Category : IPS Student Orientation

IPS Student Alessandra Menendez Awarded 2017 President’s Medallion

November 14, 2017

Each year, Loyola University Chicago honors its most outstanding students with the President’s Medallion.  This award recognizes students who exemplify the three words etched on the medal: leadership, scholarship and service.  Representing IPS in the roster of university-wide medallion recipients this year is Alessandra Menendez, a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS-Religious Education) degree student.

“Each of the recipients was recommended for this award by their academic dean because they exemplify a wonderful combination of achievement in scholarship, leadership, and service,” said Jane Neufeld, vice president for Student Development. “In short, they are students for which Loyola and its founders can take great pride.”

We reached out to Alessandra to find out what this award means to her, as well as to learn how IPS has impacted her life.

Congratulations, Alessandra, on receiving the President’s Medallion.  What does this award mean to you?      

It represents my time at IPS — the beginning of my spiritual transformation, my awakening (metanoia), the time I made special friendships with peers and professors, the discovery of my own tribe. It also means the humility and gratefulness to receive, and to accept God’s gifts.

I understand you’re currently pursuing a MAPS-Religious Education degree here at IPS.  Can you tell us a little bit about what you were doing prior to enrolling at IPS?  How did you discern IPS to be your next step?      

I volunteered over a span of thirty years as a catechist, a religious education coordinator and a Eucharistic minister in every parish in the places we’ve lived in (Buenos Aires, Argentina, Miami, Florida, São Paulo, Brazil, Wilmington, Delaware, Madrid, Spain and for the past thirteen years in London, England). I knew I had a calling to a vocation as a Religious Lay person and I needed better formation which is what led me to IPS.

What has your IPS journey been like so far?  Any particular courses that have left an indelible mark?  Memorable events outside the classroom?      

It’s been as if someone turned a light on and I could finally see parts of my faith that were in the shadows. My very first class with Peter Jones IPS 570: Intro to Theology and Ministry was an epiphany. I finally had language to explain what I had lived in thirty years of ministry but especially the last thirteen years in London.

Dr. Marian Diaz classes IPS 416 and 417 gave me the confidence to question the manipulation of scripture to push an agenda and taught me how to actually explore the true meaning and context of the Bible. Professor Canaris’ classes IPS 402 Church & Mission and IPS 599 Teaching & Learning Church were foundational classes in understanding my own Church family. I had never read and analyzed an encyclical or understood how the Church arrives at what we know as truth. It is disturbing, upon looking back, to think that I spent thirty years in ministry and none of this formation was available to any of us parish volunteers. As a Church, we need to do more worldwide to give access to lay ministers to proper formation.

I experienced a spiritual conversion studying and engaging in discussions over the theology of grace and theologian Karl Rahner in both Dr. Russell’s classes IPS 531 Christian Doctrine and its History & IPS 541 Liturgy & Christian Sacraments. It was during these classes that I realized God’s grace, His free gift, and His irrevocable offer of His unconditional love for us. I knew it intellectually, but it was here when I received the grace to actually grasp what it meant about how I was called to love even those who fall short in loving me.

One of the classes which turned out to be a surprise was IPS 553 Christian Moral Theology & Ethics with Professor Dan Rhodes. I walked into the class with a mindset of right or wrong, left or right. There is so much more to Christian ethics than what people assume.

Even IPS 400 Professional Writing with Paige Warren and sharing our NPR “I Believe” with fellow student and friend Karen Flavin has been enlightening.

Two classes which were personally challenging and extremely rewarding have been IPS 555 The Human Person & Psychological Development with Professor Dean Manternach and Fr. Bill Creed’s IPS 572 Hearts on Fire: Ignatian Spirituality. These classes demand a journey within that can be very painful and yet, we work in ministry to journey together and become present in Christ to each other, especially in suffering – an inevitable experience and part of being human.

IPS 564 Foundations of Pastoral Care with Professor David Lichter equipped me with the knowledge to fully engage in pastoral care and even supported me throughout my own journey with cancer. The timing of these classes have been providential for me.

Some of the most memorable events outside of class have been my friendships at IPS. Meeting my friend Maureen Kurcz in person the first summer at IPS, after sharing an online class together was heart-warming. Also meeting one of the most outstanding fellow students and an amazing human being, Rainey Lamey, my first summer at IPS. I just knew I was home. Meeting, sharing and being ministered by fellow student and friend Peggy Flynn has been a true gift from God. Other experiences like sharing a Sunday worshipping together with fellow student and friend Shingai Chigwedere, my daughter Isabella and Professor Canaris in Chicago; and also having the opportunity to spend quality time in person with Professors Russell and Diaz. In addition, getting together in London with fellow student and friend Kathy North-Wilhelm and watching Scorsese’s movie Silence together, plus jointly contributing with fellow student and friend Amy Altheimer in the IPS’s student panel.  And finally the times we scheduled on our own to share new knowledge with fellow students Greg Merideth, Ian Mitchell were truly special. Truly so many great memories including fellow student and friend Kelly MacCarthy, Ana Victoria Guizado; and so many outstanding people who truly make me feel that this is not just a place, it’s a family.

Can you give us a sense of your learning experience so far, from an online/non-US based student lens?

The difference in time zones can be challenging. I am in the UK and thus, six hours later in the day. Because the learning takes place on-line, I think it truly helped engaging with all opportunities available (online office hours, one-on-ones with professors, making use of the technology available to get together with peers in smaller groups, zoom, voice-thread, etc). My experience from being online and non-US based is that if one is engaged, the quality of the experience is completely transformed into something exceptional. It is truly up to the student to engage with the professors, engage with the material (hint: read ahead of time, don’t fall behind) and engage with fellow students. Three E’s: Engage, Engage, Engage! The challenge is not so much whether one is US based or abroad, online or in person; but to engage in building relationships, being willing to open up and discuss what is challenging.  Always be accepting of others and contribute to a safe environment where we can truly learn from our differences and practice ministry before we go out to our wider worlds.

How have you ensured balance in your holistic life, given your IPS commitments?      

I walked into IPS like a child in a candy store. I wanted to take it all in. Part of me wishes I could have done this twenty years ago, but I am also grateful God gave me this opportunity now. He knows best! Before committing, I discussed with my husband that I was going to need more support. We have three children, so there was extensive planning to allow myself study time (summer means one might be reading a few books in a week). As I mentioned, I had a breast cancer (recurrence) this summer. I don’t take the cancer lightly and I know balance, both mental and physical, is important. We spend an insane amount of time sitting (reading, researching, writing) so moving is very important. Even if it means stretching, going out for a brisk walk and breathing. Keeping hydrated, eating properly, all impacts our brain and our mood. Healthy minds in healthy bodies, but I also think our being is not separated in silos but intertwined (body, mind and soul).

How do you envision your time at IPS unfolding in the near term?      

I am finishing my contextual education experience which has been both challenging and enlightening. I work at a nursing home/hospice in London (which can be challenging) and thus greatly appreciate the support provided by a learning community led by Professor Dan Rhodes.  Also friend and fellow student Peggy Flynn has been a huge source of support as her specialty is end-of-life care. And Fr. Bill Creed’s Ignatian Spirituality couldn’t have been better timed than simultaneously with this experience. Therefore, I see this term unfolding as one of discernment about what the next chapter of my ministry will unfold to be.  

As far as longer-term goals, where do you see yourself five years after completing your IPS degree?      

A dream of mine is to see IPS launch here in London. If I could have a dream come true, it would be this one: for our local Church in London to have the grace of this kind of formation for both Lay and religious, so that the communal reality we live with the IPS family from Chicago extends to this side of the pond. Personally, I also see myself continuing on my path to formation. I would like to explore more pastoral ministry in non-religious environments (corporations, non-denominational secondary schools and university campus ministries that support those who do not adhere to any religious’ beliefs). How do we provide pastoral care using language that is universal enough to be inclusive without compromising what we do? We are not here to proselytize but to journey together.

Finally, can you share a personal spiritual practice that continues to restore and re-energize your mind, body, heart and spirit?      

It might sound strange, but I re-discovered something my grandmother and the nuns at school taught me as a child when praying: bowing with one’s whole body. This is much more common in Asian cultures. It can be quite a workout for the body when one repeats this motion over and over, but what it does for the spirit is invaluable when we become mindful before whom we bow. It is so counter to our western culture to grasp that an act of humility (bowing) makes us stronger, but it does. I bring to mind everyone who’s crossed paths with me, and I bow to the presence of God in them and in me. It centers me and reminds me what is true. Try it one hundred times and then tell me after a week, how you feel. 😉

Congratulations, Alessandra!  We applaud you for your dynamic leadership and creative, compassionate, and courageous service to church and society.

If you want to reach out to Alessandra, you can email her at amenendez@luc.edu.
To learn more about IPS, go to https://www.luc.edu/ips/.
For those interested in applying to IPS, go to https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/.
11-14-2017 | Comments Off on IPS Student Alessandra Menendez Awarded 2017 President’s Medallion

2017 IPS Alumni and Friends Dinner

October 17, 2017The Institute of Pastoral Studies community gathered this past weekend for the 2017 Alumni and Friends Dinner, an event dedicated to raising funds for IPS scholarships.The highlight of the evening saw Evelyn and James Whitehead, beloved IPS professors, receive the Aggiornamento Award.  This video tribute to the Whiteheads details the over 40-plus year relationship they’ve had with IPS; one rooted in an “emotional, spiritual, mental, and practical connection”.

IPS Professor Emeritus Peter Gilmour gave the keynote speech titled “Golden Threads in the Fabric and Future of IPS“.  Professor Gilmour began his address, “Time travel with me to the year 2117, a century from now.  One of the longest running shows in the history of TV, The Antiques Roadshow, is still a mainstay of the PBS network.  Tonight the great, great, great granddaughter of IPS graduate, July Logue and her husband, Ed have brought to the Road Show a complete set of 1st editions written in the late 20th and early 21st centuries by authors, James and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead…”  Read on below for the full text of Professor Gilmour’s keynote address.

IPS Dean Brian Schmisek commented on the event: “So many of those present made a point to say how meaningful the event was, how it honored our past and propelled us into the future.”  Dean Brian also added the evening’s fundraising total exceeded expectations!

Click here for photos from the event.

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“Golden Threads in the Fabric and Future of IPS”
Keynote Address on the occasion of Evelyn Eaton and James D. Whitehead receiving the Aggiornamento Award from IPS, October 14, 2017
Dr. Peter Gilmour (pgilmou@luc.edu)
I’d like to begin tonight with a brief history of tomorrow.  That’s right, a brief history of tomorrow.  No doubt you are delighted to hear it will be brief.  Perhaps you wonder if the speaker will live up to that promise.  I’ve got it on good authority he will!
But, “a brief history of tomorrow”?  What’s that all about?
Time travel with me to the year 2117, a century from now.  One of the longest running shows in the history of TV, The Antiques Roadshow, is still a mainstay of the PBS network.  Tonight the great, great, great granddaughter of IPS graduate, July Logue and her husband, Ed have brought to the Road Show a complete set of 1st editions written in the late 20th and early 21st centuries by authors, James and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead.  The antiquarian book dealer looks them over, and tells them that he is familiar with these books for several reasons.  He says, “First of all, the Whitehead’s work has been referenced in myriad dissertations and books on church ministry this past century, as perhaps you already know.  But they have been more than footnotes; their work is the stuff of headlines.  Many of these books have also been referenced in some of the Documents of Vatican III, the church council held from 2054 to 2060.  Secondly, since your complete collection of the Whiteheads’ books are all 1st editions signed by both the authors, this is even better since so many of their books went through several printing due to their perennial popularity.”
The Antiquarian book dealer, Mr. Theodore Guzie, continues, “And I have a personal interest in these books.  My great, great, great grandparents, Tad and Noreen Guzie spent many summers teaching at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, and no doubt knew the Whiteheads.”  Lastly, Mr. Guzie refers to the golden threads that run through the entire history of IPS to date, some 153 years now, which can be found and documented in the Whiteheads’ books.  The antiquarian book dealer, Mr. Guzie, concludes, “it’s hard to put an exact dollar figure on this complete collection of autographed first editions by authors Jim and Evelyn Whitehead, but I’d say that you know, like so many others who have been associated with IPS through its more than century and a half tradition, that it is fair to say, these books are priceless.”
Back to tonight, 2017.  IPS has been witness to 10 presidents of the United States, 8 mayors of Chicago, 5 popes, 5 cardinal archbishops of Chicago, 5 university presidents here at Loyola, and 7 directors of IPS.  Who would have guessed 53 years ago that the Internet would develop into a significant conduit for information, misinformation, and education?  Add to the Internet the phenomenon of social media instantaneously connecting the citizens of the world with one another.
Today, many of our students first learn about IPS through the Internet rather than word of mouth.  Stories and information about IPS once shared via religious communities in Ireland, coffee houses in Germany, church halls in Australia, and bars in Bangkok are spread today via Facebook and Google.  Who other than perhaps a Nobel Laurette who sang in 1964, “The Times, They Are A-Changin” would have given much thought to the ever-increasing rapidity of change, the effects of robotics, artificial intelligence, the formation of the multiverse, and within it myriad universes, and the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in creation?   Thank you Bob Dylan!
I have heard it said about the Institute of Pastoral Studies that no explanation is necessary for those who have had the experience; for those who have not, no explanation is sufficient.  So, identifying the golden threads for so many gathered here tonight who have been such a significant part of IPS – students, alums, staff and faculty – you already are well able to recognize and celebrate this continuous living tradition.  For others, it is my hope and prayer that my few words and stories might give you more than a hint about what we have been about these past 53 years, and what we will no doubt be about in the next hundred years.  In the words of the Proverbs: “wisdom has built herself a house.”  Yes, wisdom has built herself a house here in this place!
One of the insightful commentators on the church in America, the late Tim Unsworth, described IPS as “a sturdy, innovative graduate program in pastoral studies at Loyola University of Chicago that draws…students each year from all over the world.” Good description, for sure, but no big clues about the magical, mystical, miraculous golden threads that are the inner dynamism of IPS.
IPS is, first and foremost, about people.  Perhaps not since Chaucer collected characters for The Canterbury Tales have spiritual and spirited personalities rubbed shoulders so closely.  National and international, intricate and intimate, witty and wise, rural and urban, sensual and sacramental, the people who are IPS are on pilgrimages of mind, heart, and spirit.  From places as near as the south side of Chicago, the North Shore, Waukegan, Harvey, Oak Park, Holland, Michigan, and as far away as Sydney, Australia, Patna, India, Beijing, China, San Paulo, Brazil, Quebec, Canada, Bochum, Germany and many other places round the world, our students have come.  This community of students and faculty gathers every semester and summer to examine in-depth various aspects of religious traditions, classical and contemporary cultures, and personal experiences.  IPS draws faithful people from around the world into an epicenter of Transformational Education.
What began with a single degree in Religious Education has evolved into degrees in Pastoral Studies, Pastoral Counseling, Spirituality, Divinity, and Social Justice.  Duel degrees with other schools at Loyola as well as certificates and workshops complete the spectrum of offerings for the diversified students of IPS who now come from many religious traditions and backgrounds, from most all continents of the world (Antarctica aside!), and an ever widening age demographic, from young adults to retirees.
Yes, IPS is essentially about people.
IPS is also about the people to whom our students and graduates minister, whether it be in religious institutions, public and private venues, on the streets, or in our families.  Our graduates, return to their holy places, or go on to new venues to assist faithful people who strive to identify purpose in their lives and pursue action that is oriented toward care and service to others, especially those in most need.   Transformative Education, gestated at IPS, becomes a generative force in our graduates’ ministries that in turn transforms — touches the hearts – of those to whom they minister.
This inner dynamism of lPS, one golden thread that runs through IPS since its inception in 1964, is a call to Transformative Education.  Sometimes this golden thread is a gentle pull towards recovery and growth.  Other times it is a well laid out curricular path.  Sometimes that golden thread shines through the inevitably dark night of the soul many people encounter on that journey towards spiritual adulthood.  Other times that golden thread, carefully woven into the colorful tapestry of life and living unnoticed to the untrained eye, but becomes a lodestar.  Alternatively, it might point the way toward a rock-strewn road that a prophetic voice urges us to follow.
Let us time travel once more, back to the future — a brief history of tomorrow — for another moment.  Again, the year is a century from now, 2117.  A descendent of Heidi Russell has stumbled across information about her great, great, great, great grandmother, a theologian who published groundbreaking work in early part of the 21st century while teaching at Loyola University’s Institute of Pastoral Studies.  Professor Russell’s great, great, great, great granddaughter, recently ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic tradition – one of the developments of the latter 21st century interfaith Council, Vatican III – is herself pursuing a doctorate in theology.  She is searching the archives at Loyola University Chicago, not only for information on her famed ancestor, but also to gather data on her doctoral dissertation subject – Pastoral Theology.
To her amazement, she comes across an original copy of the founding document of IPS, duplicated with the now quite faded purple ink of the mid 20th century known then as hectograph, involving a gelatin stencil and alcohol moistened paper.  She comes across the following statement in this founding document: “The Institute provides an interwoven program of studies.  It is not a catechetical, biblical, or liturgical Institute, but pastoral.  This means that the Institute studies the total action of the Church, which is preaching and teaching, praying and worshiping, guiding and forming.”
Our view of church is not exclusively parochial and our practice of ministry transcends traditional religious structures and institutions.  This of course generates a dynamic, constructive theology that meets people where they are, evolves with the experiences of each individual life and every secular and sacred culture.  Or, as Ignatius succinctly said” “Finding God in all things.”  These are the benchmarks of Pastoral Theology unfolding in the many and varied forms of ministry our graduates pursue: pastoring churches as either ordained or non-ordained leaders of faith communities, teaching religion in school and parish settings, counseling people within the context of faith, providing spiritual direction, providing hospital chaplaincy, working towards social justice for the poor and marginalized, and in so many other settings and situations.
And so we gather here tonight to celebrate not only the internal dynamism of IPS, but also what Karl Rahner, S.J. spoke about in his 1979 talk titled, “Toward a Fundamental Interpretation of Vatican II.”  He heralded the coming of a world church, not Euro-centered, but world-centered.  A church that celebrates other faiths as crucibles of revelation, which reveres the many and varied cultural experiences and expressions of faith, and finds great meaning and strength in diversity.  Alfred Lord Tennyson hinted at this epic change in Idylls of the King: “The old order changeth, yielding place to the new.  And God fulfils himself in many ways.  Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”  IPS is both a sacred crucible of Rahner’s world church and a prophetic glimpse into that future. As the holy Koran says, “We have created you…and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another.”
Tonight we gather to take seriously the gospel of Matthew’s words: “You are the light of the world.  No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where in shines for everyone in the house.  In the same way your light must shine in the sight of humanity, so that, seeing your good works, they may give you praise…”
We gather here tonight to give praise to IPS and, particularly, to a partnership of mainstays whose teaching has been a constitutive part of Transformational Education and Pastoral Theology, the golden threads running through the life of IPS, calling people to the coming world church.  They first taught at IPS just two years after the moon landing.  One small step for the Whiteheads; one giant step for Transformational Education and Pastoral Theology at IPS.  In the words of Ecclesiasticus:  “Many will praise their understanding, and it will never be forgotten.  Their memory will not disappear, generation after generation their name will live.”
Tonight we celebrate you, Jim and Evelyn. Your contributions to the ever-ongoing development of Transformational Education and Pastoral Theology are many.  “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices. Who wondrous things has done in Whom this world rejoices…”  All of us who are IPS thank you for your dedication to its transformational and pastoral vision and mission of IPS.
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10-17-2017 | Comments Off on 2017 IPS Alumni and Friends Dinner

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