Jesuit Mission Formation Opportunities
All opportunities are available at three levels of experience and required time:
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Level 1: Introduction
Experience a starting point to the formations areas through short workshops, presentations, city immersions, prayer opportunities, retreats, orientations and more.
Time commitment:
Varies from one hour to a day or overnight, with no specific projects required.
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Level 2: Deepening
Experience more comprehensive offerings: longer-term seminars, courses, community development, multiday retreats, book studies, etc.
Time commitment:
Typically shorter periods over four to eight months; usually a short project is required of participants.
Level 3: Mastery
Experience most or all of the the six formation areas through an intensive combination of courses, retreats, immersions, service projects, research opportunities, course development and more.
Time commitment:
A year to 18 months, involving national and/or international travel, extended retreat experiences, project outcomes in teaching, leadership or research.
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Detailed Level Information
Newcomers Orientations Valuing Ignatian and Creighton Engagement - NOVICE
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Ignatian pedagogy and Ignatian leadership skills
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
This program introduces new employees to the Jesuit, Catholic educational mission of Creighton University. Extending over two semesters of the academic year, NOVICE introduces Ignatian history, the practice of reflection and discernment, Ignatian Pedagogy and Leadership, and other mission-based programs.
St. Ignatius and Creighton’s Mission Today
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
This session is an opportunity to reflect on the life and spirit of St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus/the Jesuits. Experience one or two presentations by the Rev. Larry Gillick, SJ, and the Rev. Greg Carlson, SJ, who will invite us to relate the life of St. Ignatius to our own work together at Creighton.
How to Create an Ignatian Workplace
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
St. Ignatius believed that every person had gifts to share. How do we share those gifts so that we can realize our full potential and contribute to the mission of Creighton?
A Retreat Day on Campus or Away from Campus
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Spirituality - personal and communal
Come away with your Creighton colleagues to find quiet time for reflection and prayer. Presentations by Susan Naatz and/or Frs. Gillick and Carlson will invite you to center on your life. The Rev. Howard Gray, SJ, said, “A retreat is a focused encounter with God that centers on the quality of my personal response to God’s self-revelation in prayer and reflection.”
An Overnight Silent Retreat
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Spirituality - personal and communal
We live in a world filled with activity, commotion and constant technological intrusion. This retreat is an opportunity to leave your everyday world and come into the silence where you will be invited to listen to God’s movement in your life.
Students Share Their Service and Justice Trip Stories
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
Come and listen to our students talk from their hearts about their transformational service and justice experiences during fall and spring break.
A Fall and Spring Reading Group Each semester, the Collaborative Ministry Office, directed by the Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, as part of the Department of Ignatian Formation and Ministry, chooses a book which invites the Creighton community to reflect on our Jesuit, Catholic mission.
Managing to the Mission
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
“A leader’s greatest power is his or her personal vision, communicated by the example of his or her daily life” (from Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney). Mission takes root when managers take a personal interest in the mission.
Discernment of Spirits
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
“The goal of the spiritual life, as St. Ignatius conceived it, is to choose what better leads to God’s deepening life in me” (from What is Ignatian Spirituality? by the Rev. David Fleming, SJ).
Take It to Heart: Experience Ignatian Prayer
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Spirituality - personal and communal
Our imagination can be a powerful tool for prayer,as St. Ignatius believed. This session on Ignatian contemplation explores the “prayer of the heart.”
Restoration Through Reflection
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Spirituality - personal and communal
Use the gift of deep reflection—a key threshold in the landscape of Ignatian spirituality—to feel refreshed and empowered. Learn how to implement self-reflection practices for your life.
Jesuit University in a Broken World
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
At the core of our mission is the commitment to human dignity. This initial conversation will share the basics of Catholic Social Teaching. Why would Pope Francis wash feet in a detention center?
St. Ignatius and Creighton’s Mission Today
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
An opportunity to reflect on the life and spirit of St. Ignatius. Join other faculty and staff for a presentation inviting us to relate his life to our own work together at Creighton.
The Faith That Does Justice
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
Jesuits and colleagues have taken seriously the call by the Rev. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, to commit themselves to social action. Learn why six Jesuit professors and two lay colleagues were killed in El Salvador in 1989.
Local Community Orientations
(Four options)
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
Join us to learn from local community partners and better understand our Jesuit, Catholic mission. See how various social justice topics interact locally with Catholic Social Teaching. Learn history, consider challenges, discover assets, engage community leaders and enjoy lunch in the community.
- North Omaha: Context and Connections
- South Omaha: A Dynamic Immigrant Community
- Climate Change: Faith, Hope and Action
- Journey to Omaha: Exploring the Refugee Experience
Catholic Social Teaching: A Lunchtime Introduction
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
This year long faculty/staff formation series co-sponsored by the Division of Mission and Ministry and Justice and Peace Studies Program introduces participants to the foundations, themes and topics central to Catholic Social Teaching which ground Creighton’s mission.
Faculty Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education
(By invitation from deans and Division of Mission and Ministry)
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Ignatian pedagogy and Ignatian leadership skills
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
This seminar was started by a group of faculty who came back from a Heartland Delta Conference inspired to engage more in a focus on mission for our campus. Since the start of this yearly program in 2004, over 200 individuals from all areas of campus and the Board of Trustees have participated. A variety of topics are explored, which include the history of St. Ignatius, the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatian pedagogy, research, a faith that does justice and related topics.
Catholic Social Teaching Seminar I
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
Focus on international service learning and research in the Dominican Republic. Available to faculty and staff, this program will focus on core principles of Catholic Social Teaching as they apply to differing academic disciplines. A final project could be a teaching/learning unit or course; or could be a research project in a specific academic discipline.
Creighton Colleagues Program (CCP)
(By invitation from supervisors and Division of Mission and Ministry)
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
A yearlong formation opportunity to provide managers and administrators with a deeper look at the implications of Ignatian Leadership values in the workplace and in professional service, and to introduce Catholic Social Teachings. The program is modeled after the National Ignatian Colleagues Program directed by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
Certificate in the Ignatian Tradition
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Ignatian pedagogy and Ignatian leadership skills
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
This new program includes two graduate courses in the Spiritual Exercises and the history of the Ignatian tradition, and a prayer pilgrimage/retreat to Ignatian sites in Northern Spain, Rome and Paris.
30-day and “19th Annotation”directed Ignatian retreats
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
Participants will learn an understanding and the life choices of the Exercitant to provide him/her greater freedom to seek and act upon God’s deepest desires.
Ignatian Colleagues Program
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Spirituality - personal and communal
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Integration of head and heart - discernment and leadership skills
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Ignatian pedagogy and Ignatian leadership skills
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
Enrich your collaboration as a lay partner in the Apostolic Mission of the University.
Catholic Social Teaching Faculty Seminar II
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Intellectual appropriation of Creighton history, culture, and Jesuit values
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Catholic Tradition - intellectual, historical, sacramental, liturgical, doctrinal, scientific, and humanistic
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Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation and Catholic Social Teaching
An interdisciplinary approach to a single topic for research that involves one of the tenants or concerns of Catholic Social Teaching (such as the human cost of forced migrations—medical, legal, business, educational, etc.). This year long seminar will require a commitment to preparing for publication a juried article or book chapter. The seminar will include an opportunity to travel together to work with Jesuits and colleagues in other parts of the world who are specialists in the topic chosen.
Newcomers Orientations Valuing Ignatian and Creighton Engagement (NOVICE) introduces new staff, faculty and administrators in their first three years at Creighton to the Jesuit, Catholic educational mission and character of the University. It consists of seven monthly online modules and small group discussions (virtual and in-person). Topics include:
- Creighton history, culture and Jesuit values
- Ignatian Pedagogy and Catholic Tradition
- Faith that does justice and engages reconciliation
- Spirituality, discernment and leadership skills
The video on the left features testimonials from past participants. Register for the 2024-2025 NOVICE small-group. Registration closes Friday, Aug. 30.
