Our Presence Today
From our roots as a Catholic canonical order of nuns, the Immaculate Heart Community has evolved into a vibrant intentional “community without walls.” We live all over the continental United States. We have members in Canada and incoming members from England. We are an inclusive community with members who are men and woman, gays and straights, married and single, We are a non-denominational Christian organization which honors the traditions of all of the major faiths.
Our life in Community is guided by our Goal Statement:
We, the members of the Immaculate Heart Community, rooted in Jesus Christ and united with the people of God, commit ourselves to build relations in society which foster access of all persons to truth, dignity, and full human development, and to strategically change practices and situations which impede such access. With reverence for all creation, in our choice of work and living style, and in our use of time, talent and money, we hold ourselves accountable to God and one another for effecting this goal and supporting one another in this effort.
Doorway to Presence
The Immaculate Heart Community lives out its Goal statement though a model called, “Doorway to Presence.” Our work in the world calls us to educate ourselves and others in a variety of creative formats to bring faith-based attention to the critical issues of our times and to put our faith into action.
Our model for “Presence” has two dimensions. We think of presence with a capital “P” and presence with a lower case “p.” Capital “P” presence is God sourced. First, it asks us to engage in spiritual inquiry through prayer, meditation, and education, to discern the call for what it is for us to do in the world today. We see a world that is broken on many levels for many reasons. Through spiritual inquiry, we seek God’s “Presence” among us, to gain a focus for our work.
Second, we use this type of inquiry to inform ourselves about how each of us can be “present” (I.e., with a lower case “p”) in the world. We discern what kind of actions we can take to “build relations in society which foster access of all persons to truth, dignity, and full human development, and to strategically change practices and situations which impede such access.” We seek a way to be present which gives full voice to out spiritual call and spiritual beliefs. We engage in intentional actions which are faith-based. We maintain an openness to God’s Presence as we maintain our own presence in the world.
In the Immaculate Heart Community we create various pathways for ourselves and others to experience the dual dimensions of the “Doorway to Presence” through creativity; through an exploration and expression of the connections between mind, body and spirit; and through our work with justice and social justice topics.
The IHC demonstrates its presence in the world through:
Commissions which advocate for Justice and Social Justice
Programs & Events
Lunch & Learn Lecture Series
Concerts
Film Series
Workshops
Retreats
Other organizational relationships
Affiliates
Legacy Partners
Partnerships with faith-based and social justice organizations
