MISSION AND MINISTRY | Loyola Marymount University sent a delegation to the 20th annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C., to meet with peers, plan for future action and build on the university’s mission.
Almost 2,000 young people from the family of Ignatian universities, high schools and parishes gathered from Nov. 3-5, 2018, around the theme, “Discipleship at the Crossroads: The Courage to Journey Together as an Intersectional Community.” The teach-in was organized by the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
The goal of the annual gathering, which was born as a response to the devastating murders of six Jesuits and their companions at the University of Central America in El Salvador, is to prepare and inspire students to actively work to change unjust structures. The LMU delegation plans to develop its own teach-in experience during the spring semester, bringing to campus the insights of what it means to connect around the world with other young people who are committed to “faith that does justice.”
The teach-in was days of intense work and of firsts, including: the first meeting between two student-government delegations from Jesuit schools, bringing together the UCA in El Salvador with LMU; the first visit to Congress for four LMU seniors to advocate on the issues of immigration and prison reform; and the first joint delegation of LMU students representing ASLMU, Campus Ministry, CSA and service orgs.
This year’s LMU delegation to the IFTJ in Washington, D.C. included:
- Alo Coleman, ASLMU president
- Brenda Quintanilla, ASLMU vice president
- Alejandra Molina
- Sean Silva
- Mady Starr
- Emely Morales
- Lydia Lopez Wolfe
- Rachel Haik
- Patrick Furlong, acting director of the Center for Service and Action
- Jake Blicharz, Campus Ministry
- Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu, professor of theological studies
For more information on this year’s IFTJ in 2018 please visit youtube playlist and photo albums
