Prophetic Communities

In February 2023, IPJC, Jesuits West, and the University of San Francisco gathered folks from across the United States for “Prophetic Communities: Organizing as an Expression of Catholic Social Thought.” The conference was attended by academics, community organizers, social ministry directors, and others committed to growing the practice of community organizing in Catholic contexts. One of the gathering’s outgrowths was the Collaborative for Catholic Organizing, which IPJC will co-coordinate in partnership with NETWORK and Jesuits West. We hope that you will consider joining this shared project and community by learning more below.

COLLABORATIVE FOR CATHOLIC ORGANIZING

PURPOSE:

The Collaborative for Catholic Organizing exists to foster community, nourish spiritual development, and build power among organizers, theologians, and people of faith committed to community organizing within the Catholic context.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Align: Deepen the connections among Catholic social teaching, liberation theology, and community organizing through resource development, sharing, and collaboration. 
2. Build community: Foster deep relationships that build communities of resiliency and trust among organizers, major stakeholders, and justice builders working in Catholic spaces.
3. Strategize: Intentionally collaborate and build power for social change through shared power analysis, movement alignment, and coordinated efforts to situate organizing within Catholic social teaching.
4. Grow: Nurture people in both their organizing skills and spiritual depth in the work of organizing, especially in helping participants connect their work to the Catholic faith. Increase capacity to work in Catholic contexts and deepen spiritual sustainability.

WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

1. Attend quarterly community-wide meetings focused on deepening relationships, professional development, and capacity building.
2. Attend individual events exploring issues related to community organizing in Catholic contexts.
3. Participate in a working group:
   a. Ministerial, theological, and academic formation
   b. Synodal distillation group (Synodal process from “Prophetic Communities”)
   Prophetic Communities-Synodal Synthesis Report 2023
   Informe de Síntesis Sinodal 2023 (Spanish version)
   c. Power and network building
4. Contribute to and utilize the growing resource library on the Collaborative’s website: catholicorganizing.org
5. Click Ask to Join group at the top the Collaborative’s website.
6. (Recordings of the event)

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PROPHETIC COMMUNITIES

University of San Francisco | February 9 – 11, 2023

A gathering for organizers, theologians, and all committed to social justice work to explore the intersection between Catholic Social Teaching and community organizing through panel conversations, workshops, guided discussions, and spiritual grounding.

The Experience

The Speakers

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Join the mail list here to hear about our events and follow Collaborative for Catholic Organizing. catholicorganizing.org