Catholic Social Teaching Projects:

Faculty/Student Colloquium on Catholic education and Catholic Social Teachings: Educating for Moral Voices in the Public Square, Archbishop John Roach and panelists.

Several planning retreats held on the Catholic Social Teachings for secondary school representatives as well as parish teams consisting of the pastor, principal, DRE and an elementary teacher.

The Catholic Social Teaching curriculum writing project - a short-term project to research, review, and organize educational curriculum materials that relate to the Catholic Social Teachings.

A one-week institute for secondary teachers on the Catholic Social Teachings during the summer of 2000. Priorities for this week were the need for more in-depth faculty education and formation on the subject of Catholic Social Teaching.

Brick by Brick: Building the Kingdom of God brought 700 secondary administrators, educators and board members together in February 2001 to share and learn about how to integrate the Catholic Social Teachings into the curriculum. Father Fred Kammer, President of Catholic Charities USA was the keynote speaker. This event was repeated in February 2002 with Thomas Groome as the keynote speaker.

A Catholic Social Teaching curriculum writing project for grades 5-6 and the secondary level produced teaching resources integrating CST into the curriculum.

RETREATS:

Two retreats for Murray students occurred with Mary Margaret Deeney, CSJ.

An Administrator Leadership Forum or two-day retreat for head administrators in secondary education dedicated to the discussion of Catholic identity.

A day of reflection for personal and spiritual renewal for Murray Institute graduates.

FACULTY/STUDENT COLLOQUIA INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

Sister Claire Fitzgerald on "Preparing Ministers for the Church of the 3rd Millennium."

The vision of Archbishop John Ireland and the importance of an integrated education. He was the first Archbishop in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Catholic education and Catholic Social Teachings: Educating for Moral Voices in the Public Square, with Archbishop John Roach and panelists.

THE AQUINAS PROJECT:

The Aquinas Project included principals and UST faculty who met three different weekends throughout the year at the University of St. Thomas' Gainey Center to consider the development of a professional orientation program for those entering the Catholic system as teachers. The primary goal of the program was to enhance personal identity with Catholicism and sharpen teachers' appreciation for the culture defining Catholic education.

CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT:

Secondary Curriculum Enhancement: "Nurturing Catholic Identity in a Media Culture," was a one-week summer institute taught by Dr. Mary Hess which considered constructive responses to the challenges of living in a media culture.

Action Research mini-grants are offers to teams in Catholic schools or parishes who want to deepen their faith and strengthen their professional knowledge and skills.

HISPANIC/LATINO MINISTRY PROJECTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

• Hispanic cultural immersion for 5 persons in Mexico;
• The study of Spanish for 10 persons;
• The study of English for 10 Hispanic leadership
  people;
• Financial Assistance to support program participants
  if needed;
• Administration costs.

MURRAY INSTITUTE COMMUNITY EVENTS

Four Murray Institute ten-year anniversary events were organized to celebrate Murray's ten years of supporting Catholic education:

• A luncheon for the Archdiocesan Leadership, University of St. Thomas leadership, pastors, and special guests;
  
  
• A special evening celebrating Mass with Archbishop Flynn, dining with Murray Institute graduates and current students, listening to reflections of Sr. Mary Katherine Hamilton and reactions of Murray panalists, culminating with the presentation of the Murray medallion for leadership and service;
  
  
• A prayer service and summer picnic for Murray Institute families;
  
  
• A fall first-annual lecture series on Catholic education and identity.

Racism & Catholic Social Teaching

Murray funded seven persons from the archdiocese to participate in a three-credit, graduate-level course entitled, “Racism and Catholic Social Teaching,” offered in summer session 2005.  The course had as its central focus Archbishop Harry Flynn’s September 2003 pastoral letter on racism, “In God’s Image.” 

Hour of Zen

A monthly “hour of Zen”-type event for Murray Institute alums provided a facilitated structured conversation on various topics of interest, opportunities for cultivating peer networks, generation of professional knowledge, and prayer/fellowship. This allowed for centering prayer, discussion of a topic, and participation in liturgy with the monastic community and supper. 

Practicum-Assistance Fund

A practicum-assistance fund was proposed for potential grants to Cohort 16 members as they fulfill their required internships at their own or other Archdiocesan schools. These grants are available as early as summer 2006 and continue through 2008. Funding will help pay for substitute teachers/administrators in the cohort 16 member’s school as needed.

Medallion Award Event

The Murray Institute celebrated its 14th anniversary of service to Catholic educators and presented its Archbishop John Gregory Murray Medallion awards at a Mass and dinner on Monday, May 15, 2006, at the University of St. Thomas.

Murray Medallions, given for outstanding leadership in Catholic education and service to the Murray Institute, were presented to the Rev. Dennis Dease, president of St. Thomas; Dr. Karen Ristau, a former St. Thomas faculty member who is now president of the National Catholic Educational Association in Washington, D.C.; and Dr. Margaret Reif, associate professor of education at St. Thomas and director of the Murray Institute.

Loyola Institute

The Loyola Summer Institute for Teachers and Students 2006 provides a unique professional development opportunity for St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocesan teachers and potential Archdiocesan teachers to learn about the particulars for teaching socio-economically disadvantaged youth who do not typically have an opportunity to attend a Catholic college preparatory school. Through teacher classroom experiences with nationally recognized experts in the field and hands on experiences with students from low socioeconomic conditions, participants in the institute are guided through learning, reflection and decisions to commit to working with youth in urban Catholic schools devoted to providing a college preparatory curriculum and work study experience for the students.

Think Tanks

Five Think Tanks were established to develop Murray-sponsored projects to assist  Archdiocesan educators.  Each think tank needed to develop 1-2 project proposals to submit to the Murray committee for possible funding.