Ignatian Solidarity Network

The Harry Tompson SJ Center, an outreach ministry of Immaculate Conception (Jesuit) Parish to homeless people in New Orleans, is seeking an executive director.  Candidates must have proven experience managing a nonprofit organization, including staff supervision, grant writing  fundraising, budget preparation, board development, public relations, and program reporting.

In addition, candidates must have a minimum of three years of experience providing or supervising direct services to under served populations. Candidates must embrace the faith-based ministry of the Center and have the flexibility to work in an unpredictable and demanding environment.  Salary commensurate with experience.

Only electronic applications will be accepted; send a cover letter and resume to resume@pontchartraincapital.com no later than April 5, 2013.

Calls to the Harry Tompson Center will not be accepted or returned

by Carlos Martinez | Santa Clara University – Class of 2015

Carlos installing insulation to the house his Santa Clara University group helped rebuild in New Orleans.

My recent immersion trip to New Orleans, in which we worked on rebuilding a house devastated by Hurricane Katrina, was my first immersion experience as well as my first trip to the South. In our group’s pre-trip meetings, the actual word ‘solidarity’ was never touched upon, which I believe was ultimately for the best. I think that if I had been asked to define ‘solidarity’ before going to New Orleans, I would have struggled and not been able to provide an accurate depiction of the complexity behind the word. I strongly believe that ‘solidarity’ is not a word that can simply be defined, but rather must be experienced and reflected upon afterwards in order to fully understand its meaning and depth.

Looking back on my immersion experience now, I see now that the concept of ‘solidarity’ is a complex one. For me, the foundation of ‘solidarity’ with another community is made up of a mutual respect and understanding between the two communities, along with an overarching unified theme of wanting to learn about the other. Going from a private Jesuit university in California to a destroyed house in New Orleans was not only humbling, but also forced me to realize that there were some experiences the New Orleans community had that I would never be able to relate to. I understood that what they went through because of Hurricane Katrina was life changing, and while I could not relate to their situation beyond that, I made sure to find out as much about their experiences as possible. Though intimidating at first, as I was not completely certain sufferers of Katrina would want to speak to an outsider, I thought the least I could was put myself out there and let them know that I was there to listen to them.

Ultimately, I believe this was the best decision I made during my immersion experience. I learned that while it is true that there are some experiences that I cannot relate to, that does not mean there is no possibility for a connection or understanding between communities. Rather, I now firmly believe that ‘solidarity’ means finding strength by sharing different experiences among communities in order to establish one unified community. Two different communities will never have exactly all of the same characteristics, which is in many ways the very aspect that makes solidarity so beautiful, in that it draws the strengths from each community to support the other’s weaker areas. Now I know to not look at differences in others as intimidating, but rather as an opportunity to improve my understanding and respect of them, and vice versa. This mysterious connection as a result of differences is what solidarity means to me.

written by Kurt Wagner | Santa Clara University - Class of 2012

Kurt Wagner (Santa Clara University '12) working up in the rafters of a house in New Orleans during SCU's January 2012 immersion experience.

I recently returned from an immersion trip to New Orleans, my second immersion experience but my first domestic trip. As the student leader for the trip, I spent a great deal of time preparing our group for what to expect, but the actual word ‘solidarity’ was never brought up in our pre-trip meetings. I think that many of the general concepts of solidarity were touched upon, but the word itself is hard to define and therefore hard to teach. I am a firm believer that ‘solidarity’ is one of those rare words that can take a unique shape depending on the individual experience.

For me, ‘solidarity’ with another community involves an individual’s commitment to stripping themselves bare of everything they think they know about another culture or community and opening their mind to a group of new individuals. ‘Solidarity’ is a combination of both empathy and understanding, but also requires shared experiences and beliefs. In order to truly connect with another culture, you must be willing to make yourself vulnerable and uncomfortable. Sometimes, this requires you to unveil your own prejudices or biases; to accept that you may be ignorant about what is truly happening outside of your own comfort zone. ‘Solidarity’ is the cumulative experience that leads to the creation of a meaningful connection with members of a community.

On both of my trips, I have found that solidarity is as prevalent among the group members as it is between the group and the outside community. It seems ironic that it takes a trip across the country to really open up with classmates who have been right under your nose the whole time.