University Ministry: Taking Chances 

Sept. 20, 2024

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:

Questions about our programs? Email us at um@usfca.edu.

Application deadline: Sept. 30

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, invites you to Daily Mass at St. Ignatius Church, Monday through Friday at 12:05 p.m. 

Friday, Oct. 4 | 11:15 a.m. | St. Ignatius Church

You're invited to join us for a celebration in honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of San Francisco and our school! Bring your cats, dogs, and other pets to receive a special blessing from Dónal Godfrey, S.J. 

Following the pet blessing is Mass at 12:05 p.m. in St. Ignatius Church, and an ice cream social after Mass. 

Can't wait to see you and all your pets!

Monday, Oct. 7 | 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. | University Ministry Romero Room

University Ministry clergy and lay leaders invite USF students, faculty, staff, and librarians to gather for a time of prayer and lamentation. We will mark the anniversary of the attack in Israel and the ensuing destruction in Palestine by praying for peace and healing there and around the world.

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. 

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.

Friday, Oct. 4 | 4:30 p.m. | University Ministry, Toler 122

Faculty and staff are invited for a small gathering at University Ministry, celebrating our patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. 

Come unwind and have a good time with UM staff! We'll have cookies!

Tuesday, Sept. 24 | 12–1 p.m. PDT | McLaren 250 and Zoom

Please join the Lane Center and University Ministry in welcoming Celilia Titizano PhD to campus in honor of Latina/x Women's History Month. Cecilia Titizano is a native of Bolivia of Quechua-Aymara descent. She is a core faculty member at NAITTS, an Indigenous Learning Community, a Canadian graduate theological school. She is currently the director of Latina/o Theology and Ministry Leadership Network of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Her research areas include Indigenous philosophies and ethics, relational ontologies, and Indigenous and feminist decolonial thought.

This event is presented by the Joan & Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought & Ignatian Tradition and co-sponsored by University Ministry and the Instituto Hispano at the Jesuit School of Theology.

St. Ignatius Parish's Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) is searching for storytellers to prepare to share their stories during the Multilingual Storytelling Circle on Sunday, Oct. 27. 

Facilitated by parish immigrants and dedicated members who serve immigrants locally and globally, this week will allow us to meditate on the suffering racism and xenophobia create — and to see the common humanity we share across skin colors, nationalities, languages, and accents. This is critical to understanding what it truly means to love all our siblings in Christ and to nourish and be nourished at God’s table.

If you are interested in this, please email ARC Chair Ana Gonzalez-Lane.

Friday, Sept. 27 | 6:30–8 p.m. | Ocean Beach

Friday night beach bonfire, s'mores included! Meet at
5:30 p.m. to bus with other USF students. Fill out the USF waiver on the RSVP form before you come!

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!

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! 

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, Toler 122

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!

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. 26