Get involved now with these four service outings happening in January and February.

1. Help Provide School Supplies for Neighborhood Children

Monday, January 27, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Lowenstein Center, Room 1004

Join your fellow Rams on the Lincoln Center campus to wrap school supply care packages for neighborhood children. Participants can also include personal notes of affirmation.

2. Create Food Packages for Senior Citizens in Need

Saturday, January 25, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
239 West 49th Street

Fordham’s commitment to the Broadway community goes beyond excellence onstage and behind the scenes. This month, the University is joining Encore Community Services—a Catholic Charity partner just a short subway ride from the Lincoln Center campus—to create food parcels that will support neighborhood seniors in need, many of whom worked in the performing arts. Since 1977, Encore has provided seniors with a range of services to help them live independent and dignified lives in the midtown Times Square and Clinton communities. For this reason, and its focus on initiatives such as “aging gracefully through the arts,” Encore has earned a reputation as “Broadway’s Longest Running Act of Loving Care.”

This event is sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations, as part of its For and With Others Volunteer Day, but it’s open to the entire University community.

3. Fight Food Insecurity in the Bronx

Friday, January 31, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
St. Ignatius Middle School

Wednesday, February 12, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
McShane Campus Center Entrance

Among the issues affecting New Yorkers daily, food insecurity is one of the most pressing. According to the New York State Department of Health, about one in four New Yorkers report that they do not have sufficient access to food.

Two upcoming events give the Fordham community an opportunity to promote food security in its own backyard. Students and other volunteers will gather to make up to 200 meal packs for community fridges, and conclude the day with a brief Ignatian reflection. The first of these events will happen alongside students at St. Ignatius Middle School in the Bronx. The second will take place at the McShane Campus Center.

Both events are offered through Fordham’s Department of Mission Integration and Ministry, which is rooted in the Jesuit tradition of balancing reflection and action, a practice developed by St. Ignatius Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits.

4. Connect with Those Experiencing Houselessness

Sunday, February 23, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meet in the Lowenstein Center Lobby

Volunteers will join forces with students enrolled in the Philosophical Ethics course at the Lincoln Center campus and visit Xavier Mission, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Together they will share in conversation and serve a hot meal to people experiencing houselessness in New York City. Attendees will take the brief subway trip together, with MetroCards provided.

This experience is presented by Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, which connects Fordham with dozens of local and global partners to provide students with opportunities for experiential learning, research, and civic engagement.

By hosting events with partner organizations and adding opportunities to reflect and connect, the Office of Mission Integration and Ministry is working to help students, faculty, and staff find community on and off campus. The office’s expanding programs draw people who come from many faith backgrounds as well as those who come to their values from outside of religious faith.

“We do these events not only to amplify the mission but to also get different people across the University together—faculty, staff, students, alumni. We hope that it’s a very intergenerational thing,” said Robert Parmach, director of Ignatian mission and ministry at Fordham.

All of these programs are rooted in a tradition of balancing reflection and action developed by St. Ignatius Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Society of Jesus, Parmach said. For example, on Nov. 16, about a dozen students and a few staff members gathered for a clothing sorting activity held at Xavier Mission, a Manhattan organization that provides services for those in need across New York City.

“We partnered with Xavier because there’s a real need for clothing for infants and toddlers, refugees, immigrants, and those who are experiencing homelessness right now,” Parmach said.

For Devany Kurtti, a sophomore at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, working with Xavier Mission was a chance to help members of the New York City community.

“It’s getting colder and so many people don’t have access to shelters,” Kurtti said. “I’ve always watched my parents and church help serve others. I know if I was having difficulties and didn’t have the resources I do, I would want someone to help.”

The event brought together a wide range of community members, including undergraduate and graduate students, and even alumni like Roxanne De La Torre, FCRH ’09, GRE ’11, who is the director of outreach at Xavier Mission.

More Creative and Expansive Offerings

Parmach said that Fordham has also expanded its retreat options to help more members of the community take time for reflection, especially if they can’t go away for a more “traditional” multi-day retreat.

“We’re having one-hour retreats for busy people, and we’re getting really good turnouts there,” he said.

One recent retreat was a “paint and reflect,” where more than 30 students came to have pizza, talk, and create paintings. In addition, Parmach noted that they’re also doing “10-second reflections” around campus to connect with students quickly and increase the office’s visibility.

“The student that’s running to class, they come, they have a quick cup of coffee or hot chocolate or candy. They have a reflection prompt that they contribute to [by writing] on a poster,” he said. “And we’ve [reached] hundreds of students at these things.”

Erin Hoffman, director of campus ministry for Lincoln Center, said that the office is also planning to add to its interfaith programming, which includes an annual interfaith prayer ceremony and picnic, and Faith Fest, a new event last year. 

“Fordham’s a place where faith matters, and we want students of all backgrounds to have opportunities to grow in their faith and form community with others while they’re here,” she said.

Additional reporting by Franco Giacomarra.

The Los Angeles Times has called Houlihan “the next big organ talent.”

The program will mostly feature music from the French romantic era.

“I love this period and the way these composers use the organ to its fullest extent,” said Houlihan. “It’s really red-blooded, full-throttle organ music: from moments that terrify to moments that feature the most gentle sounds that the organ has.”

Houlihan said he was looking forward to playing on a newly built Schoenstein & Co. instrument, which was installed just three years ago.

“Each organ is made for the room and no two are the same,” he said. “It’s a great asset to the University and to the city. I feel really lucky.”

He said that he is particularly looking forward to closing the concert with

Maurice Duruflé’s Suite, opus 5.

“It begins with a mysterious prelude and beautiful solo of the clarinet, [and]ends as one of the most terrifying pieces for the organ. It’s nonstop excitement!”

The performance is free and is in memoriam for Rev. James Boyce, O.Carm., former member of the music faculty. 

Program:
 
Louis Vierne – Carillon de Westminster

César Franck – Choral No. 2 in B minor

Joseph Bonnet – Variations de Concert, op.1

Olivier Messiaen – from L’Ascension
II. Alleluias sereins
III. Transports de joie

Maurice Duruflé – Suite, opus 5
I. Prélude
II. Siciliènne
III. Toccata

Fordham’s Office of University Mission and Ministry has received a $1 million gift, the largest gift in the office’s history. It is intended by its donors to bolster the University’s Catholic and Jesuit identity, particularly through the Global Outreach and Retreat Ministry programs.

“In today’s world, we deal with a great number of searchers and seekers among our students,” said Msgr. Joseph G. Quinn, vice president for Mission and Ministry. “Our hope is always to help them discover what they believe and find where they belong.”

With deadlines and digital distractions, it’s sometimes difficult for students to tap into the wealth of spiritual offerings that make Fordham unique—even among its Jesuit peers, said Paul Francis, director of Global Outreach, the service immersion program that coordinates more than 30 national and international trips annually.

“I don’t know of any other school that has as many in-depth projects as we have at Global Outreach, nor as much participation,” said Francis.

Erin Hoffman, director of Ignatian spiritual programs, said the same goes for the Retreat Ministry. “Other schools may have more, but we offer a variety, from interfaith, to silent retreats, on-campus retreats, and much more.”

Both said that neither program lacks for participation, and that the gift will help meet increased demand. It will also assist students who might not otherwise be able to afford to participate.

Getting away from campus for either program incurs a significant expense. In the case of spiritual retreats, a weekend can cost approximately $100 a night per student. For Global Outreach, the international abroad trips can run as high as $3,000, and even local projects cost about $250.

“Up until now, we’ve had minimal recourses to help underwrite these programs,” said Msgr. Quinn. “In the past, for example, Global Outreach students would have to raise the to total sum of money needed for each project.”

Msgr. Quinn further said, however, that mere monetary value could not be placed on the outcomes.

“The ultimate results can be transformative,” he said. “They can help our students discern what they truly want to do with their lives.”

Hoffman said she sometimes uses the analogy of a military retreat to describe the spiritual retreat experience.

“You take a step back from the battle, maybe heal your wounds, take rest, and re-strategize,” she said. “But the retreat doesn’t end there. You bring it back to you day-to-day life with a renewed sense of your relationship with God and yourself.”

Francis said that similarly Global Outreach incorporates a significant amount of Ignatian reflection.

“Students become contemplatives in action,” he said, describing the ritual of having them share where they found new insights or discovered friendships at the end of each service day.

“For some the gifts are evident immediately. For others it may be two months down the road,” he said. “It’s a great way to learn lessons for a lifetime.”

Msgr. Quinn, Francis, and Hoffman all said that spiritual learning is the major thrust of Mission and Ministry—whether it’s through the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, the Center for Religion and Culture, Global Outreach, or Campus Ministry.

“It’s so easy to opt out of community and say ‘Oh, wait, let me just send this text,’ rather than engage and ask, ‘What did we learn today?’” said Francis.

The gift was made through The Brian and Joelle Kelly Family Foundation.

“I really like this range of dynamics,” she says. “This is just not a hymn-playing machine.”

— Janet Sassi

When superstorm Sandy hit on Oct. 29, 2012, the Fordham University community mobilized quickly in coordinating a relief supply hub. Fordham’s involvement did not stop there.

In the last seven months, more than 400 students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and invitees have volunteered through grassroots organizations, and through a series of 11 Sandy Saturday trips sponsored through the University’s Office of Mission and Ministry. The trips were part of an effort by Fordham to help rebuild stricken communities not just through one volunteer day, but through a sustained relationship with Sandy survivors. Volunteers worked closely with Habitat for Humanity Westchester.

“We had such a great response, we literally had to turn students away,” said Sandra Lobo Jost, director of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice.

Volunteers across the University have totaled more than 3,200 hours of community service directed towards hurricane relief. Through collections at University liturgies, individual donations, and campus fundraisers, more than $30,000 was raised for the University’s Disaster Relief Fund to support those affected and organizations and agencies working to assist in the relief and recovery process.

Gil Severiano, a Campus Ministry administrator and a volunteer, said that, unlike other metropolitan-area universities, Fordham’s commitment to Sandy victims was an outgrowth of its Jesuit identity.

“We have been the only university to continue a sustained relationship.”

In the last seven months, more than 400 students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and invitees have volunteered through grassroots organizations, and through a series of 11 Sandy Saturday trips sponsored through the University’s Office of Mission and Ministry. The trips were part of an effort by Fordham to help rebuild stricken communities not just through one volunteer day, but through a sustained relationship with Sandy survivors. Volunteers worked closely with Habitat for Humanity Westchester.

“We had such a great response, we literally had to turn students away,” said Sandra Lobo Jost, director of the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice.

Volunteers across the University have totaled more than 3,200 hours of community service directed towards hurricane relief. Through collections at University liturgies, individual donations, and campus fundraisers, more than $30,000 was raised for the University’s Disaster Relief Fund to support those affected and organizations and agencies working to assist in the relief and recovery process.

Gil Severiano, a Campus Ministry administrator and a volunteer, said that, unlike other metropolitan-area universities, Fordham’s commitment to Sandy victims was an outgrowth of its Jesuit identity.

“We have been the only university to continue a sustained relationship.”

Father McDonagh joined Fordham on July 1 with 11 years of experience ministering in higher education, most recently at Duke University, where he was associate director and campus minister of the university’s Catholic Center. Prior to his position at Duke, Father McDonagh was a Catholic religious adviser at Amherst College and director of campus outreach in higher education in the nearby Diocese of Springfield, Mass.

He studied for the priesthood at Rome’s Gregorian University, where he obtained a License in Sacred Theology. He completed studies at Ottawa’s St. Paul University for a License in Canon Law and at Springfield’s Western New England College for a Master’s in Business Administration.

During his time at Duke, Father McDonagh sponsored an arts and sciences course, “Catholic Church: Change and Challenge,” to explore the intersection of the church and society in a post-Vatican II world. He has interests in 19th and 20th century visual art and contemporary American theatre and a strong interest in Ignatian spirituality.

“When St. Ignatius was a young person choosing to study, he chose to be in a big city—Paris,” Father McDonagh said. “I believe that if he were alive today, he’d be at Fordham, right in the middle of it all, which makes me all the more excited to be here.”

Father McDonagh said he hopes to “animate campus ministry” by increasing its student-led dimension and by encouraging members of the Fordham community to explore unknown spiritual territories.

“Discovering the holy in one’s life is an amazing experience,” he said. “I’d like to enable young people to trip over the presence of God in their lives.”

Other new appointments to Fordham’s mission and ministry office include:

• Joan Cavanagh, associate director of campus ministry at Lincoln Center, has been named director of campus ministry at Fordham Westchester, where she will assume new leadership duties;

• Carol Gibney, MSW, associate director of campus ministry at Fordham Westchester, has assumed the positions of associate director of campus ministry at Lincoln Center and director of Ignatian spirituality; and

• Philip A. Florio, S.J., Fordham’s director of campus ministry, will add the position of assistant vice president for campus ministry to his role, in which he will oversee all three of Fordham’s campus ministries.

Also, Damian O’Connell, S.J., who served Fordham’s campus ministry for 13 years, most recently as assistant director of Lincoln Center’s campus ministry, has moved to America House and commenced a sabbatical year.

“We continue to strengthen and revitalize the work of campus ministry in sustaining and advancing the Jesuit and Catholic identity of Fordham,” said Monsignor Joseph G. Quinn, vice president of University mission and ministry.

Auden (1907-1973) was raised by a devout Anglican family in Yorkshire, England, but moved away from his Christian faith as a young man for personal and political reasons. After moving to New York in 1939, however, he began to reaffirm that faith, and this reaffirmation is reflected in his poetry and other writings.

The reading series will be hosted by Patrick J. Ryan, S.J., vice president for University Mission and Ministry, if enough faculty and staff are interested in participating. Members of the Fordham community interested in attending should contact Joann Wallace at [email protected]. The events seminars take place at the following locations and times upon sufficient registration:

Rose Hill
Monday, Dec. 4, 1 p.m., Room 103, Administration Building (South).
Monday, Dec. 11, 1 p.m., Room 103, Administration Building (South).
Monday, Dec. 18, 1 p.m., Room 103, Administration Building (South).

Marymount
Thursday, Nov. 30, 12:30 p.m., Location to be determined.
Thursday, Dec. 7, 12:30 p.m., Location to be determined.
Thursday, Dec. 14, 12:30 p.m., Location to be determined.

Lincoln Center
Friday, Dec. 1, 12:45 p.m., President’s Dining Room, 12th-Floor, Lowenstein Center.
Friday, Dec. 8, 12:45 p.m., Location to be determined.
Friday, Dec. 15, 12:45 p.m., President’s Dining Room, 12th-Floor, Lowenstein Center.