Greetings from Mission and Ministry!

On my very first day as a novice, that is, a Jesuit-in-training, our Novice Master walked up to the chalkboard (yes, it still had chalk!), and drew a spiral or corkscrew shape. He pointed at it, and said, “that, my friends, is your spiritual life.” Seeing our quizzical looks, he went on to say, “you will find that you will come back to many of the same key issues over and over again, just like a circle … but if your spiritual life is growing, each time you will come back to them and appreciate them at a deeper level, like a spiral.” It is an image that has always stayed with me, and that I think about especially now, as I complete my first year in Mission and Ministry.

We have gone one more time around the sun here at Santa Clara University, and some of the issues of life – and especially the life of students, and university communities and, to be honest, our world – seem to forever be with us. But when we come to the end of the year, we have a richer understanding of them. And we comprehend ourselves and the value of our community in a more profound way. In my own case, I find that I am even more excited about the work we do in Mission and Ministry, now that I have seen the many ways it touches lives across our campus and beyond. Our teams, who bring to life our work of spiritual and religious ministries, community engagement and community-based learning, faculty and staff formation, and intellectual engagement are simply outstanding. And on the commencement stage and at so many recent events at the close of the year, I have seen the impact and depth of their efforts.

CAMPUS MINISTRY

Campus Ministry fosters the spiritual lives of students to cultivate spiritual transformation and is a primary source of pastoral care, serving an ever-broadening group of students. 

• Attendance at Sunday evening Student Masses continues to rise - our community in the Mission Church has grown 57% over the past two years!
• Wednesday morning Donut Days saw a big uplift with over 2,900 donuts enjoyed by community members!
• Campus Ministry served over 325 meals at our monthly Mosaic Dinners, and on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks in Israel, facilitated a Vigil for Peace led by student leaders of the Jewish Student Union, the Muslim Student Association, and the Sikh Student Association.
• Campus Ministry hosted spiritual retreats for students and facilitated OCIA for 12 students and 1 faculty member to receive Catholic Sacraments of Initiation.
• Support of the LGBTQ+ community through participation in quarterly dinners with a gender-expansive community of faculty, staff, and students and accompaniment of 14 students to the IgnatianQ conference in Los Angeles.
• Provided over 260 hours of engagement through semi-monthly volunteering with Santa Maria Urban Ministries.

COMMUNITY ENGAGED STUDENT LEARNING

The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education provides opportunities for SCU students to deepen their understanding of social justice issues and experience the true meaning of a Jesuit Education and become people for and with others.

Immersions
The Immersions program has established a number of new partnerships. Through immersions in Chile, Peru, Ghana, and NYC, we’re building global partnerships that reflect the strength and spirit of our Jesuit network, fostering connection, solidarity, and shared mission worldwide through our faith that does justice. 96% of immersion participants agreed that their immersion experience contributed significantly toward the Jesuit mission of holistic education at SCU.

Arrupe Engagement
In support of SCU's Experiential Learning for Social Justice (ELSJ) requirement, Arrupe Engagement placed 1,135 students with 46 community partners, providing over 18,000 hours of engagement and transformative community-base learning opportunities for SCU students. 

Thriving Neighbors
This academic year, Thriving Neighbors deepened student leadership roles and diversified the student participant cohorts. With 47 SCU students serving as mentors, researchers, and tutors - the impact was tangible on SCU's campus. Also, with 28 community leaders trained in wellness strategies, preschool readiness and financial literacy offering programs that touched 550 program participants, the impact in the community was equally strong. 

Student Fellowships
The Ignatian Center's student fellowships continue to provide students with an opportunity to discern - both their vocation as well as their spirituality. In fact, 90% reported the experience informed their career/goals in life and 80% reported the experience deepened their ability to connect to mindfulness/spirituality. We also partnered with the School of Engineering's Healthcare Innovation and Design to launch the Cura Fellowship with the mission of shaping future leaders in dementia care innovation. 

IGNATIAN FORMATION

The Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education provides ways for SCU faculty and staff to deepen their understanding of SCU’s Jesuit, Catholic mission, to make it their own, and to discover and experience the many faces of Ignatian spirituality.

Bannan Forum 
This year the Bannan Forum hosted 8 university-wide public events with a range of topics such as Jesuit history, race and politics, AI, and silence. The Bannan Forum also launched a new lecture series named after Dr. Denise Carmody, a pioneer in female leadership at SCU who served as the University’s first female Religious Studies department chair and first woman provost and vice president. As a scholar she wrote more than 60 books on topics such as spirituality, world religions, feminist theology, and ethics. The new series will honor her contributions to SCU and to the wider Catholic intellectual tradition through bringing world class scholars to SCU's campus. 

Ignatian Spirituality
Through the Ignatian Spirituality program, we hosted four different spiritual retreats for 98 faculty and staff this past year. Each retreat filled immediately with applicants, with over 200 faculty and staff being placed on waitlists. The number of applications speak to the strong desire among faculty and staff to receive deeper formation in Ignatian Spirituality so that they can find the nourishment they need to more fully accompany our students.

Mission Engagement
The Ignatian Center's Mission Engagement program, in partnership with Human Resources and the Leavey Executive Center, hosted Heroic Leadership For All, inspired by Jesuit principles and Chris Lowney’s bestselling book Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World. Faculty and staff explored the four crucial pillars of great leadership: Self-Awareness (understanding yourself to lead with authenticity), Ingenuity (navigating challenges with creativity and innovation), Love (leading with empathy, compassion, and care for others), and Heroism (taking courageous action to inspire and impact others).