University Ministry: The Power of Love

Oct. 4, 2024

This week we want to highlight our Retreats and Student Ignatian Formation Program for hosting and welcoming more than 38 international students at the Cura Personalis: International Student Welcome BBQ & Picnic. This event included small group reflections, community building, and an opportunity to explore Ignatian values. 

Dear USF Community,

We offer a heartfelt apology for the language used in our last newsletter to advertise the upcoming Multi-Faith Grief Circle. Our intention was never to offend, but we recognize that intention does not negate the harm caused. 

We value the diversity, respect, and dignity of every individual — values reflected in the Catholic Jesuit foundations and values of this university. As humans are constantly evolving and learning, we continue to take steps to better educate ourselves in how we communicate and honor these principles at all times. We will strive to be more mindful of our words moving forward to foster an environment where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. 

University Ministry

There will be no Mass on Monday, Oct. 14, and Tuesday, Oct. 15, due to fall break.

Monday, Oct. 7 | 11:45 a.m. | University Ministry Romero Room

We hope you will join us in a sacred space of remembrance not only to grieve in community, but to uplift our collective hope for peace and justice. In the spirit of compassion and solidarity, we will offer prayers for healing in Israel, Palestine, and every part of the world in pain and reaffirm our shared commitment to the values of peace and understanding that unite us as a global community.

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

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.

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! Register in advance through Zoom.

Monday Meditations will occur weekly through Nov. 25, except during fall break (Oct. 14).

Stay tuned for our following newsletter for events that will be held on the week of Oct. 21, or click here to learn about all Sukkot events.

Wednesday, Oct. 16 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m. | Welch Field, JSSJ Sukkah

Help us launch the Sukkot festival by beautifying our sukkah with arts, crafts, and snacks.

Wednesday, Oct. 16 | 6:30–8 p.m. | Welch Field, JSSJ Sukkah

Join our Shalom Jewish Community and the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice for an evening Sukkot gathering. In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, we will be learning about and discussing how we can be good guests on Indigenous land, and how the Jewish tradition beckons us forth to the work of solidarity with Indigenous peoples. We will gather, celebrate the festival, learn, and most of all, eat!

Thursday, Oct. 17 |  6:30–8 p.m. | Welch Field, JSSJ Sukkah

Journalist Asaf Elia-Shalev (he/him), author of the new book Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth, will share parts of the powerful story of an activist movement that challenged racial inequities in Israel. Elia-Shalev’s book tells the story of the young and impoverished Moroccan Israeli Jews who challenged their country's political status quo by rebelling against the ethnic hierarchy of Israeli life in the 1970s. Inspired by the American group of the same name, the Black Panthers mounted protests and a years-long political campaign for the rights of Mizrahim, or Jews of Middle Eastern ancestry, which still resonates today.

Friday, Oct. 4 | 4 p.m. | University Ministry, Toler 122

Join us this afternoon for a small gathering at the University Ministry, celebrating our patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. 

Come unwind and have a good time with UM staff, and enjoy some snacks and refreshments!

Faculty and staff only.

Thursdays | 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | Loyola House Jesuit Community

Join Fr. Donal Godfrey for book club discussions on The Whole Language, the Power of Extravagant Tenderness by Greg Boyle, S.J. Discussions will be held over a period of three separate meeting times: Oct. 31, Nov. 7, and Nov. 21

This event is limited to 10 people, and registration is first come, first served. 

Book club members must bring their own copies of the book. 

Thursday, Oct. 17 | 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m | Loyola House Jesuit Community

Join us for a Jesuit mission conversation at Loyola House Jesuit community. 

This event is limited to 10 people, and registration is first come, first served. 

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.

Can't join us in person? Join us by watching our broadcast on the St. Ignatius Parish livestream site!

Thursdays | 11:30 a.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.

Friday, Oct. 25 – Sunday, Oct. 27 
12 p.m. | Redwood Christian Park

This world is full of beauty, pain, and brokenness. We all long for things to be set right. We long for community, for love, for justice, and for God. Join us this weekend as we explore justice and revival in the Book of Nehemiah, make space to connect with God, build community together, and ask what it means for us. We'll spend time studying scripture, engaging with a speaker, connecting with God in seminars, and making space for God to speak.

Contact Jackie for information about scholarships for this event!

Saturday, Oct. 26 | 11 a.m. | Koret Lodge, Lone Mountain

Do you want to dream big for your post-grad future? Are you eager to carve out big plans for your future but feel uncertain about navigating the post-college transition? Look no further! USF’s Career Services Center understands your aspirations and has curated an exclusive opportunity just for you — the Dream Big Retreat.

This event is complimentary and exclusively for USF students. Upon registration, attendees are required to pay a $10 deposit, which is fully refundable. Those who participate in Dream Big will have their $10 deposit refunded automatically within three weeks following the event. However, attendees who cancel their registration after Oct. 24 at 10 p.m. or fail to attend Dream Big will forfeit their $10 deposit.

These groups are a space to ask real questions, learn a helpful approach to reading the Bible, and build deeper friendships on campus. They meet weekly, so visit one anytime!

Men of Faith - Led by John and Troy
Tuesdays | 12–1:30 p.m. | UC 414

Ephesians - Led by Megan and Jocelyn
Tuesdays | 7 p.m. | UC 415

Alpha Video Course - Led by Enoch and Angela
Wednesdays | 6:30 p.m. | UC 503

Ephesians - Led by Jackie
Thursdays | 11:40 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | UC 415

Tuesdays | 12 p.m. | University Ministry, Romero Room

Orthodox Christian Fellowship 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!

Join Dance Generators, USF’s intergenerational dance company, in collaboration with University Ministry, in the creation of a new performance
piece that uses dance, storytelling, and sound design to investigate Jesuit values and spirituality.

Rehearsals on Wednesdays
6:30–8:30 p.m. in Koret

Want to join? Contact Liv Schaffer 
to get involved! 

Photo Credit: Hillary Goidell

If you are a Jewish student looking for ways to observe the High Holidays, SF Hillel can provide you with free tickets to your synagogue of choice in San Francisco. Just fill out their form and they will reach out to you to coordinate! 

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 Sarah Manzano.

Content deadline for upcoming newsletter: Oct. 10