Kathleen Deignan, CND
Institute for Earth and Spirit
The Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit serves the emergence of an ecological civilization to revive and protect our common home through transformative environmental education, spiritual animation, and creative celebration.
Iona Heritage Stream
The Iona Heritage Stream offers opportunities to share the enduring wisdom of our founders, Saint Columba of Iona, and the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers, whose charism lives on at our University. Rooted in the Celtic tradition of honoring the Earth and Spirit, this wisdom stream carries the Gaels on pilgrimage to the island of Iona and to places of resonance with the vision and values that inspire our educational mission.
Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue Stream
The Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue hosts monthly conversations that explore Berry’s constructive vision of building a sustainable world through the transformation of human consciousness and ecological practice.
Thomas Merton Contemplative Initiative Stream
The Merton Contemplative Initiative fosters spiritual development through engagement with vibrant contemplative traditions discovered in academic coursework, in visitation to living spiritual communities, and in transforming encounters with inspiring teachers and practioners. This Stream honors Merton’s interfaith, racial justice, and environmental commitments as features of contemplative authenticity.
St. Francis Stream
The Francis Wisdom Stream carries forward Iona’s commitment to the teachings of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si and its ongoing calls for social, political, economic, and environmental renovation in response to the “Cries of the Earth and the Cries of the Poor.”
