The Department of Campus Ministry encourages students, faculty, and staff of JCU to integrate personal faith into the academic and social environment of the university. We value the university’s commitment to academic pursuits, and welcome the opportunities we have to bring a Catholic and Ignatian faith perspective to bear on issues and trends that may surface in various disciplines and in a variety of social milieus. We have identified the following statements as our purpose:
- We embrace the Jesuit, Catholic intellectual tradition as an indispensable partner in the search for truth and wisdom.
- We promote the service of faith and the promotion of justice through education, advocacy, service, and reflection.
- We foster the development of whole persons who become servant leaders in their local and global faith communities.
- We provide an open, caring, hospitable, and collaborative atmosphere that supports the mission of the University.
- We establish a sense of community through vibrant worship, retreats, small faith communities, and Immersion experiences.
- We celebrate a diversity of faith and spiritual perspectives that seeks both wisdom and a fuller spiritual life.
- We recognize Eucharist as our primary liturgical experience, while at the same time making it our mission to walk with students of all faiths and no faith. We hope that students who come to JCU as Muslims will graduate more fully committed to Islam; and Jewish students will graduate more in love with Judaism, etc.
In solidarity with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we aspire to instill a basic knowledge and understanding of the six aspects of Campus Ministry outlined in the 1985 U.S. Bishop’s Pastoral Letter “Empowered By the Spirit: Campus Ministry Faces the Future” (EBS). The six aspects are adapted as follows:
- EBS1 - Forming Faith Community
- EBS2 - Appropriating Faith
- EBS3 - Forming Conscience
- EBS4 - Educating for Justice
- EBS5 - Facilitating Personal Development
- EBS6 - Developing Leaders for the Future
Added in 2020: Equally, in solidarity with the initiatives of the Society of Jesus, we also aspire to instill a basic knowledge and understanding of Ignatian spirituality as outlined in the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus:
- AP1 - To show the way to God, through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment.
- AP2 - To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.
- AP3 - To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.
- AP4 - To collaborate, with Gospel depth, for the protection and renewal of God’s Creation.
In light of these aspects and preferences, our departmental goals are as follows:
- To form the faith community in the Catholic and Ignatian tradition, as well as provide our non-Catholic population with opportunities to form community based on their faith traditions (EBS1, AP1).
- To aid the JCU community in the appropriation and appreciation of their faith (EBS2).
- To provide opportunities that form the conscience and character in light of Catholic Social Teaching (EBS3, AP2).
- To facilitate the personal development of our students (EBS5).
- To educate the community in a “faith that does justice” by walking with the marginalized and working to protect and renew God’s creation (EBS4, AP2, AP4).
- To develop students as discerning leaders who will excel in learning, leadership, and service in the region and in the world and accompany them in the creation of a hope-filled future (EBS6, AP3).