Campus Ministry

Meditation and Justice is a campus ministry initiative developed by the Cathedral's Center for Spiritual Imagination. We curate campus-wide public events, cultivate spaces of contemplative practice and heartful conversation, offer one-on-one mentoring and spiritual direction and invite students to participate in service opportunities that allow them to live their newly discovered spiritual values in the context of "hearing the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth."

At Meditation and Justice, students are encouraged to name the places in their lives where they are already experiencing the sacred, voice their longing for a life that matters, sit with anxieties associated with the social and ecological instabilities of our times, and receive spiritual tools from our Christian contemplative traditions. Students are empowered to become leaders on campus and develop a committed response to issues of justice by connecting with a faith community and receiving support in discovering their vocation to become "healers, reconcilers, and ambassadors of God in the world."

To learn about upcoming Meditation and Justice public events, visit the Center for Spiritual Imagination website.

Meditation and Social Justice Class

For young adults today, a bright future is not assured. Environmental degradation, systemic racism, income inequality and widespread hopelessness are some of the issues facing this generation.

How does one discover life’s groundedness in times like these? How does one develop a sense of meaning and purpose in an anxious world?

This course draws historic and contemporary connections between the practice of contemplation and the shaping of a just world. Students will become familiar with the life-stories of spiritual leaders like Desmond Tutu, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Grace Lee Boggs, Joanna Macy and others. These lives will create a landscape of spiritual resources available to us all on life’s journey. Meditation, mindfulness, ritual, and social change theory will be explored as responses to the crises of our time.

Students will learn several methodologies for meditation and contemplative practice and will participate in campus projects serving those on the margins. The class dynamic will be one of deep conversation and mutual support as we explore matters of vocation and purpose. Our human capacity for spirituality will undergird our support for a world that is just for all, not just for some.