Compassion. Healing. Justice.

Our Mission

The Ignatian Spirituality Center nurtures compassion, healing and justice by engaging spiritual seekers in deepening their connection to God, self and others.

Since 1994, the Ignatian Spirituality Center has been serving the spiritual needs of the people of Western Washington.

The ISC brings together lay people, vowed religious, and Jesuits trained in Ignatian and other spiritualities to provide programs designed to deepen spiritual growth. We collaborate with Jesuit ministries to provide spiritual direction, programs, retreats, and resources that assist persons of all faiths to serve Christ’s mission of compassion, healing, and justice.

ISC 2021-2025 STRATEGIC PLAN

In 2020, the ISC Board and staff envisioned a new strategic plan for the next five years, with intentional focus on increasing the diversity of our audience and programs, growing partnerships with organizations with similar missions and values, and evaluating how we might grow and make a deeper impact in the communities we serve. We are energized by the guiding principles and actively putting each of the five strategies into action. 

ISC Statement of Commitment to Racial Equity

(Updated December 15, 2020)

The Ignatian Spirituality Center (ISC) is committed to racial equity. We are convinced that advocating for racial equity is a necessary step in co-laboring with God to bring about God’s kingdom on earth. As an organization historically rooted in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Society of Jesus, the ISC acknowledges our part in a complicated legacy that has perpetuated and been complicit in racism. In recognizing this legacy, we have an even more urgent mandate to promote the inherent dignity in all people and work for justice for all.

We humbly acknowledge that anti-racism work is an ongoing process. We approach this work as people of faith and hope. We see possibilities in how Ignatian spirituality can inform racial justice work, and how racial justice work must inform Ignatian spirituality and spiritual practice. 

We are striving to create a culture where racial equity is integral in our operations, offerings and interactions:

Operations

The ISC acknowledges that systems, policies and structures can perpetuate racial bias and racism. Our commitment is to strive to be anti-racist and contribute to equity throughout our operations.

Examples of current efforts include:

• Initiating ongoing conversations concerning how guiding principles and goals in our new five-year strategic plan will explicitly address and respond to the ISC’s commitment to racial equity.

Offerings

Through ISC programming and engagement opportunities, we are committed to decentering whiteness and offering content and experiences that reflect both Ignatian Spirituality and the full diversity of God’s kingdom.

Examples of current efforts include:

• Encouraging our presenters to use diverse sources in their presentations and prayer experiences.

• Making a concerted effort to expand and support our presenter and spiritual director pool.

• Discerning how to reach out to diverse faith communities with whom we might form a mutual partnership.  

• Exploring ways to support Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color who are discerning a call to become spiritual directors. 

Interactions

The ISC acknowledges that the work of becoming anti-racist is a journey of continual growth and tending. We are committed to interact with transparency, humility and responsiveness to the community as we continue our journey.

Examples of current efforts include:

• Asking a question in all program evaluations about how the ISC can better live into its commitment to racial equity.  

• Dedicating time in staff and board meetings to share on topics of diversity and racial equity so that we may continue to reflect on how we can go deeper in our commitment as individuals and as an organization.

• Acknowledging that the ISC’s office is located on traditional Coast Salish land.

• Active member of Collaborating for Racial Equity (CORE) Seattle team sponsored by the Jesuit West Province.  

We consider our commitment to be an evolving effort. We welcome ongoing feedback and edits to this living document. We commit to revisiting our efforts toward anti-racism quarterly. Please email ISC Executive Director Corinne Pann at corinne@ignatiancenter.org.   

We understand that people hold multiple identities such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability and we strive for an intersectional approach in our equity work.