Conference at Sacred Heart Explores Christian Imagination

Center for Catholic Studies welcomes church-related college and university representatives to discuss challenges and ideas

Key Highlights

• ^{The Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities held its national conference at SHU}
• ^{The event reinforced faith-based academic resilience and creativity as a path to transcendence}
• ^{Demonstrated how spiritual imagination can enrich education, ethics and institutional purpose}
• ^{The Lilly Network embodies ecumenical collaboration and mutual inspiration across religiously affiliated universities}

When campus leaders, faculty and graduate students from a variety of colleges gather for conversation and connection, they learn from and inspire each other. That was the case as about 160 members of the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities met at Sacred Heart University over the All Saints’ Day weekend.

The focus of the three-day Lilly Network National Conference was Christian imagination and how theology and spirituality impact education in a world increasingly influenced by the arts and media. “We believe the arts open a pathway to God and to the transcendent, and I think all of our faith traditions have some component of that,” said Michelle Loris, SHU’s Center for Catholic Studies director, who co-chaired the conference with Catholic studies department chair Daniel Rober.

She said the event provided a chance for reflection. “It’s an opportunity for us to renew ourselves in thinking about our identity at Sacred Heart—specifically, our Catholic identity.”

“The Gospel is about hospitality,” Loris added. “We have different ways of showing that, but we’re always saying we all belong, we’re all working together, we’re all collaborating, we’re all moving forward with the same goal—to think about our missions, our religious identities and how we bring that to our students.”

The Discussions

Natalie Carnes of Baylor University in Texas presented an opening group discussion titled “How Art Makes (and Unmakes) Our Disciplines.” A professor of theology, Carnes talked about the role of art in feminist theology, challenging educators to consider how art “highlights, shifts, affirms, makes and unmakes” academic disciplines.

Day two of the conference began with a focus on theological imagination. Jonathan Anderson, who teaches theology at Regent College in Vancouver, showed how art history, theology and religious studies are related.

Cecilia González-Andrieu, professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University in California and president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States, presented the big question of the final conference assembly: “If Beauty Saves, What Does Ugliness Do?” She connected current culture—social media, the loss of local newspapers and the billions spent on 2024 presidential campaign advertising, for example—to the idea that ugliness can be “covered over so we can’t see it.”

Faith-based institutions should stress learning and community life over resort-like amenities, invest in needs-based scholarships and pay a living wage to workers, González-Andrieu said. She challenged colleges to better serve their surrounding communities and offer more continuing education programs in English and Spanish.

The Lilly Network

The only ecumenical consortium of faith-based universities, the Lilly Network represents several religions and “a wide variety of views,” said Joe Creech, executive director of the organization that brought so many together for its annual conference. A granting arm of the Lilly Endowment, the network also offers “collaboration, community and friendship.”

“This is a time of scarcity and hand-wringing in a lot of higher education [circles],” Creech said. “One thing the Lilly Network wants to exhibit, and I think connects to what Sacred Heart exhibits, is this sort of hospitality that is rooted in the generosity of the Lilly Endowment. We’re giving attendees an opportunity to be figuratively, and literally, fed,” Creech said.

From West Campus to the Park Avenue Campus—in particular at the Chapel of the Holy Spirit—SHU’s Catholic tradition was well represented at the weekend conference. With prayer, reflection and sacred song, attendees came together in a deeply spiritual way. “That’s powerful no matter what institution you go to,” Loris said. “The whole point is to enrich, support and strengthen.”

Creech saw the conference as a chance to experience Sacred Heart. “People come here from schools very different from Sacred Heart and they learn and get ideas.” He said seeing students on another campus “has a way of getting you excited about your own students.”

Olivia Stowell, a member of the Lilly graduate fellow’s program, appreciated the “cross-institutional conversations,” especially as someone who’s hoping to enter the academic field. A Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan, Stowell completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Lilly institutions. “It’s really exciting to be in this kind of community, especially at a time when higher ed is in such instability,” she said, adding that the conference served as “a rejuvenating space.”

Stowell loved being with people in various career stages. “We all have certain things in common, where we have shared ground, shared commitments.”

This was Layton Field’s third Lilly Conference. Vice president of mission and ministry at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, he was excited to visit Sacred Heart, an independent Catholic university like his own. “It’s been remarkable to think about the challenges of our moment and how we are being called collectively to respond,” said Field.

Father Federico Cinocca, who spent time chatting with Field and has the same job title at Emmanuel College in Boston, noticed the willingness of attendees to share thoughts, challenges and creative responses. “The last few keynotes broadened our imagination about what we offer students, the challenges they have and how we respond to that,” said Cinocca, who also enjoyed the event’s small-group discussions.

Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger from Gordon College in Massachusetts facilitated one of those 11 small-group discussions. An associate professor of English and dean of teaching and learning, she viewed the time as a chance to process content in a structured way. In her group, she posed the questions: “Why are you here today? What are you seeking, what are you bringing and what is stirring in your heart in this moment?” Another prompt asked attendees what they see as they “walk alongside those who are vulnerable, suffering, rendered invisible, tired and discouraged.”

Harkaway-Krieger reflected on the similar issues various institutions face. “It’s really encouraging to hear that sometimes your institution is not alone, and that other people have creative solutions to problems or ways to move forward,” she said.