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Mission and Ministry Center

Lasallian Living & Learning Community

The Lasallian Community is a living-learning
community for sophomores & juniors (seniors welcome,
if interested!) centered around the themes of Faith, Service, and Community.

It includes:

Guaranteed on-campus housing (Location TBD)
.25 TRS 017 course on Mondays in the Fall semester (meets the Community Engagement requirement of the Core Curriculum)
Weekly service in the Fall semester
Community Nights in the Fall and Spring semesters (includes reflective and fun events such as suite dinners, scavenger hunts, trips together off campus, trivia nights, BBQs, etc)
Weekend Retreat in September
The opportunity to explore your life's meaning and purpose through the lens of faith (or spirituality, values, worldview... all faith/spiritual traditions welcome, including non-faith traditions)
[Studying abroad in Spring semester is possible! As a Lasallian Community member, you may even receive priority consideration for the LUCE program in Rome!]
Paid student leader opportunities are available as Lasallian Commuity Leaders - see "Lasallian Community Leaders" tab below

For more information, email Carrie Davis at cak6@stmarys-ca.edu.

Learn more...

Come to a BBQ with current Lasallian Community students, and all students interested in the Lasallian Community for next year. Monday, April 12 at 5:30pm in Justin Commons. RSVP HERE! (For students who are on campus or able to come to campus | Social distancing guidelines will be observed)
Attend a drop-in Zoom Info Session: Wednesday, April 14, 3-4pm OR Thursday, April 15, 10-11am Zoom link | Passcode: 802158

APPLY HERE!

Deadline: Sunday, April 18 (to align with the Housing Office timeline of room selection)

TRS 017 Course Description

In this course, students will engage the Lasallian tradition and Catholic heritage of Saint Mary’s College by studying the life and spirituality of Saint John Baptist de La Salle; understanding the contemporary expression of the Lasallian Mission of education, Lasallian Heritage, and Lasallian Spirituality; exploring faith, prayer, and various spiritual practices and their intersections with service; and examining their full personal development through the lenses of faith, service, and community.

TRS 017 Learning Objectives

Students will:

Know the life and story of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and roots of our Lasallian Heritage.
Understand the definitions of vocation (as a lens through which to envision meaningful personal and professional lives), the practice of discerning individual gifts for the purpose of discerning vocation, and connections between their community engagement experience with vocation and their role as members of their local communities
Actively participate in the Lasallian Community, an on campus living-learning community that encourages active and thoughtful self-reflection through the critical reading of texts, as well as the synthesis with their own reflection and lived experiences.
Develop a deeper understanding of and participation in the Lasallian Mission of education, and how it is lived out today, through ongoing involvement with groups such as Lasallian Partners, Christian Brothers, and Lasallian Volunteers.
Synthesize students’ own articulation of faith/spirituality with community and service

Community Engagement/Service Sites

Lasallian Community members will participate in 20+ hours of service in the Fall Semester. The exact community engagement/service sites for Fall 2021 are TBD.

Past Community Engagement Partners include:

DE LA SALLE ACADEMY - 1380 Galaxy Way, Concord - Opened in 2014, De La Salle Academy is a middle school for 5th-8th grade boys of academic promise from low-income families in the Greater Concord area. The school is grounded in the belief that a well-ordered and rigorous education is a key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Such an education can prepare students to live meaningful and productive lives and to recognize and fulfill their obligation to contribute to the well-being of the larger community. By focusing on students during their formative years, De La Salle Academy helps boys to lay a foundation upon which to build future success.

MONUMENT CRISIS CENTER - 1990 Market Street, Concord - Founded in 2003, Monument Crisis Center is a community-based non-profit family resource center for Central and East Contra Costa County. The center offers nutritious food, quality resources and referrals to low-income individuals and families in order to help them become stable and secure in their community. The center also offers a Teen Center and tutoring programs.

FOOD BANK OF CONTRA COSTA AND SOLANO - 4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord - Started in 1975, the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano stores and distributes donated and purchased perishable and nonperishable food items. They distribute food directly to low-income people at community sites and make food available for other nonprofit organizations serving the ill, needy and children. The Food Bank works to reduce food waste, feed hungry people and raise public awareness of issues related to food and hunger.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL ALAMEDA COUNTY - 2272 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland - The mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County is to provide relief and support to those in need through person-to-person assistance and collective action guided by Vincentian principles of fellowship.

GAELPANTRY - On-Campus - The GaelPantry is a food pantry open to all SMC students. It is one of many food pantries located on college campus that are meeting the unfortunate reality for many college students: food insecurity. Food insecurity can hit anyone at any time throughout any phase of life. The GaelPantry is a tangible way that SMC, through the Mission & Ministry Center, is providing better systems of food security on campus.

Community Night Activities

Community Nights (every other week) are primarily planned by the Lasallian Community Leaders and in the past have included:

Meals together
Art nights
Scavenger hunts
Kahoot
Cornhole games
Hikes to the cross
Pumpkin carving
Movie nights
Small group talks
Trivia Nights
Making gingerbread houses
Student-led workshops
Game nights
Suite dinners
Off-campus excursions

Fall Retreat

The Lasallian Community retreat is usually held in mid to late September at Alliance Redwoods Retreat and Conference Center, in Occidental, California. Transportation is provided for this weekend retreat, leaving campus Friday evening and returning early afternoon on Sunday. The $50 TRS 017 course fee covers the cost of this retreat for students.

Lasallian Community Leaders

Lasallian Community Leaders are hired from the students who elect to join the Lasallian Community. Two leaders are hired each year, are part of the Mission & Ministry Center student leadership team, and participate in all MMC student leader trainings. The LC leaders are paid via an Educational Leadership Stipend, and their main roles are to plan, organize, and implement fun & reflective every-other-week Community Nights for Lasallian Community students.

If interested in becoming a LC Leader, first apply to be in the Lasallian Community and indicate on the application that you are interested in one of the LC leader roles.

Lasallian Community

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Orientation Activity at the SMC Museum of Art

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

Tie-Dye and Games at Community Night

De La Salle's Life Timeline Activity

De La Salle's Life Timeline Activity

De La Salle's Life Timeline Activity

De La Salle's Life Timeline Activity

De La Salle's Life Timeline Activity

De La Salle's Life Timeline Activity

Pumpkin Carving at Community Night

Pumpkin Carving at Community Night

Pumpkin Carving at Community Night

Pumpkin Carving at Community Night

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community Retreat at Alliance Redwoods

Lasallian Community

Lasallian Community

Lasallian Community

Lasallian Community

Lasallian Community

Lasallian Community