THEA Institute 2022
High School Students Explore Environmental Sustainability at SES
This summer, Loyola welcomed high school students from all over the country for the Theology of Healing Earth in Action (THEA) Institute, a week-long college preparatory retreat program focused on environmental sustainability. The THEA Institute invites rising high school juniors and seniors to Loyola to explore their gifts and reflect on how they can help build a world rooted in spiritual grounding, community, and sustainability.
From Sunday, June 19 to Saturday, June 25, students engaged with the sacredness of water through scientific, ethical, and spiritual lenses. Loyola faculty members from the School of Environmental Sustainability, Campus Ministry, and other departments facilitated the courses. Instructors used the topic of water as an avenue to demonstrate the Earth’s generosity. The e-textbook, Healing Earth, founded by Dean Nancy Tuchman and Dr. Michael Schuck, served as the foundational teaching element.
The event opened on June 19 with a mass led by SES faculty member Father Stephen Mitten. He gave a homily about the “breath of God,” discussing the miracle of the big bang and all of creation that followed. The students spent the first day getting to know each other, creating common ground, and finding a sense of belonging. Throughout the week, they participated in classes and daily guided prayer experiences and built a community in small group conversations.
Monday was the first official day of programming, and the theme of the day was Water of Life. The morning classes focused on the essential life-giving properties of water, and the students examined its critical value to all life on Earth. They explored Loyola’s campus on a scavenger hunt in the afternoon and then toured SES’s innovative, environmentally sustainable building.
Students spent time in the lab observing specimens collected from Lake Michigan.
On Tuesday, the theme of the day was Currents of Connection. In the class sessions, the students learned about the “circulatory system” of water and its distribution on planet Earth. They also explored how various religions, cultures, and faiths around the world interact with water symbolically, spiritually, and physically. In the afternoon, they spent time in the lab observing specimens that live in our very own backyard: Lake Michigan.
On Wednesday, the students spent the day in downtown Chicago. They took the architectural river boat tour, ate at Giordano’s deep-dish pizza, and visited the famous “Bean,” Buckingham Fountain, and Lincoln Park Zoo.
On Thursday, the theme was River of Justice, and the class sessions focused on global water challenges and their relationship to other contemporary social and environmental issues. The students learned about who carries the “weight of water.” They even experienced what that feels like by carrying water long distances. In the afternoon, Sunrise Movement Chicago, a group of young people working to stop climate change, visited and demonstrated what community-level environmental action can look like.
Students learned what it is like to carry large jugs of water, as people do in areas without convenient access to clean water.
The final theme on Friday was Tides of Change. The students examined the vulnerability of the Earth’s global water supply and the challenges people face due to unequal access to water.
Over the course of the week, the students worked in groups on action projects about the common good and the role of water. They presented their projects to their families and classmates on the final day. Students demonstrated what they learned throughout the week, incorporating activities, topics from the small group discussions, and their personal reflections.
Looking back at everything that happened this week, participating faculty and staff were proud of the students and the program’s success. Students came away from the 2022 THEA Institute experience with a deeper understanding of the connections between environmental sustainability, social justice, and spirituality and the critical role of water in sustaining all life on Earth.
For more information about the THEA Institute, visit luc.edu/THEA
By Rachel Elfant and Jorge Haddad
THEA Institute participants included students from all over the country.
From Sunday, June 19 to Saturday, June 25, students engaged with the sacredness of water through scientific, ethical, and spiritual lenses. Loyola faculty members from the School of Environmental Sustainability, Campus Ministry, and other departments facilitated the courses. Instructors used the topic of water as an avenue to demonstrate the Earth’s generosity. The e-textbook, Healing Earth, founded by Dean Nancy Tuchman and Dr. Michael Schuck, served as the foundational teaching element.
The event opened on June 19 with a mass led by SES faculty member Father Stephen Mitten. He gave a homily about the “breath of God,” discussing the miracle of the big bang and all of creation that followed. The students spent the first day getting to know each other, creating common ground, and finding a sense of belonging. Throughout the week, they participated in classes and daily guided prayer experiences and built a community in small group conversations.
Monday was the first official day of programming, and the theme of the day was Water of Life. The morning classes focused on the essential life-giving properties of water, and the students examined its critical value to all life on Earth. They explored Loyola’s campus on a scavenger hunt in the afternoon and then toured SES’s innovative, environmentally sustainable building.
On Tuesday, the theme of the day was Currents of Connection. In the class sessions, the students learned about the “circulatory system” of water and its distribution on planet Earth. They also explored how various religions, cultures, and faiths around the world interact with water symbolically, spiritually, and physically. In the afternoon, they spent time in the lab observing specimens that live in our very own backyard: Lake Michigan.
On Wednesday, the students spent the day in downtown Chicago. They took the architectural river boat tour, ate at Giordano’s deep-dish pizza, and visited the famous “Bean,” Buckingham Fountain, and Lincoln Park Zoo.
On Thursday, the theme was River of Justice, and the class sessions focused on global water challenges and their relationship to other contemporary social and environmental issues. The students learned about who carries the “weight of water.” They even experienced what that feels like by carrying water long distances. In the afternoon, Sunrise Movement Chicago, a group of young people working to stop climate change, visited and demonstrated what community-level environmental action can look like.
The final theme on Friday was Tides of Change. The students examined the vulnerability of the Earth’s global water supply and the challenges people face due to unequal access to water.
Over the course of the week, the students worked in groups on action projects about the common good and the role of water. They presented their projects to their families and classmates on the final day. Students demonstrated what they learned throughout the week, incorporating activities, topics from the small group discussions, and their personal reflections.
Looking back at everything that happened this week, participating faculty and staff were proud of the students and the program’s success. Students came away from the 2022 THEA Institute experience with a deeper understanding of the connections between environmental sustainability, social justice, and spirituality and the critical role of water in sustaining all life on Earth.
For more information about the THEA Institute, visit luc.edu/THEA
By Rachel Elfant and Jorge Haddad