Social Justice

While action is an undeniably important aspect of working to create a more just and humane world, it must go hand-in-hand with contemplation. Education and reflection, in the context of community, are equally important aspects of the work of doing justice.

Campus Ministry offers several opportunities for educating yourself and reflection on social justice issues within community.

• Cohorts: These close-knit communities of students come together once a week for a quarter for education, reflection, and conversation. The themes of cohorts rotate on a quarterly basis. Past themes have included immigration and restorative justice. For more information and to see cohort opportunities for the current academic year, visit our Cohorts page.
• Soup with Substance: Soup with Substance is an occasional offering during the lunch hour. All are welcome to join Campus Ministry for a simple lunch (provided) as we learn together about a particular topic and reflect on it in relation to our own life experiences, faith traditions, and values. In the past, Soup with Substance has focused on themes like housing justice, human trafficking, restorative justice, and migration stories.
• Peacemaking Circles: Campus Ministry partners with Point One North to bring the practice of Peacemaking Circles to the Seattle University community. Passed on by the First Nation Tagish Tlingit, Peacemaking Circles is "a trans-disciplinary approach [that] provides an innovative, holistic, paradigm-shifting method to move people from a culture of conflict to one of true partnership" (Point One North). By participating in one of our Peacemaking Circles, students, faculty, and staff gain radical and countercultural skills for mending communities and building peace.
• Maguire Lecture: Each year, Campus Ministry offers the Maguire Lecture as its capstone lecture focused on bringing awareness of a particular issue in social justice to the campus consciousness. In its long history at SU, a few past lecturers include Jose Alberto Idiaquez, S.J., rector of the Universidad Centroamericana in Nicaragua ("Suffering and Solidarity: A Challenge for Jesuit Universities"), and Professor Najeeba Syeed, Associate Professor of Interreligious Education at Claremont School of Theology, ("Social Justice Tools for Interfaith Action").
• Catholic Relief Services Ambassadors: Our Catholic Relief Services Ambassadors are a group of students who spend a year together educating themselves and the campus community on global poverty and injustice.

Education and reflection in community complement our call to act for and with others. Campus Ministry offers a variety of opportunities for service and action. Whether you are interested in hands-on direct service with marginalized communities or advocacy, we hope you will find an opportunity among our offerings, which include:

• St. James Cathedral Kitchen Volunteers
• Juvenile Justice Mentors
• Catholic Relief Services Ambassadors
• Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice
• Postgraduate Service Resources

Campus Ministry's Immersions Program invites students to immerse themselves in the values of justice, solidarity, simplicity, community, and spirituality over an extended period of time, culminating in an on-the-ground experience in a particular experience. Students engage in a quarter-long cohort program learning about the complex historical, social, economic, and political realities of the communities they visit. Current immersion offerings include:

• Community Development and Globalization in Tijuana, Mexico
• Environmental Justice in Appalachia in Wheeling, West Virginia
• Interfaith Exploration in Vancouver, Canada
• Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, DC
• Urban Plunge in Seattle, WA

For more information on our Immersions Program and on specific immersions, visit our Immersions page.

Campus Ministry welcomes the experiences, tensions, and gifts of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons in the Seattle University Community. We honor our diversity as people made in the image and likeness of God by offering hospitality to all.

If you are looking for opportunities to bring faith into conversation with questions of gender and sexuality, we hope you will find fruitful community and support in some of our offerings.

• Queer People of Faith Collective: Queer People of Faith is a space for queer students interested in exploring spirituality to come together and plan programs that meet the needs of their communities. Regular features include Queer Brunch for Lunch, Trans Day of Remembrance Memorial, and collaborations with queer student groups on campus to facilitate student attendance at the Ignatian Q Conference (QTPOC) and to support the Colors Retreat (Triangle Club).
• Spirituality and Sexuality Panel: This event, which bridges the Social Justice and Multifaith areas of Campus Ministry, brings together a panel of diverse faith leaders and students to engage the intersection of spirituality and sexuality in dialogue with their respective faith traditions. Dinner is provided for attendees.