Life Changing Ministry
John Baumann SJ (UWE)
My life as a Jesuit followed the usual pattern of most Jesuits in California who entered in the mid-1950s. For the first ten years my formationfosteredin me a perspective of“seeing God in all things”. It was focused on the immediate, personal interactions within a largely homogeneous Catholic environment -living in Jesuit community,andteaching/coaching in a JesuitHigh School.
If life in the Jesuits changed little for me during those ten years, the same was not true for the rest of the world. This was the age of reform and revolution in the country and the Church.
The civil rights movement,anti-war protests, and free speech dominated the headlines.Vatican II,which closed in 1965, quickly influencedourunderstanding ofhowthe Church should interact with contemporary society. The following yearthe Society of Jesus concluded its 31st General Congregationandpromulgatedits declarationsonsocial action in collaboration with the laity. This document unleashed the imaginations of many Jesuits, including me.
In 1967Jesuit Father General PedroArrupe wrote a letterentitled, “Race Relations in the U.S.” and encouraged Jesuits to respond to the crisis in that area saying“Jesuits cannot,must not stand aloof.” Encouraged by the Province’s commitment to social ministry and challenged by Vatican II and our General Congregation, I took the opportunity to explore a social ministries apostolate.
Before my second year of Theology studies in thesummer of 1967,I headed off to Chicagoto attend the Urban Training Center. UTC was created in the 1960swith the missionof training clergy and laity toconnect their churchesto the critical needs of innercities. We were introduced tocommunity organizing and receivedpractical, hands-on training throughfield placement. That summer in Chicago became the life-changing first step toward the adventure that has been the rest of my life.
When I returned to Theology for my 2nd year, my studies came alive. Theology was no longer an abstraction; it became concrete and personal. My faith had been transformed and theology gave me a way to think about mysummer experience -about putting gospel values into action. Ideepened my appreciation of the Ignatian principle that Godis present in our world and active in our lives. If wetrulybelieve that God is among us, how can we allow divisions based onrace,ethnicity orreligion to create animosity, injustice, or violence? I began to understand my vocation as a Jesuit to be a life of service to others by working for justice and the common good, a concept that stemsfrom the dignity, unity, and equality of all people.
After ordination in 1969 I returned to Chicago for more training in community organizing. In 1972I returned to the province,andwith the support of theprovince I co-founded Faith in Action (formerly PICO),a national and international network of faith-based community organizations.
Faith in Action’s model is transformative. At its center is a belief in the potential for transformation – of people, institutions, and our larger culture.
FIA’sorganizingmodel is faith-based. There are many paths to a more just world and value-based and valued-driven organizing is one of them. Other paths include direct service, in which people respond to the immediateneeds of others. Another path is advocacy, where people act andspeak on behalf of others who are suffering from great injustices and social ills. FIA’s path to building a more just world teaches people of faith how todevelop their own power to address the root causes of the problems they face.
FIA presently works in 23 statesthat includemore than 3,000local, religious congregationsrepresenting34 denominations and traditions.Our organizing agenda in the United States addresses the most critical issues of our time including economic equity, gun violence, health care, immigrant justice, mass incarceration and voting rights. Internationally,FIA-affiliatedorganizationsare inEastAfrica in Rwanda,inCentral America and Haiti. Theseorganizationsengage in life and death struggles as they fight to reclaim democracy and provideforbasichumanneeds, includingfood and water, safety, health care, and employment.
This summer, 2019, Faithin Action and I celebrate FIA’s 47th birthday. FIA has trained generations of leaders and organizers to “unlock the power of people” and organize for better communities. In John’s GospelJesustells Nicodemusthat the Spirit allows us to be born again. Starting FIA was also a kind of birthdayor“born again” experiencefor me.FIA hasopened my eyes to a faiththatrecognizeshow the Spirit is at workwhen people organize toaddressthehardest challenges that society faces.
