Empowering People of Faith to Develop a Passion and a Thirst for Justice

Inspired by the vision and hope of God’s justice and prompted by the cries of the poor, JustFaith Ministries seeks to promote spiritual maturity and parish renewal and outreach by offering adult and youth faith formation programs that challenge and motivate people of good will. These programs emphasize Catholic social teaching and the intersection of spirituality and action, and they serve to create active, compassionate communities of faith.

Personal transformation begins with a willingness to be changed—to encounter your faith and your understanding of the world in a new way. JustFaith programs that facilitate personal transformation include JustFaith and Engaging Spirituality for adults and JusticeWalking for youth, all of which are small group (10 – 15 people) processes that engage participants in intensive journeys emphasizing justice, compassion, commitment and integrity.

The Journey of Compassion is Rooted in Transformation

JustFaith

JustFaith emphasized formation and transformation by highlighting Catholic social teaching and Scripture with a focus on domestic and global poverty and our call and responsibilities as disciples of Jesus. This 30-week process includes books, videos, retreats, prayer, immersion experiences and dialogue in a small group. Since its inception, graduates of the JustFaith program consistently report that once they complete the program, they become more involved in social ministries in their faith communities. An ecumenical version of the program is also available.

Engaging Spirituality

Engaging Spirituality focuses on the linkage between spirituality and engaged compassion by emphasizing personal and collective prayer, reflection on the writings of spiritual masters, personal experiences with the poor, and contemplative dialogue in a small faith community. This 21-week program taps into ancient and contemporary wisdom and inspires participants to develop spiritual practices that keep them rooted in Gospel justice and grounded in love.

JusticeWalking

JusticeWalking engages high school youth in an intensive experience of small faith community, reflection on compassionate discipleship, and interaction with those who are vulnerable. The program is designed to empower teens to integrate Gospel justice and Catholic social teaching into their lived experience. This 12-week program is facilitated by two or three adults.

Ongoing Justice Education and Formation Programs

After experiencing personal transformation, some people find that they need additional opportunities to gain skills and expertise to support their social outreach ministries. JustFaith Ministries offers two options for ongoing justice education and formation.

JustSkills

JustSkills affords participants an opportunity to learn and practice skills critical to the success of social ministry and its implementation in the parish. Borrowing from the U.S. Bishop’s document, “Communities of Salt and Light,” this 20-session process seeks to promote the work of social ministry parish-wide and to empower individuals to organize and lead justice ministries.

JustMatters

JustMatters modules provide an occasion for participants to focus on one particular and critical social issue through the lens of faith. Like all JustFaith Ministries programs, this formation process is done in the context of a small group. The hope and intent is that participants will be prompted to act in response to the issue by organizing parish responses.

JustMatters modules vary in length from six to eight sessions. Currently modules are available on these topics: climate change, prison reform, immigration, nonviolence and peacemaking, the federal budget and the common good, and mission based communities.

Building Community to Support the Work of Justice

Working for social change is a long-term proposition. The energy and sustained effort needed to bring about systemic change requires the ongoing spiritual development and support that comes from a prayerful community. JustFaith Ministries has created a framework to support local communities of JustFaith graduates.

Graduate Ministry

The JustFaith Graduate Ministry is a strategy to keep program graduates (and others committed to social ministry) linked in commitment and community. Employing regular convenings, the intent is to prompt ongoing commitments in the parish and diocese to the poor and vulnerable. Through the formation of small mission-based communities, JustFaith Ministries also intends to support long-term relationships of solidarity, spiritual formation, and justice ministry commitments.

For more information, please visit www.justfaith.org .