complete a mission project that is related to their work.
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Each year, ۿ۴ý hosts a wide variety of honors and scholars lectures and workshops that are open to the ۿ۴ý community. If you are a sponsoring department, and you would like a program added to this list, please email mission@jcu.edu.