attend Ignatian Family Teach-In for Social Justice
1. BEFORE the sun was in the sky, their experience began. Arriving at Denver’s airport at 5:00 am, they went through long security lines to make the early flight. 2. AFTER four hours soaring across the country, they finally landed in D.C., checked in to the hotel, and grabbed something to eat at Shake Shack.
3. THE REGIS JESUIT GROUP walked miles around the city, visiting many different monuments, memorials, and government buildings in the National Mall, including; the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Nation’s Capital, the Washington monument, the National treasury, and memorials for World War II, the Korean War, Martin Luther King Jr., and the women who died in the Vietnam War. Kids were free to explore on their own; people took pictures, did handstands on the monuments, and watched the sunset. 4. THEY ENDED THE DAY with a cold walk home, taking a break to grab Chipotle, more walking in the cold, some card playing, and a reflection in the lobby about their day.
2
1. THEY WOKE UP and grabbed breakfast and then went to the Holocaust museum where students reflected on the horror and violence of the events and explored the museum on their own. 2. LATER, after visiting the Holocaust museum, the group grabbed lunch from food trucks and then went to the African American Museum.
3. THEN THE GROUP GRABBED an early dinner and had a little bit of time to relax before the first events of the Teach-In. 4. THAT NIGHT, conference students went to the hotel ballroom to hear a keynote by Fr. Brian Massingale, a professor of Theology and Ethics at Fordham University, who spoke about acceptance. 5. AFTER THAT, students got to attend a session of their choosing, including one by Fr. Greg Boyle. 6. FINALLY, the group reflected in the lobby and called it a night.
3
DAY
From November 5th-8th 2021, 12 students and three teachers from Regis Jesuit went to Washington D.C. to participate in the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Social Justice. For the past 25 years, high school and college students have attended this Catholic conference. Attending gives students the opportunity to learn about and discuss solutions to social justice issues like climate change, migration and border control, prison, and gang rehabilitation. In between sessions, students get to explore the nation’s capital and visit various monuments and museums. Regis Jesuit’s delegation had a jam-packed schedule on their trip.
1
DAY
TEACH-IN, SPEAK OUT Regis Jesuit students
DAY
by Rachel Hilty’23
1. THE DAY STARTED EARLY with students grabbing breakfast in the crowded lobby before a full day of conference sessions and break out rooms. 2. THE MORNING STARTED WITH a general session where U.S Climate Action Network Executive Director Keya Chatterjee spoke out about climate change. After that, people got to go to a breakout session of their choosing, including ones about ethical purchasing.
3. AFTER THE FIRST BREAKOUT SESSION students had lunch and then attended another breakout session on topics like prison sentencing before attending another general session where Fr. Greg Boyle, author of Tattoos on the Heart, talked about the importance of forgiveness. 4. THEN they held a Mass with all the schools that attended before dinner. 5. THE DAY WOULD NORMALLY HAVE BEEN OVER, but the people at the Teach-In decided to go to the White House and pray a vigil in the dark against Title 42, which allows refugees to be expelled or denied entry from the country during public health crises. All the schools marched around the square in front of the White House with candles in hand chanting prayers for the martyrs and refugees. 6. AFTER THE LATE NIGHT vigil, people went straight to bed.
DAY
4
16 ELEVATE IGNATIAN FAMILY TEACH-IN
1. DAY 4 was mostly just a travel day, the Regis Jesuit group started off the morning by sleeping in and then grabbing breakfast before heading to the airport. 2. THE GROUP ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT and, after a four hour flight, they made it safely back to Denver.
