Sept. 6, 2024

Dear USF Community,

We hope everyone is settling in nicely this semester. Whether in classes or projects, we know that this community is finding new ways to shine. 

University Ministry has several upcoming offerings to soothe the mind, fill the heart, and feed the soul. 

We are also pleased to announce a new addition to our UM office. Please join us in a warm welcome to Imam Sundiata Rashid, our new Muslim chaplain. Imam Sundiata will work closely with our Muslim community. Please take a moment to read all about him below. His office hours will be available on our Instagram page in the next few days. 

Warm regards,

University Ministry

Sundiata Rashid grew up in Berkeley, California, and is in his fourth year as a PhD student at Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in the Department of Religious Anthropology. He also completed an MA in Islamic studies from GTU and wrote his thesis, Bean Pie to Baklava, on the history of Islam in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began studying the Islamic sciences while in the U.S. Marine Corps, and over the years he has studied Islamic Law, Quranic exegesis, Arabic, and Islamic spirituality with a variety of scholars both nationally and overseas. He is known for fusing Islamic concepts with American outlooks and has been delivering sermons and teaching classes since the late '90s around the SF Bay Area. He is the imam of Lighthouse Mosque and a chaplain at San Quentin. He is a father of four and once climbed Mount Fuji.

Image Source: Paper Monday, "Preserving The Legacy: Portraits and Stories Capturing Black Muslim Life"

Monday – Friday | 12:05 p.m. | St. Ignatius Church

Your chief mission officer and chancellor, John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J., in collaboration with University Ministry, invite you to Daily Mass at St. Ignatius Church, Monday through Friday at 12:05 p.m. 

Wednesday, Sept. 11 | 7 p.m. | University Ministry, Toler 122

Come join our first gathering for some meditation and community building! Make friends, have fun, and find fellowship among peers within our USF community. For more information, email Resident Minister Liz Garcia.

Saturday, Sept. 14 | 9 a.m. | University Ministry, Toler 122 and Mount Sutro

Join us for a morning of fresh air, friendship, and contemplation in the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve! Deepen your connection with nature and practice peaceful reflection in the company of those you cherish. Find more information at the registration link or email Resident Minister Shanela Ranaraja.

Sunday, Sept. 15 | 9 a.m. | Buddhist Church of San Francisco

Join University Ministry as we attend a service at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco in Japantown! Meet at 9 a.m. at the University Ministry's office (Toler Hall 122) to take the bus to the Buddhist Church of SF in Japantown. After, we will go to a restaurant to reflect and gather in community.

Mondays | 12:30 p.m. PDT | Zoom

Join us for a guided meditation to start the week right. Guided meditation can help reduce stress, increase patience, improve focus, and more! Open to all students, faculty, and staff! Our first session will be on Monday, Sept. 9. Register in advance through Zoom.

Monday Meditations start on Sept. 9 and end on Nov. 25 (weekly except for Oct. 14, which is fall break)

Friday, Nov. 22 – Sunday, Nov. 24 | Maryknoll Retreat Center, Los Altos, CA

University Ministry is hosting the fall 2024 Ignatian Silent Retreat at the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Los Altos. The retreat introduces the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. During the retreat, participants are invited to explore the Ignatian style of prayer by reflecting inward and taking a closer look at their own experiences of God and the sacred through imagination and the Bible. For more information, please contact University Chaplain Donal Godfrey, S.J.

Cost: $100 for faculty and staff | $50 for students

Scholarships are available for students attending for the first time.

Saturday, Sept. 28 | 9 a.m.–2 p.m. | Golden Gate Park

Organized by the University Ministry, Graduate Student Senate, and ISSS, join other international students to build community, learn Jesuit values, make meaningful connections, and more! This event is free and open to all international students. For more information, please contact Poonam Kakodkar. Registration is required. 

Friday, Sept. 27 – Sunday, Sept. 29 | Walker Creek Ranch, Petaluma, CA

Join us for an experience building community through promoting and exploring the intersection of our queer and spiritual/religious identities. 

We will practice being radically and unapologetically you in a community that celebrates individuality. 

Transportation will be provided.

The registration deadline is Sept. 9.

For more information or questions, please email Rabbi Camille Angel.

Sundays | 7 p.m. | St. Ignatius Church

Join us every Sunday for our weekly student liturgies! Visit our website, or email Laura Díaz-Flaviani to learn more about our student liturgies. Sign up to be in the choir, or participate as an altar server, lector, or Eucharistic minister.

Thursdays | 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | University Ministry, Toler 122

Qmmunity and Breaking Bread and the Binary begins this Thursday and continues every Thursday through the fall semester! Nourishment for the body and the soul and a place to celebrate your true fabulous self. Questions? Email Rabbi Camille Angel.

Local and global social justice experiences are designed to open students’ eyes to the realities of the world! 

We have many opportunities for our students to participate in programs this year: Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Italy, and more! Visit our website to learn more about our immersion programs.

Stay tuned for our application rollout and deadlines!

Tuesday, Sept. 10 | 6:30–8 p.m. | Xavier Hall, Fromm Hall

How can pop culture help us speak more clearly about race, antisemitism, and the many meanings of both?
Learn about this timely topic with Jonathan Branfman, who will draw from his new book, Millennial Jewish Stars: Navigating Racial Antisemitism, Masculinity, and White Supremacy.

But by illuminating how Jewish pop culture stars navigate these issues on screen, we can often clarify how antisemitism shapes everyday perceptions, biases, and behaviors in real life.

Tuesdays | 12 –12:35 p.m. | University Ministry, Toler 122

Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) is a student-led group dedicated to exploring the Orthodox Christian faith, fostering spiritual growth, and exposing our campus to the faith, cultures, and customs that are authentically Orthodox. We are a small but dynamic group of students from many different backgrounds who share a common desire to learn more about the 2000-year tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. All students, including non-Orthodox, are very welcome! Pizza will be provided for lunch. We're reading Genesis together (Creation! Humans! Fall!). Please drop by or email our spiritual adviser, Fr. Kirill Sokolov, or our student leader, Christianna Yano, for more information.
We look forward to meeting you!

Thank you for reading our bi-weekly newsletter. If you would like to submit content for future newsletters, please make sure to fill out the UM Newsletter Intake Form. If you have any questions about submissions and deadlines, please email um@usfca.edu.

Content deadline for upcoming newsletter: Sept. 12