A new LMU initiative emphasizing faith formation within family life was funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. in June 2023. The five-year grant totals $1.2 million and supports the Spirituality of Parenting Initiative, to be led by the LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality and supported by the LMU Center for Ignatian Spirituality.
Robert Hurteau, director of the LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality, says the idea for the initiative originated in the recent COVID pandemic, when families sought ways to continue their children’s faith formation at home. Religion and spirituality, he says, are the foundation of family life. “We want to focus on the sacredness of home and family life — precisely in all its messiness and grace,” he explains.
The project will work closely with two existing LMU networks: Southern California’s Latino Catholic immigrant community and the faculty and staff of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The program will be offered in Spanish to the former group and in English to the latter.
“We want to focus on the sacredness of home and family life — precisely in all its messiness and grace,” Hurteau explains.
Elsy Arevalo, assistant director of the LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality, says the initiative “invites participants to see caregiving as a spiritual path. This is a path that is truly transformative, and when entered fully, can lead one toward greater union with God, self and others.”
The Spirituality of Parenting Initiative is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. To learn more about the initiative, contact Melissa Watkins, associate vice president for Development, Principal and Major Gifts at Melissa.Watkins@lmu.edu.