Walking Toward a Future Full of Hope: Imagining and Living Beloved Community
Recently, we held an evening with Becky McIntyre and JoAnn Melina Lopez who shared their hope-filled experience participating in the opening of Pope Francis’ Global Synod in Rome.
Participants rooted themselves in beloved communities and hopes for the future of our world through Ignatian imaginative prayer, conversation sharing in the spirit, and art.
This event, presented by Jesuit Connections, was open to young adults in their 20s and 30s.
JoAnn Melina Lopez, M.Div. currently serves as Director of Faith Formation at St. Basil's Catholic Parish in Toronto. She has been rooted in the Ignatian world for over 15 years and is committed to cultivating communities of hope and imagination where everyone feels welcomed, loved, and empowered to partner with God's dream for our world.
Becky McIntyre is a community visual artist and muralist and an Intensive Prevention Services counselor for youth at CORA Services Inc. in Philadelphia. Her work brings awareness to sociopolitical issues, the transformative and healing nature of art, and activating and inspiring new ways of being.
JoAnn and Becky, both alums of St. Joseph’s University, were part of the Discerning Deacons young adult delegation to Rome this past October 2023, to support and pray for the Synod on Synodality, a global process in the Catholic church inviting all people to reflect on how we walk together as companions on the journey in our current reality and how to imagine together the future of the Church's mission.