• Build a network of Jesuits and lay people in solidarity, committed to living a faith that does justice;
  
  
• Provide a communications network for Jesuits, lay people, and Jesuit-related institutions to strengthen their social justice education and advocacy efforts;
  
  
• Support and encourage specific social justice activities undertaken by members of the network;
  
  
• Support the exchange of training and educational resources for the network and its participants.
  These four broad goals were determined by the results of a national feasibility study process conducted in 2002 by the Jesuit Commission on Social and International Ministry (JCSIM). The study also found that the following four activities were most in demand and suitable for an ISN program focus:
  
  

1. Electronic networking: The ISN will build and structure an electronic network that can link peer groups and facilitate the sharing of ideas and information. It will offer members a way to learn about local campaigns, events, speakers, and workshops; interact through chat rooms; locate and connect with people; sign up for more information or listservs; and give money securely.
   
   
2. Supporting the Ignatian Family Teach-In: The Ignatian Family Teach-In is an annual gathering that serves both to honor the Jesuits and other martyrs in El Salvador and to protest the activities of the US military and government in the region, though its focus continues to broaden. The event is a powerful experience, especially for students at high schools and colleges, who connect with their faith through education, liturgy, and protest. The Teach-In is large and growing venue; in 2003, an estimated three thousand people from Jesuit-related ministries attended. The ISN will take an active role in organizing and supporting the IFT in future years, thereby building on its success, ensuring that it grows, and providing a mechanism for follow-up, such as information links to schools and participants, social justice campaigns, and organized and ongoing reflection.
   
   
3. Supporting grassroots-led social justice campaigns: The ISN will support the efforts of the institutions and individuals that are already actively working on social justice issues at the grass roots to generate a sense of shared purpose, to learn how to take concrete steps for social change, and to provide a unifying theme or themes for Jesuit institutions and individuals to rally behind. The ISN will construct a virtual inventory of issues and concerns being pursued by members of the network with appropriate individual contacts and web links, and it will facilitate communication among groups involved in similar social justice activities. The ISN may develop a national campaign if the opportunity suggests itself as appropriate.
   
   
4. Supporting the exchange of educational resources: The ISN will facilitate the sharing of educational and worship materials such as issue briefs, Catholic Social Teaching materials, and other existing resources on key topics and in formats needed by high schools, universities, parishes and retreat houses.
   
   

   The largest component of the network is the electronic presence, which offers members a variety of interactive services and ways to connect. Some of the electronic features include moderated listservs and discussions, an events calendar, a directory of links to member organizations, an online newsletter, and other resources.
   
   Fr. Charlie Currie, SJ, president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, said the ISN is necessary because even though many positive social justice activities are taking place on campuses across the country, specific efforts to enhance communications and encourage a sense of greater solidarity can only add to their effectiveness and impact.
   
   “The ISN will bring people together who might otherwise not realize that they share a common goal,” says Fr. Currie. “Such unity will only strengthen their efforts and impact on social policy.”
   
   For more information about the Ignatian Solidarity Network contact: William Masterson, Director of Development and Communication for the California Province at wmasterson@calprov.org.
   
   

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