Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice
October 28-30, 2023
Washington, D.C.
Applications are due by August 25th at noon
Questions? Please contact Kelly Tadeo Orbik
$325 student price includes shared hotel room, flight and conference registration. Students are responsible for their rides to/from airport, in city transportation and meals (should plan for $100-$150).
In 2023, featured speakers will include Rev. William Barber, Sr. Norma Pimentel, and Ellie Hidalgo.
Learn, pray, and advocate for justice at the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the United States.
The 2023 Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice theme is Boundless and Beloved. We are boundless: unified in difference. We are beloved: working for justice witnesses to that love. God imbues us with immeasurable creativity and collaboration as we approach this work. We cannot set bounds or limits on God’s love–therefore, the promised vision of God’s justice is beyond what we can possibly imagine. Our striving for our collective liberation will never be complete, and that in and of itself empowers us to pursue that work.
Community is essential to the pursuit of justice. We are not merely fellow workers in these labors, but truly siblings and friends. Realizing our unique goodness and giftedness, we are drawn into a union of minds and hearts. As a community, we must be open to the questions of the Spirit: What are the signs of the times? What does our reality demand? Where are the intersections? How do we use our unique gifts to build a more just world? We here enter into discernment.
We experience the walls and divisions of our world and challenge them with a radical love. Beginning with a listening heart, we recognize the belovedness of each person and the community as a whole. The Spirit impels us to prayer and study that lights the path forward. From there, we take planned, collaborative action to create a world where human dignity is universally upheld. We have deep faith that justice will prevail and that the promise of the boundless and beloved community is possible here on earth.
IFTJ Highlights
Creighton alumnus Nico Sandi's video on the UCA Martyrs and our university's call to a Faith That Does Justice
Each fall thousands of people from Jesuit high schools, colleges, parishes and other Ignatian organizations in Washington, D.C. at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice. This event keeps alive the legacy of many who have worked for justice, particularly the legacy of the six Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter who were all killed in El Salvador in 1989. Come join this three-day learning experience where we meet today’s prophets confronting injustice, poverty, and oppression both nationally and internationally; network with other justice-oriented students; and have our voices heard through legislative visits in the nation's capitol.
The Ignatian Family Teach-In is hosted by the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN), an organization that works to promote and enhance the advocacy efforts of Jesuit institutions like Creighton. More information about this year's Teach-In can be found on the ISN Website.
For Further Reflection:
- Last year's IFTJ keynotes are available on YouTube.
- Read Fr. Dean Brackley, S.J.
- Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J.'s 1982 Commencement Address at Santa Clara University
Known as the largest annual Catholic social justice gathering in the U.S., the Teach-In attracts young people ages 16 to 22, representing over 120 Jesuit and other Catholic universities, high schools, and parishes in the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico and El Salvador.
Initiated in 1997 in Columbus, Georgia, the Teach-In is held each fall to coincide with the commemoration of the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador. The six Jesuit priests and their two companions were murdered Nov. 16, 1989, for speaking out against El Salvador’s tumultuous civil war. The Teach-In relocated from Georgia to Washington, D.C. in 2010 in response to the growing interest in legislative advocacy and accompanying educational opportunities.
While in Washington, D.C. students will meet with elected officials to share their hopes and concerns.
Livestream coverage of the Teach-In will also be available.