Welcome to Mission Week from Rev. John Thiede, S.J.

Mission Week Act with Care lights.

Dear students, faculty and staff,  

Welcome to Mission Week! The Office of Mission and Ministry and our partners across campus have worked for months to schedule engaging, thought-provoking and meaningful lectures and events that exemplify this year’s theme: Act with Care.  

I hope you register for as many events as your time allows and discern how Act with Care fits into your everyday lives.  

Acting with Care is simple. It’s profound. It’s one of the easiest things we can do to demonstrate to our fellow campus community members that we all belong here at Marquette and each of us brings value to the lives of others. To communicate that we see you and we’re here for you – to help in moments of struggle and celebrate the achievements. 

To show each other that we care.  

If you’re unable to attend any of the events this year, I ask you to think about this question: what does Act with Care mean to you, and how can you live it out through daily acts of kindness?  

Acting with care can mean thanking our friends and loved ones for being supportive figures in our lives. It can be doing something outside your comfort zone or usual routine to interact with others who may have different lived experiences, making the effort to get to know them and honor their value. For each of us individually, it means treating yourself kindly in your growth as a person, realizing success isn’t linear, and that there are learning opportunities in everything we do.  

Whatever your answer may be about how to demonstrate Act with Care, remember God is always present with an offer of everlasting love and inspires examples for how we might bring a deeper sense of care to our world.  

Happy Mission Week, everyone. I look forward to seeing you at our Mission Week events this week.  

Rev. John Thiede, S.J. 

Vice President for Mission and Ministry