Welcome from the Director of University Ministry

 

 

Dear Families and Friends,

On behalf of the Mission and Ministry division of Gonzaga, welcome to our university! As a learning community, we are shaped and changed by the people who are connected to us. So, your presence means that we have become new again, and we are excited to begin this journey with you!

We appreciate in our students that they come to us with a unique identity, a tapestry of stories, experiences and people, especially you who have guided and loved them for so long. We also recognize in them a foundational identity as a beloved child of God, infinitely valuable and called to a life of meaning and purpose. We commit to nurturing and walking alongside our students not only in the classroom, but in all of their Gonzaga experiences. Everything here is educational, meant to help them discern their path forward in life. As Henri Nouwen wrote, “You have to know and claim your way.”

This road of discovery will be filled with joys and challenges, shattered assumptions and dazzling revelations. This is why we have a network of faculty and staff committed to helping students make sense of it all. And this is also why we create opportunities for solitude, conversation and prayer, in order to pay deeper attention to our lives and open ourselves to growth in our soul.

Some of these opportunities are available through University Ministry. We highly recommend that first-year students sign up for the First Year Retreat, which will be offered this fall during the weekend of October 14-16, 2016. This is a fun and inspirational introduction to our ministry team, student leaders, and program offerings. Students of all faiths are invited to join, and early registration is available here.

Our ministry team and Jesuits will also be available to meet you and answer questions throughout Orientation Weekend. If you are interested in learning more about the spiritual and religious tradition of Gonzaga, we highly recommend that you join us for the following sessions:

• Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 9am in St. Aloysius Church: “Jesu…what? What it means to be a Jesuit University”
• Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 10am in St. Aloysius Church: “Gonzaga’s Guide to All Things Jesuit: Q & A Panel with Jesuits”

A more detailed description and affirmation of our Jesuit and Catholic identity is also available for you to read here.

Please know that you will be in our prayers as you make final preparations for your student to join us in August. As we say often in our department, “The best is yet to come!”

Many blessings,

Michelle