Latest news: Project showcases and preparing for Year 3

In January, the Logos and Cosmos Initiative’s project showcases were a wonderful opportunity for friends and supporters to meet LCI Catalysts, ask questions and hear about the theology and the sciences projects that they have been working on for the past year. We were delighted to welcome approximately 100 people at each of these two regional online galas. The centerpiece of each showcase were the Catalysts’ project presentations, which brought their projects to life through live progress updates, photos, graphics and quotes. If you weren’t able to join us, you can watch the project videos that were shared at the events on our YouTube channel and you can see many of the photos shared at the event on our project snapshots photo gallery.

Deborah Vieira, for example, spoke honestly about the highs and lows of Emmaus, the theology and the sciences mentoring network that she has established in Brazil. She shared encouraging feedback from one of the participants: Bruna Gonçalves, a physiotherapy student, who has been mentored by Rafaela Roberto Dutra, a professional physiotherapist.

“This project has been wonderful, I already knew it would be good, but it has surprised me positively,” Bruna said. “The studies are very deep and apply perfectly to what we have been experiencing in our daily lives. Rafaela is an excellent mentor. She always has wise words and is provocative and encouraging as well.”

Deborah’s mentoring program links undergraduate students with mentors who are further ahead in their academic careers. She has trained the mentors and designed a curriculum based on what she learned last year at the LCI.

“It isn’t always an easy journey,” Deborah said. “We had some challenges because of the context of students nowadays: their schedules, the pressures of time, the impact of the pandemic and hybrid learning. Students are very tired and they don’t want to be in front of a screen anymore, so we are trying to provide alternative methods. And for some students, the articles and books we provided were too heavy. They couldn’t keep up so we have to rethink some of the material we will be using.”

But as Dr Ross McKenzie, Leader of the LCI, pointed out in his address to the showcase events in both of our regions, experimentation, testing and revising is a natural part of the LCI projects.

“We believe that the most effective learning and training happens when done in conjunction with doing,” said Ross. “Projects provide a means for Catalysts to apply what they are learning in their own contexts. The world is complex and producing positive change requires creativity, insight, experimentation, learning, and adapting. Projects provide a means to find out what works or does not work in specific contexts. This will help decide what projects might be scaled up to a national or regional initiative.”

In the Francophone Africa event, Onesphore Hakizimana, a graduate student in animal sciences at the University of Rwanda, discussed his project titled Seeing God through animal sciences.

“After being equipped at the LCI, I wanted to help other students in my field understand how to use animal sciences to answer big questions,” said Onesphore. “And I want to help them understand that the purpose of our academic studies is not just to get good marks or earn a degree but to learn about the wisdom of God through his creation.”

Onesphore has designed and led a series of monthly Bible studies and debates at his university. In one Bible study, students studied the role of animals and human responsibility in Genesis 1:28. In another, they looked at the prophet Ezekiel’s inaugural vision (Ezekiel 1) and saw how important animals are in the sight of God. They also studied Genesis 2 and considered Adam’s role as “the first veterinarian” and creator of the first taxonomy of animals.

Each regional showcase also featured special guests who shared their wisdom and reflections on the relationship between theology and the sciences.

At the Latin America showcase, Argentinian Catalyst Lorena Brondani interviewed Dr Paul Freston, Professor of Religion and Culture at Wilfred Laurier University in Canada and former professor of sociology at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brazil. Dr Freston is a native of England and a graduate of Cambridge University. He is also a naturalized Brazilian, has lived and worked in Brazilian universities for many years and has been involved with the Brazilian IFES national movement.

Dr Freston shared pearls of wisdom for the young Christian academics who were gathered at the event. Reflecting on his long career, he discussed how he sought to integrate his academic work with his Christian faith:

“I thought it was important to ‘walk with both legs’, for example by reading both Christian and non-Christian books and resources,” he said. “If we want to be a bridge between academia and faith then we need to make sure that both sides of the river on either side of the bridge are flowing at the same level in order to make the river flow. Many people don’t grow in both their knowledge of their academic discipline and their Christian faith, and some don’t develop a knowledge of faith that goes beyond Sunday school level. We must have a healthy combination of both. We must go forward in both areas.”

At the Francophone Africa showcase, Dr Klaingar Ngarial, Regional Secretary for this IFES region, spoke on the topic, The African University: From liberation to spirituality. Dr Ngarial discussed the need for African universities to be liberated from the grip of western models of training as well as the important role of the university as a place of spiritual liberation and transformation.

He discussed Jesus’ mission of liberation (Luke 4: 18 – 19), the promise that “creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21), and the command for Christians to “go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (Mark 5:18-20).

Reflecting on these scriptures, Dr Ngarial said:

“I suggest we see in the liberation by the Messiah a cosmic liberation, universal and therefore integrated into the university. Christ sends us back to promote this freedom in our universities. Through us, the Christian faith must come and inhabit the disciplinary spaces of our African universities to contribute to the liberation of these universities. To say it another way means that theologically we must know how to ‘speak God’ in and through our academic disciplines.”

Preparing to scale up for Year 3

Francophone Africa staff team meeting in Benin

We are facing a number of transitions as the third year of the LCI program begins in April. Many of our Tier Two Catalysts who have completed projects this year have submitted proposals to continue their projects next year. Those who are selected to advance to Tier Three will have the opportunity to scale up their projects for an even greater impact at the regional and national level, and we are excited to see how some Catalysts will be forming teams to work together on these larger-scale projects.

Meanwhile, our current cohort of Tier One Catalysts are finishing the final stages of the LCI’s training and development year. This month, many of them will be submitting projects for consideration for funding and implement from April onwards. At the same time, we are looking forward to welcoming a fresh cohort of Catalysts into Tier One in April.

Please pray with us:

Thank God for all the positive impact that our Catalysts’ projects have had on students, researchers, staff workers and members of the university.

Pray for wisdom for the Catalysts and good partnerships as they plan projects that they will implement next year.

Pray for wisdom for the selection committees as they decide which of the current Catalysts will advance to Tier Two and Three of the program, and review applications for our incoming third cohort, which starts in April.

Latest news: Another “first”, project videos and diving deeper

The Logos and Cosmos Initiative celebrated another “first” at the beginning of October when Catalysts, mentors and staff gathered in Santiago, Chile, for the first in-person training workshop in Latin America.

Times of reflection, celebration and interacting with inspiring role models were just a few of the many ways that Catalysts deepened their learning and relationships during the three-day event. Many Catalysts reported that the workshop reaffirmed their calling to the academy and several commented on the beautiful sense of community at the LCI.

Photo of a woman speaking informally at the workshop

“The highlights of the workshop were the encounters that deepened relationships among mentors and catalysts, and the opportunity to share stories around the table,” said Alejandra Ortiz, Co-Coordinator for the LCI in Latin America. “We enjoyed conversations about vocation, worldviews, the academic challenges in Latin America, and life in general. We had a good time celebrating what God has done in our lives through the LCI in terms of formation, maturity and projects that are blessing IFES national movements and ultimately helping to bring God’s kingdom in Latin America.”

Three female speakers shared their personal experiences of working at the interface of science and the Christian faith.

Mexican science writer Ana Ávila (right) spoke about writing at the intersection of science and the Christian faith and encouraged Catalysts to be communicators and influencers at this interface. She also led a practical workshop, sharing tips about writing creatively about science and theology. Ana is a clinical biochemist who works for the Coalición por el Evangelio and the Templeton-funded initiative, Blueprint 1543. She is also one of the LCI’s external advisors. Read more about her work in this BioLogos article.

Dr Rocío Parra, a lawyer who advises the Chilean government on environmental law, spoke about her experience as a woman, a Christian, a mother and a scholar, and led a workshop about Christianity, creation care and public policy.

Dr Elaine Storkey, English sociologist, philosopher and theologian, spoke about her decades-long career as a prominent university academic, author and media commentator. Dr Storkey, who joined the event online, also gave a talk about how the Christian faith helps us to understand and work to overcome violence against women.

New projects video gallery

What does Christianity have to do with erosion? What does the Bible have to say about the development of life-saving technologies? How can student mental health be approached from both a biblical and social science perspective? These are just a few of the issues and questions that Logos and Cosmos Initiative Catalysts are tackling in their theology and the sciences projects.

See our video gallery blogpost to watch a selection of short videos of four of Catalysts discussing the projects that they are leading in their universities in partnership with their IFES national movements. You can also click the image to the left to view the video playlist on our YouTube channel.

Diving deeper into theology and the sciences

Alongside delivering exciting theology and the sciences projects with their IFES national movements, our Tier Two Catalysts are continuing their learning by taking part in month-long academic seminars. The seminars, held online, allow Catalysts and their mentors to dive deeper into theology and the sciences topics that are relevant to their context.

For example, in October, Latin American Catalysts took part in a seminar on epistemology and the history of science and religion, led by two Argentinian academics, Dr Ignacio Silva and Dr Claudia Vanney. Both are external advisors to the LCI.

“This seminar helped me to learn about the complex relationships between science and the Christian faith (and other faiths) in my country and in Latin America,” said Lorena Brondani, a Catalyst from Argentina. “In my own academic work, it has invited me to think in an interdisciplinary way. The session on the ‘most important intellectual virtues for the dialogue between science and religion’ allowed me to reflect on my own intellectual strengths and needs.”

In Francophone Africa, Catalysts and mentors recently took part in a seminar series titled The African Christian Intellectual. The five-week module, led by Dr Augustin Ahoga, was designed in response to the shift in Christianity’s centre of gravity from the West to the Global South. In light of this, the seminar aimed to help African Christian academics to discover themselves and the responsibility that God has entrusted to them, and included comparisons of African, biblical, and scientific views of the world.

As Dr Albertine Bayompe Kabou, an economist and Catalyst from Senegal explains, the seminar gave Catalysts a new perspective on both their LCI projects and their everyday lives.

“Thanks to this seminar, I’ve understood that if I want to reach my potential, I need to take into account my ‘hybridity’ – I’m African and I’m Christian,” Albertine said. “Putting Christ in the centre, I need to embrace my hybridity so that I can understand my context and find solutions to its challenges. For my project in particular, the seminar will help me to analyse more deeply what poverty means to an African so that I can ultimately intervene more effectively.”

After the seminar, Catalysts such as Nou Poudiougo from Mali, felt released to engage more constructively with their culture of origin.

“This seminar has allowed me to remove certain barriers that prevented me from appropriating my culture and benefiting from certain advantages of the African culture,” said Nou, who is from an ethnic people group in Mali called the Dogon. “For example, the Dogon have been organizing the annual Ogobagna Dogon Cultural Festival for seven years. I have never been there because I thought that it was not a place for Christians. Thanks to Dr Ahoga’s course, I’ve changed my perspective and I now plan to go there with my whole family to participate in the festival in January.”

What’s happening now and next?

From workshops and courses to research, our Tier Two Catalysts are now deep into the implementation phase of their theology and the sciences projects. Check out the LCI’s project webpages to read about the full range of Catalysts’ projects.

Meanwhile, our current cohort of Tier One Catalysts continue to progress through the LCI’s training and development curriculum and they are also designing projects that they will submit for consideration for funding and implementation next year. After the excitement of our in-person events, Catalysts will continue to meet for workshops and seminars online for the remainder of the LCI’s year, which concludes at the end of March.

Preparing to welcome another cohort

In February, we will begin accepting applications for a new cohort of Catalysts for the next year of the LCI program, which starts in April 2023. The application portal on the LCI website will open Feb. 1 and close on Feb. 28. Please do spread the word among anyone from Latin America and Francophone Africa who you think may be interested. It is strongly recommended that applicants complete IFES’ Engaging the University (ETU) e-learning course before applying to become a Catalyst. Note that Part 1 of this course can be completed online anytime but Parts and 2 and 3 begin on 30 January 2023. See the ETU website for more information.

Save the date for our project showcase events!

In the New Year, we will be inviting you to the Logos and Cosmos Initiative Projects Showcases. These are two online Gala events that will celebrate the impact of our Catalysts’ projects in their universities, as we mark the half-way point in the LCI’s five-year program.

The Latin America Gala will be on Saturday, January 21 at 4pm GMT.

The Francophone Africa Gala will be on Saturday, January 28 at 6pm GMT.

Email us here if you would like to receive details of how to join in with one of these events.

Prayer points:

Thank God for the rich time of learning and connection at the Latin American workshop in Chile

Please continue to pray for our Catalysts’ theology and the sciences projects, many of which include large-scale events in the coming months.

Pray for wisdom for the Tier One catalysts as they plan their projects for next year.

Pray that God would draw the right candidates to apply for the next phase of the program.

Projects video gallery: 3 minutes with a Catalyst

Watch the 3-minute videos below to hear four of our Catalysts discussing the projects that they are leading in their universities in partnership with their IFES national movements.

Click the images below to watch each video. English subtitles are provided. If you click on the YouTube logo at the bottom of each video you can watch the video in full screen on our YouTube channel where you will find an English transcript beneath the video.

Erosion in DRC:

Johnny Ngunza’s project

Climate change in Guatemala:

Johnny Patal’s project

Mental health in Côte d’Ivoire:

Nina Ble Toualy’s project

Vaccines, values and truths in Brazil:

Prisciliana Jesus de Oliveira’s project

We currently have 18 Catalysts who are leading theology and the sciences projects. Read about all of them on our projects webpages.

Catalyst Perspectives: weaving faith and science to build peace and justice in Mexico

In the face of terrible violence in her home country of Mexico, Sandra Márquez believes that no action is too small when it comes to working towards true peace, the shalom of God. In this Catalyst Perspectives blogpost, Sandra shares how her Logos and Cosmos Initiative project is equipping students to be agents of peace and justice. Sandra is a university professor and is currently finishing a doctorate in social psychology.

“Many small people, in small places, doing small things, can change the world,” said Uruguayan writer and journalist Eduardo Galeano. In the face of great challenges right now in my home country of Mexico, this phrase reminds me that no effort is too small, no effort should be ignored, all are necessary.

Since 2006, the Mexican government has embarked on a “war on drugs¹” waged against the drug cartels. Since then, the violence that has taken root in my country has brought with it much suffering. Homicides, femicides, shootings, extortions, kidnappings and the “disappearances” of more than 130,0000 people has given rise to a climate of mistrust and social disintegration. These crimes are provoked by organized crime operations in complicity with different levels of government and are widely publicized in the media.

Each of these crimes has a profound impact. It is like a shockwave that expands, first affecting the direct victim, but also their family, their circle of friends, their place of study, their work and the community in which they live. So, for every crime there are many people living with the effects of this pain.

Photo of Sandra Marquez — Sandra Márquez

If we learn anything from Ecuadorian theologian René Padilla’s concept of “integral mission”, it is that every human need is a field of Christian mission. Therefore, the church is immersed in a society and cannot ignore society’s dynamics. Understanding that we cannot separate theology from context, we must walk with the bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other (as theologian Karl Barth once said).

Mexico is the 3rd most violent country in Latin America, according to the Global Peace Index Report 2022², which measures the level of peace and the absence of violence in 163 countries around the world.

If we start from the absence of peace, we must think about the meaning of the concept. Peace, at least in the West, is often linked to the Roman idea of pax romana that was conceived as the absence of war. So, for many people peace represents calm or even a sense of a quiet existence and passivity. In contrast, the Hebrew concept of shalom, which translates as a state of wellbeing, for the Hebrew people meant complete peace. In its deepest sense, it means integral wellbeing and can be used as a synonym for prosperity and security (Psalm 85:8-10).

This shalom means having healthy relationships with God, with other people and with the earth. This peace is a gift from God (Isaiah. 52:7). It would not be appropriate to reduce it to the idea of passivity but of action and proactive good works. It results from living in harmony and with right relationships.

In Psalm 85:10 we find a very interesting model, as it states, “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed³“. This affirmation starts from the relational components such as mercy (love) and truth as part of human coexistence and in the end, establishes a relationship between justice (sometimes translated as righteousness) and peace as broader social conditions. If the concept of Hebrew shalom is understood then an intrinsic dimension to this peace is wellbeing that stems from justice.

If peace is linked to justice, we must also analyze this concept. From the biblical text we understand that God’s justice is different from human justice. From the human perspective, in ancient times the law of retaliation was the rule when it came to responding to a crime, to give to each one according to their deeds.

Jesus delves into this in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”

In this way Jesus asks his disciples to see the contrast between injustice and just actions and to have an attitude other than revenge. God’s justice is a justice that restores and transforms. It moves us from being sinners to being justified by grace and called to be righteous.

A project for peace and justice that is like a mustard seed

The LCI came into my life at just the right time. I am currently a university professor. I work in the area of planning and I am finishing a doctorate in social psychology. I am married to Erick Araiza, whom I met at Compa Mexico (my IFES national movement), and we have a 3-year-old daughter named Constanza.

Throughout my years at the university, I believed I had already integrated my academic knowledge with my Christian faith, especially when working on issues related to justice. My doctoral thesis concerns the effects and dynamics of the disappearance of people by organized crime, as well as the development of guidelines for accompanying the families of people who have disappeared in order to provide psychological and social support for them.

However, at the LCI I discovered that faith that is linked to reason must truly integrate psychological knowledge with theology. Through this initiative, I found a place to bring these reflections to student ministry and to encourage students to see their profession as a tool to work for justice and peace, regardless of their academic discipline. I want to help students and young academics to approach their context from their dual citizenship – that of the Kingdom of God and society linked to their professional training.

This is how my LCI project “Opening Paths of Justice and Peace” came about (see video above). It will bring together perspectives on justice and peace from both the social sciences and the Christian faith.

My project is based on the belief that students from Compa Mexico are fundamental to change the situation of violence in our country. They can detonate creative actions of hope and transformation.

From the inception of the project, the idea of collaborating with a local staff worker was raised, so I began to work with Maritza López Osorio. She has personal experience of losing someone who “disappeared.” In her student years, Maritza lost a good friend from her Bible study cell group who disappeared because of organized crime. Maritza has taken on the challenge of participating in this project. She has shared her gifts and her story, sharing her own reflections on the subject and inspiring students.

Photo of Staff Worker Maritza and students at a workshop — Maritza (centre) and students at a workshop

In 2022, my project has involved the following activities: 1) Two training workshops for students and workers, in which they created initiatives to work for peace and justice in their own contexts and campuses; 2) a day-long academic-theological forum on justice and peace; and 3) an investigation into Mexican university students’ attitudes about war, justice and peace, with the aim of developing a scientific publication.

Most recently, the theological forum was held on November 12 and was attended by more than 75 people including students, staff workers and also professionals and people interested in the subject from other organizations and churches in Mexico. Expert speakers analyzed the problem of violence from the perspective of the bible, social sciences and civic initiatives. All eight of the presentations are available to watch on my blog and on YouTube.

A screengrab from Sandra's online forum showing an introductory slide — A slide from Sandra’s theological forum

Encounters in the Global South and reflections on violence against women with Dr Elaine Storkey

The LCI has also allowed me to meet other Christian researchers who also seek to integrate their multiple academic and faith experiences in a serious and profound way. In September I participated in the LCI Latin America workshop held in Santiago, Chile. We were able to meet in person after 18 months of working together virtually. It was opportunity to broaden our reflections, be trained by workshops and to enjoy valuable time in community.

During the workshop, we were challenged by the lectures of sociologist, philosopher and theologian Dr Elaine Storkey. She shared with us her vision, and a biblical and social reading of violence against women, which occurs at all stages of life and in all cultures and societies. She led us to reflect on how violence against women manifests itself in crude and unjust ways in different places, pointing out that it is important to talk about this issue and to develop projects that can respond to this type of violence.

Sadly, in Latin America, violence against women is a very real issue, with a large number of femicides, among other crimes. I really identified with what she shared about how these problems are not usually a topic of analysis in faith communities. I thank God that she brings her experience and reflections on violence against women to different spaces.

As I said at the beginning, remembering Galeano’s words, no action is too small in the face of violence to show the world the shalom of God, from biblical reflections, books, projects, ideas to take to campuses, research, forums, as well as all the work from the LCI.

I invite you to pray for the construction of peace from faith, for Mexico and Latin America, so that believers can bear witness to the gospel of peace, restoring, reconciling and weaving hope from interpersonal relationships, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the cultural, political and social dimension in the region.

Find out more:

Watch a 2-minute video of Sandra discussing her project (video is in Spanish but English subtitles and transcript are provided)

Follow Sandra’s progress with her project on her personal blog (in Spanish)

Read about all 18 of our Catalysts’ projects on our project webpages

ENDNOTES:

¹Mexico’s “war on drugs”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_drug_war

²Global Peace Index Report (2022), produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace: https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GPI-2022-web.pdf

³ New King James Version

Latest news: meaningful connections and projects picking up pace

It was a rich time of learning and fellowship at the Logos and Cosmos Initiative’s first in-person training workshop in Francophone Africa, which took place in August. More than 30 participants met together in Bujumbura, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Burundi.

After such a long season of online meetings, our Catalysts (participants) found it valuable to be together in person: connecting with others over a meal, for example, or having conversations that renewed their vision as Christian academics or helped them refine their theology and the sciences projects. They also had the opportunity to learn from – and engage with – eminent scholars from the region, who spoke on such topics as: the ecological dimensions of the Christian faith; how to develop research projects; and project management.

Photo of a female workshop participant asking a question with a miccrophone

“It was wonderful to see the sense of family that has developed among the Catalysts in the Logos and Cosmos community,” said Dr Albert Chabi Eteka, Executive Director for the LCI in Francophone Africa. “Catalysts have told us that they came away from the workshop feeling equipped, galvanized and spiritually empowered.”

Catalysts were joined at the event by seven LCI staff, several mentors and a number of GBUAF regional staff members, including Regional Secretary Dr Klaingar Ngarial. Many participants stayed on for the regional PANAF’22 conference, which took place in the same location immediately after the LCI workshop.

Looking ahead, our Latin American Catalysts, mentors and staff will come together for an in-person workshop from 29 September – 2 October in Santiago, Chile. Dr Elaine Storkey, the English sociologist, philosopher and theologian, will give the two main talks. The workshop will also feature plenaries by Dr Rocío Parra, a lawyer who advises the Chilean government on environmental law, and Ana Ávila, a Mexican science writer who works for the Coalición por el Evangelio and the Templeton-funded initiative, Blueprint 1543.

In the meantime, our Tier One Catalysts in both regions are currently taking the LCI’s 6-week long e-course, An Introduction to Science and Theology, which has been updated with new content on the importance of the humanities and has been contextualized for our Latin America region. To help them develop their own project ideas, these Catalysts are also starting to conduct analysis and reflection on their national movements, campuses, academic disciplines and the work of God in their own hearts.

Sandra’s project in Mexico: Jesus is our peace and justice

Our Tier Two Catalysts have been busy leading workshops, planning conferences, conducting research and developing new resources as part of their exciting theology and the sciences projects.

In Mexico, graduate student Sandra Márquez Olvera organized her first workshop in July as part of her Opening paths to justice and peace project. Like many Catalysts’ projects, her project aims to tackle a very real problem in her nation: the violence and forced disappearances associated with Mexico’s so-called “war on drugs.” Through workshops, an academic forum and a research paper, Sandra’s project will open up a dialogue among university students about faith, justice and peace in Mexico and will equip them to take active steps as peace-builders.

Photo of students and national movement staff presenting ideas at a workshop

Sandra’s project blog shares some of these testimonies from the 28 student leaders and workers from Compa Mexico, the IFES national movement, who took part in the three-day workshop in Mexico City:

“I believe that we can do something to change the situation of injustice in the country, and it can be started from small actions,” said one cell group leader who attended.

At the end of the event, participants developed ideas and initiatives to respond to social violence even at the very local level of their university campuses.

Photo of students and national movement staff sitting on the floor brainstorming ideas

“In a gray moment of global violence, Jesus is our peace and justice,” said Compa Mexico staff worker Maritza López. She co-led the workshop with Sandra and has personal experience of losing a university friend who disappeared four years ago. “I take many challenges away from this workshop to share with my students, professional friends, church and family. It has made me ask myself how we could replicate actions to build justice and peace in my state – Tabasco, Mexico. Thank God for the Logos and Cosmos Initiative and for the researchers who make the space in their life agendas to add to the lives of the students of our national movement.”

Meet our Catalysts and explore their projects

LCI Catalysts are currently leading 18 projects in 15 countries across our two regions. You can now read summaries of all of their projects on our new project webpages. There are also plenty of opportunities to hear from Catalysts themselves.

In this 2-minute video, Marcio Lima, an architecture professor from Brazil, talks about his theology and the arts research program for students in ABUB Brazil. You can also read his thoughts about how the arts and the Chrisitan faith enrich one another in his Catalyst Perspectives blogpost. Lastly, you can listen to his interview on the recent Voices of IFES podcast episode about the LCI.

Also in Latin America, Lorena Brondani from Argentina is interviewing remarkable Christian women academics and will tell their stories through videos and printed materials. Read her Catalyst Perspectives blogpost to learn more.

Screenshot of a video of Marcio Lima talking

In our Francophone Africa region, watch this short video from geologist Isaac Daama to learn more about how his project is drawing together scientific and Christian perspectives on occult mining practices in Cameroon.

Screenshot of a video showing Isaac Daama talking

Please pray with us:

Thank God for the connections and learning that took place at the workshop in Burundi and pray for the upcoming workshop in Chile.
Praise the Lord for the positive reception that Tier Two Catalysts’ projects have had so far from students and leaders in their IFES national movements and from others in their local contexts.
Pray for sustenance and energy for Catalysts as they continue to implement their projects. Many of them are juggling their role as a Catalyst with many other responsibilities.
Pray for good partnerships and favor from authorities and collaborators as Catalysts continue with their projects.
Pray for the mentoring relationships that Catalysts have with their LCI “advocates,” that trust will be developed, insights shared and friendships built.

Catalyst Perspectives: learning from women who love the sciences and Jesus

When Argentinian academic Lorena Brondani joined the Logos and Cosmos Initiative in 2021, she found herself with her baby in her arms, juggling motherhood and a PhD while also learning how to build bridges between her Christian faith and her discipline. In this Catalyst Perspectives blogpost, Lorena explains how her experience led her to run an LCI project that will share the stories of women who love the sciences just as much as they love Jesus and their own families.

Being a Christian woman in academia, combined with my experience as a wife, new mother and member of the IFES national movement in Argentina, have all shaped my life deeply. These personal experiences inspired me to seek out and listen to other women who share a love of science (especially the social sciences), the Lord and in the cases of mothers, the emerging life they are nurturing. This was the seed of my Logos and Cosmos Initiative project, which is called Conversations with Christian women academics from Argentina.

How did these conversations begin? My calling to the academy

For many years, I have felt called to the academy as a mission field – but my approach has evolved. As I progressed from my bachelor’s degree in social communication to a master’s in university teaching, I began to see that the university is a complex ecosystem. The Lord began to show me that bringing His kingdom to the university is broader than just reaching students, it also means reaching out to professors, researchers and non-teaching staff.

Photo of Lorena with her baby son — Lorena with her son

Now, as an academic and PhD student, I would say: “I became an intellectual to intellectuals, to win over intellectuals” (paraphrasing Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22) But my vision of what it means to bring God’s kingdom through academia has been enlarged further by three specific experiences.

The first was in 2014 when I read a report written by an Argentinian, female academic, following her participation in an IFES “Latin American Consultation of Researchers and University Professors” meeting held in Brazil in 2014. It was led by Vinoth Ramachandra, IFES Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement, as part of IFES’ Engaging the University ministry.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this report marked me for the rest of my academic career and my Christian life. At that time, I had never known anything about how Christian scholars could see their classrooms, research projects, disciplines and science in general as a place to make a Godly contribution to the university and the world.

My heart burned when I read about some of the challenges that were presented by Vinoth Ramachandra at the event. For example, the need for Christian academics to integrate theological and scientific perspectives on important issues, to orient their research towards projects that help their communities flourish, to defend the truth in science, and to work with intellectual honesty.

The second experience that confirmed my “call” to serve God through my academic career was participating in a program for professors and research students at the IFES World Assembly in Mexico in 2015. It impacted me greatly to meet successful academic Christians from different disciplines, countries and cultures, all with the same goal; fulfilling God’s mission in the simple matters of everyday life. I remember the testimony of one professor who felt called by the Lord to make a difference by treating her students well, leaving behind the pride and arrogance that often comes with academia. I really identified with her story and made her decision my own.

Finally, becoming a Catalyst at the Logos and Cosmos Initiative has helped me understand the complementarity between the sciences (mainly communications) and theology. It was a huge change from the messages that I grew up with in a Catholic context in Argentina, such as “beware of science” and the idea that science and theology are opposed, or compete with one another.

Photo of Lorena teaching a class — Lorena teaching a class

During my studies at the LCI, I found it useful to read biographies of Christian scholars such as Dr Francis Collins¹, an American physicist and geneticist who founded the Christian organization BioLogos. I learned about models for relating science and religion by reading the work of Denis R. Alexander², Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. I have been taking steps on the path of developing a “Christian mind,” an idea developed by Christian philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff³. As a scholar of communication theory, I like to call this a “communicational mind,” which to me, means using the Bible to learn how to see contemporary social communication issues through the Christian lens of creation, fall and redemption.

I’m continuing to work out the links between my Christian faith and my academic work, particularly my research for my PhD in social communication. As I continue on this journey, I was curious to learn from other women who had built bridges not only between their Christian faith and their academic discipline, but also with their family life (marriage, motherhood, singleness and divorce). When I began to look into this area, I found that very little research has been published specifically on the experiences of Christian women in academia, especially in Spanish.

The beginnings of my project: initial findings

When I interviewed female Christian scholars for my LCI pilot project in 2021, I discovered that many of them have spent a lifetime giving just as much love and dedication to the university and their academic career as they do to their own families and children.

Those who are mothers have had to slow down, get up early, but not stop their academic production. Those who are single have often suffered social, cultural and even religious pressures to marry or have children but that did not stop their mission to the university, their academic contributions to society or their devotion to Jesus Christ.

Zoom screengrab of Lorena conducting an interview on zoom — Lorena (left) conducting an interview

Divorcees are also messengers of the kingdom of God in their classrooms, in their senior career positions and through their publications, and have not necessarily had a marriage interrupted “because of” their university career, as some might assume.

The women I spoke to were remarkably diverse but they have all cultivated an active and creative spirituality and have loved God “with all their minds” (paraphrasing Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:30).

My pilot project raised many questions about the intersections between women’s spirituality, their academic work, and their gender and family roles (marriage, motherhood, singleness). To explore the triangular intersections among these three areas, my project will collect and share the life stories of at least six female, Argentine academics.

My goal is to develop inspiring resources that demonstrate how these three areas can complement and enrich each other, and encourage young, female Christian students who hope to pursue academic careers. I will conduct in-depth interviews and use them to publish a printed book, an e-book, a short film and a series of short audiovisual clips.

My project today: conversations with Christian, women academics from Argentina

After my proposal was accepted by the LCI in April, I began with times of prayer, mentoring and indispensable feedback. By the grace of God, I have a wonderful project team made up of women who have served/are serving with IFES movements in Latin America. Together, we identified the women who would be interviewed for the project.

Screengrab of four participants at Lorena's project team prayer meeting on zoom — Project team prayer meeting

In July I began recording the first few interviews. To give a taste of what the women talk about, the stories include: the “long singleness” of an academic woman who married at age 50; a historian and academic mother who knew how to deal with self-esteem and guilt; and a single academic who knew how to cultivate rest and seek out Christian mentoring for her academic work.

Looking at the progress I have made so far, I am grateful that I have had two incredible consultation meetings with external advisors and participated in a course titled “Past, Present and Future of Feminism” with Dr Sarah Williams, Research Professor in the History of Christianity at Regent College.

I am given hope by the encouraging messages I have received from the other Catalysts in my cohort, such as: “I’m very curious about the facts you’ll have on single women!” ; “Thank you for revealing these women to us”; and “The project will bring many important lights for women in science.”

Lorena Brondani is studying for a doctorate in social communication at Austral University in Argentina and is an advisor to ABUA Argentina ( the IFES national movement) in her hometown, Paso de los Libres, Corrientes.

Find out more:

Follow Lorena’s progress with her project on her personal blog (in Spanish)
Read about all 18 of our Catalysts’ projects on our project webpages

ENDNOTES

¹Collins, Frances (2016) “How Does God Speak? The scientific evidence of faith (Ariel, 2016)

²Alexander, Dennis (2007) “Models for Relating Science and Religion” The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

³Wolterstorff, Nicholas (2014) “Christian Scholarship in the Twenty-First Century: Prospects and Perils “ (Cambridge, United States: Editorial Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing & Co. Translated by Moisés J. Zelada. chap.1, pp. 1-17)

Catalyst Perspectives: how art can speak to us about God, the world and ourselves

In this Catalyst Perspectives blogpost, architecture professor Marcio Lima discusses how art can help reveal the mysteries of God, the human condition and its meaning. He also shares how his LCI project will nurture Christian students in Brazil to be agents of God’s kingdom through their research and artistic production.

“But even before I learned to read, I remember first being moved to devotional feeling at eight years old. My mother took me alone to mass … on the Monday before Easter. It was a fine day, and I remember today, as though I saw it now, how the incense rose from the censer and softly floated upwards and, overhead in the cupola, mingled in rising waves with the sunlight that streamed in at the little window. I was stirred by the sight, and for the first time in my life I consciously received the seed of God’s word in my heart.”
— Father Zossima in The Brothers Karamázov, Fyodor Dostoevsky (1880)

Can the arts reveal something about God, or the world or ourselves in a unique way? This is a question that has challenged me for some time. It seems to me that Russian author Dostoevsky answers this question in the affirmative. The excerpt above is a line from Father Zóssima, a character who is a spiritual guide in Dostoevsky’s book The Brothers Karamázov. The quote shows how the architecture, the light, and the dance of the incense smoke rising to the dome of the church were significant to the character’s religious experience.

I share Dostoevsky’s view that the arts can contribute to an expansion of our knowledge of the world and of God, not necessarily through cognitive means, but through affective (emotional) ones.

This is why I proposed a project for the Logos and Cosmos Initiative that explores the relationship between art and theology. I understand art as a profound manifestation of existence. It can speak to us about the world in a more intense way and can function as an instrument of knowledge. Art can make tangible – through the material – the highest attributes of the human spirit. In a sense, art shows human beings what it means to be fully human.

Photo of a stained glass window in a church — A church in Mexico

My project consists of developing a research program in theology and the arts for students of ABUB Brazil, my IFES national movement. The program includes training, mentoring and research support. It will feature a foundations course focusing on the relationship between the arts and the basic Christian motif of creation, fall, redemption and restoration. After the course, we will have a mentoring program for students to develop a research project related to the arts, architecture and theology. Some students’ research projects may also include the production of artistic works.

Photo of students listening at a workshop given by Marcio — Marcio’s recent workshop

In the meantime, as part of my project, I recently had the opportunity to lead a workshop (see left) for the ABUB national congress, where students explored the theme of art, justice and the kingdom of God.

My whole LCI project is connected with the formation I received through the IFES community of students.

Since I was a university student, this formation challenged me to try to relate my faith to my academic training in architecture. When I understood that being a Christian impacts all areas of life, I sought to develop theological and practical connections between my faith and worldview and my discipline.

During my master’s degree, for example, I chose a topic that allowed me to discuss architecture from a human and transcendent point of view, looking for points of contact between these two subjects. When I was introduced to the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, I saw the opportunity to further develop these relationships and connect with a community of researchers who also have this commitment from their disciplines. It was an opportunity to continue the formation I received as a student, where I had already learned how our lives should not be dichotomous, but integrated by the knowledge and reality of God.

However, this was all in sharp contrast to my Christian upbringing in a Pentecostal evangelical church. I grew up in an environment where we were presented with a gospel in which the secular (or material) life and the spiritual life were separated and didn’t need to be connected. It was like that dualistic vision, more Platonist than Christian, between the material world and the spiritual world, between the body and the soul. Although there was no opposition to science or to academic study, these areas were treated as secular aspects of life that had almost nothing to do with the spiritual life.

At the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, myself and my fellow Catalysts are developing quite the opposite mindset: the understanding that there is no secular life and religious life.

The reality of God permeates the entire cosmos, all our life in its various manifestations. We are integrated beings. What fragments us is sin, provoking a dualistic vision that has damaged the way in which Christians relate, or even fail to relate, to science and the university.

This integral vision even rejects a purely rationalistic reading of the human being. When we consider the wholeness of the human being, which in an Augustinian vision displaces the center of gravity of human identity from the brain to the Kardia (the Greek word for the heart and guts – the seat of our emotions), we recognize the importance of the arts in this process of understanding reality. The ability of art to disrupt the fabric of reality reveals to us more of the mystery of the human condition, as well as its meaning.

This integral understanding of the human being that the Christian faith points to informs my work as an architect and academic.

First, I can point to social injustices, in Brazil and also in Latin America where we see a large number of people who are homeless or live in substandard housing, without health or structural stability. In this sense, my work focuses on stimulating and sensitizing students about the need to get involved in low-income housing projects, in the improvement of degraded areas, in providing decent spaces for human existence, not only in terms of structure and sanitation but also from an existential and human point of view.

The second aspect, to which I have dedicated myself more in recent years, is to understand architecture and the arts as a manifestation of what the human being is in all its depth. Our goal is to understand how the existence and essence of the human being is manifested through artistic languages and how they can be privileged means to understand the mystery of life.

Photo of Catalyst Marcio Lima — Marcio Lima

Therefore, it is our duty as Christian scholars to seek these interfaces and show that the Christian worldview has much to contribute to the world, such as the development of a broader anthropology of the human being. We are challenged to see our work as scholars as part of God’s action for the renewal of the world, as agents of God’s Kingdom.

My goal for my LCI project is for students to understand how the arts are part of our lives, and how the arts can reflect what restored relationships look like, both with God, creation and between humans. The arts are part of our reality as human beings made up of body, soul, reason, and emotion.

Finally, my hope and prayer is that this project will contribute to the formation of students who are artists. My project’s goal is not that these Christian artists only make Christian-themed art to nurture their faith, but that – above all – they understand their role as artists who have faith and produce art for the good of the world. Not a production created as a sub-culture or enclave, but art created for the life of the world. As Christian philosopher James K. Smith¹ puts it:

“…not art that simply augments piety, but art whose infusion of faith invites a wider world to imagine why it is possible to believe – art that invites any and all human beings to confront the vortexes of hunger and longing we call ‘soul’ (…) I am fascinated and inspired by those writers and sculptors whose God-possessed imaginations create works that capture both their neighbors and their fellow pilgrims.”
— Christian Philosopher James K. Smith

Those of us who are artists, architects, and writers are invited to give the reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), in an imaginative, creative, and poetic way. This is our challenge!

Marcio Lima is a professor of architecture and urban planning, and is also studying for a PhD in modern religious architecture University of São Paulo in Brazil. He has been involved in ABUB Brazil for the past 10 years, first as a student and now as a volunteer staff worker.

Find out more:

Follow Marcio’s project’s progress on his personal blog
Read about all 18 of our Catalysts’ projects on our project webpages
Watch a 2-minute video of Marcio discussing his project (video is in Spanish but an English transcript provided)
Listen to the recent Voices of IFES podcast in which Marcio was interviewed about his project and his experience as a Catalyst. Video and audio is in Spanish but an English transcript is provided.

ENDNOTES

¹Smith, James K. “For the Good of the World” on Monergismo.com

Arts, architecture and theology: hear more from Catalyst Marcio Lima

The Logos and Cosmos Initiative’s Tier Two Catalysts have started running projects in their universities that spark curiosity and wonder about theology and the sciences.

Catalyst Marcio Lima is a Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. He is developing a theology and the arts research program for Christian students who are involved with ABUB Brazil, the IFES national movement.

As Christians, the narrative arc of creation, fall and redemption is the lens through which we see the world. Marcio’s project explores such questions as: What if we looked at this biblical narrative through the arts and vice versa? Would we understand more about God, the world and what it means to be human? Find out more in Marcio’s 2-minute long video below.

At the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, we talk a lot about “theology and the sciences.” It is no accident that we use the plural term, “sciences.” We use this term to mean a range of academic disciplines, including not only the natural sciences but also the social sciences and the arts. Our Tier Two Catalysts, who are currently running inspiring projects, are from a diverse range of 13 different academic backgrounds.

Marcio’s video is in Spanish with English subtitles. An English transcript can be found below.

English-language transcript of Marcio’s video:

Hi! I’m Marcio Lima. I live in São Paulo, Brazil. I am an architect and professor of architecture. I am one of the catalysts of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative. The goal of my project is developing a research program in theology and arts for university students.

What led me to work on this topic was the need to explore the relationship between the artistic language and the religious experience. We start from the assumption that the arts lead us to relate in an intentional and intense way with the physical, emotional, and imaginative characteristics of a human. They enable us to get involved in activities which create meaning and thus contribute to integrally shape the human being. That is the reason we ask ourselves: do the visual arts and architecture reveal in a unique way something about the knowledge of God or about the world or about ourselves?

From this perspective, and knowing that the answer to this question is positive, the proposed project seeks to explore how the arts contribute to the expression of what we know about the world and about God. Our hope is to prepare students to establish connections and promote dialogue within the academic world about the existing relationship between the arts and faith.

I am currently drafting the theoretical basis of the course to be offered in September. After the course, we will have a mentoring program for students. They will have to develop a research project related to arts, architecture, and theology. We believe that the project will have a positive impact by opening a more poetic way of understanding faith and reality and increasing meaningful artistic productions, since our vision of God and reality transforms the way we see and act in the world. Thank you very much!

Seeds of transformation: LCI featured on podcast

Brazilian Catalyst Marcio Lima and the LCI’s Latin America co-coordinator Alejandra Ortiz were recently interviewed for a Voices of IFES podcast episode all about the Logos and Cosmos Initiative. It was a Spanish-language episode but read on for the English transcript.

During the conversation, Marcio shares about both his career path and spiritual journey, and how his faith nourishes his academic work and vice versa. Marcio is a Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Sao Paulo. You can also learn about his LCI project: a theology and the arts research and mentoring project for students from his IFES national movement.

Alejandra, Co-Coordinator for the LCI in Latin America, explains more about LCI’s vision, how the program is strengthening IFES national movements and what’s on the horizon. We are grateful to Jorge “Toto” Bermudez, General Secretary of CBUU Uruguay and Regional Communications Coordinator, for hosting this episode.

Listen to this episode of the Voices of IFES podcast wherever you usually get your podcasts. For example, it can be found here on Spotify.

Watch the video of the podcast recording below (video is in Spanish with English subtitles).

Read the English transcript of the podcast below.

English-language transcript of the Voices of IFES podcast episode about the LCI:

Toto: Welcome to Voices of IFES. I am Jorge “Toto” Bermudez. Today I will be the host. I serve as general secretary of the movement in Uruguay, Comunidad Bíblica Universitaria, and I also coordinate Communications for the IFES Latin America regional team.

Today we are joined by Alejandra Ortiz and Marcio Lima Junior. Both are part of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative. Ale is the Co-Coordinator of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative in Latin America, and Marcio is a Catalyst at the LCI and a professor of architecture and urban planning.

Welcome, Ale, Marcio. Thank you for joining us on Voices of IFES. We wanted to have you on the podcast to talk about the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, which is one of the ministries of IFES, and which is quite recent.

Ale, Marcio… Could you please introduce yourselves quickly? Then we will have more time to go deeper with each of you. Ale?

Ale: Of course. It’s a pleasure to be here with you…

My name is Alejandra Ortiz. I live in Tijuana, Mexico. I serve with COMPA part-time, the national movement here in Mexico, and with the LCI as co-coordinator. I am married to Abdiel and have two girls.

Toto: Thank you very much Ale. Marcio?

Marcio: Hello everyone. It’s a pleasure to be with you. I am Marcio. I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I am an architect, professor of architecture, and I am earning a doctorate in History and the Foundations of Architecture. I also participated as a student of the national movement University Bible Alliance of Brazil (ABUB) and… I am a volunteer advisor.

Toto: Great. Thank you very much for joining us today. We are going to have a really interesting talk, getting to know each other a little bit more, and especially about the LCI. So… Ale, you are a member of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative team, can you tell us a little bit more about this initiative? And why was it created?

Ale: Sure, yes, gladly.

The Logos and Cosmos Initiative equips young Christian academics from the national IFES movements to carry out projects that awaken and provoke wonder in both the sciences and theology and the relationship between the sciences and theology.

Then, through the LCI, we offer Catalyst training, mentoring, funding also for their own personal formation and to lead initiatives at the university and in collaboration with the national IFES movements. The Logos and Cosmos Initiative is largely funded by the John Templeton Foundation, which provided the funding for five years of this initiative in Latin America and French-speaking Africa.

Toto: How nice!

Ale: Well, the projects that are being developed bring together theological and scientific perspectives to address challenges, well, very pressing challenges that we have like… mental health, poverty, climate change, this dissociation that exists between academic disciplines and Christian faith within universities and movements, and it’s the Catalysts that are carrying out these projects.

Toto: How interesting, how necessary it sounds for our context here in Latin America! Now… You have mentioned Catalysts more than once. Who are these Catalysts?

Ale: Yes, yes, yes, yes. “Catalysts” is the name we use to designate the people who participate, that is, those who have applied to a year of the initiative and have been selected to be part of a cohort.

We call our participants Catalysts because we believe that they are key people who are producing changes in thinking about science and faith within their movements, their universities… And also, generating seeds of transformation for good processes in our mission contexts.

Toto: Yes… Very appropriate, very appropriate. And… Speaking of Catalysts… Marcio, you are one of those Catalysts! Can you share with us what led you to participate in the Logos and Cosmos Initiative?

Marcio: Yes, of course. I am a Catalyst. I heard about the LCI through the national movement, and when I saw this opportunity to further develop knowledge about science and theology, I said to myself that it would be very interesting, very nice all this, because I knew something from the national movement, from the student community, but I saw this opportunity to further develop these issues within the university.

Toto: That’s good! That’s great. And tell me Marcio, in this last year participating in the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, how has it been for you? Is there anything that impacted you in a special way?

Marcio: Yes, of course.

The first year was a very good experience. The intellectual formation we received allowed us to be introduced to different authors, to explore the dimensions of science and theology. To learn how these two areas need not be opposed and disconnected. Because we understand that the reality of God impacts all things and Christ is reconciling all these things to himself.

Toto: Uh-huh.

Marcio: So, we understand that as Christian academics we have to look for these interfaces, to show that our worldview has a lot to contribute to the world… And I think one thing that impacted me a lot is from the point of view of developing a broader anthropology of the human being.

Toto: Aha.

Marcio: And another aspect that was very striking to me. The care of the program in developing a Christian life and a wise spirituality, since we are not only a brain, but a complete being that has feelings, and we were created to relate with God. So, the program encouraged us to listen to God’s voice to guide us on this path of research, work and personal relationships. We were also challenged to see our work as scholars as part of God’s action for the renewal of the world and as agents of God’s kingdom and participants in its history. In this sense, I am reminded of a class offered to us by Professor Sarah Williams, which dealt with the dimension of spirituality in academic work, and it was very impactful!

Toto: How interesting, isn’t it? This question of academic life as work, but the academic as a spiritual person, also needing to cultivate his spirituality. How nice to be able to think about the development and challenges of both! This question throughout your life, right? Thinking about the space where you grew up, in the church… Also, in the space where you were formed, Marcio, in the university and even in the student ministry, the concepts about science, academia, and about religion, about faith and how they were linked, not always, I imagine, went in the same direction as the way they are working in the Logos and Cosmos Initiative. Have you noticed any difference, in that sense, in what you had heard in your formative years and the proposal of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative?

Marcio: Yes, I think I can speak from two points of view. One from the formation in the national movement. I see the Logos and Cosmos program as a continuation of my formation within the evangelical student community, right? Because I already knew how our life should not be dichotomous, but that we should integrate everything as knowledge and reality of God. However, in my religious upbringing, as a child, I grew up in an environment where there was a distinction between secular or material life and spiritual life. We were presented with a gospel in which these two dimensions of human life are separated and where these two spheres need no connection with each other. It was like this dualistic view, more Platonic than Christian really, between the material world and the spiritual world, between the body and the soul.

In my religious upbringing, although there was no opposition to science, to academic study, faith and science were treated as two distinct areas, one of secular life and one of spiritual life. However… What we are developing in the Logos and Cosmos program is quite the opposite, it is the understanding that there is no secular life and a religious life. The reality of God permeates the whole cosmos, our whole life in its various manifestations. Since we are indivisible, it is sin that fragments us. Therefore, we do not need to have a dualistic vision, but a holistic vision, connected to this reality between science and university.

Toto: How reassuring I imagine it is for academics, for those of us who develop the intellectual life, to be able to think about our lives in this way, in a holistic way! It is liberating, it is hopeful because it also makes us think of all the things that God can redeem in us and through us. As you were saying before, Marcio, you are a professor of architecture, of urban planning. You are doing a doctorate in history and fundamentals of architecture and urbanism at the prestigious University of Sao Paulo. What is it that led you to train in this area?

Marcio: Yes… I think it is a sense of vocation, and… Before studying architecture and entering the university, I had a previous training in pedagogy. So, when I entered the university to study architecture, I also intended to dedicate myself to teaching. That became clearer to me, when I came to understand that God distributes gifts and talents so that we can serve the Kingdom and people. Based on this, I understood that this would be my way of acting, considering my personal inclinations, my academic background… It is an opportunity to serve the kingdom of God and people.

Toto: That’s good, that’s good! Because at times we may have some tensions that are not necessary, don’t we?
When the Lord really wants to strengthen that for which we feel a vocation, for which we have an inclination and that which really makes us feel fulfilled also in the development of our work and our intellectual work. Now Marcio… Thinking of you as a professor in your field, I am interested in knowing a little more, that you go a little deeper in this that has already been mentioned, in how your faith nourishes your work and also now, vice versa, how academic work can nourish faith.

I guess… Not everything is a garden of roses. In some moments tensions appear, conflicts appear, what are those tensions, those conflicts that you have had as a Christian in your context?

Marcio: Yes… Of course, it’s never a [rose] garden [a piece of cake]. But we keep cultivating this garden so that things can be seen. But… I think I can speak in two different ways. I see faith as shaping my work as a teacher and as a scholar.

The first is related to social injustices. In Brazil and in Latin America we see a large number of people who have no house to live in or they live in their homes without light or structural stability, for example. In that sense, my work focuses on stimulating and sensitizing students about the need to get involved in, for example, popular housing projects, in the qualification of degraded areas, in providing decent spaces for human existence, not only structures and sanitary facilities but also in the existential and human aspect.

Just today… I was reading a phrase of a contemporary architect, an Uruguayan, who said that: “some houses do not have a single sign of having been made as a whole, thinking that they could be inhabited by men capable of talking to the stars”. In this sense, the second aspect to which I have dedicated myself most in recent years is to understand architecture and the arts as a manifestation of what the human being is in all its depth. Our goal is to understand how the existence and essence of the human being is manifested through artistic languages and how they can be privileged means to understand the mystery of life. I understand the arts as something that leads us to participate intentionally and intensely in the physical, emotional, and imaginative characteristics of the human being. And I also believe that architecture is a written book and that there is a profound relationship between architecture and worldview, how those who built [those structures] understood the world.

The question I ask myself is whether architecture and other artistic languages can point us in a unique way to knowledge of God or the world or ourselves. Whether these languages can speak to us about these issues. And… the difficulties that I see in the university is that many times this topic of faith is a topic that is thought of as an intimate, private, subjective forum… And that it should not be dealt with in the university. But I see that it is totally the opposite because the university is the environment to ask all the discussions, questions, even questions related to faith and worldviews.

So… sometimes there is blockage in people, but when you talk in a way that you can understand, that gives you an academic form, it is possible to dialogue.

Toto: How interesting, thank you very much, Professor Marcio Lima, because we can really see your passion! This way of looking at architecture, one, as someone outside this area would say “the purpose of architecture is to provide us with sustainable housing and little else”. But how much more there is in this approach between architecture and the arts! I loved what you were saying about seeing them as a language and listening to what they can tell us about God, that we can also say through them to our fellow human beings, to other human beings… That we talk about things that have to do with the kingdom of God. What a beautiful vision! We are getting into this Logos and Cosmos Initiative, we are beginning to understand that it is a vision that encompasses the whole university, the way of linking ourselves with the academic work.

Ale… I would like you to tell us a little bit more about the current status of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, what is coming up in the short and medium term.

Ale: Of course. Look… In March 2022, we started the second year of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, and in April a new cohort of Catalysts for both level 1 and Catalysts for both level 1 and the Catalysts that advanced to level 2. So now… We are now with Catalysts who are in their first year training and developing a project at this first level, and the Catalysts who are in level 2, in their second year, are carrying out projects that link their own academic discipline with the needs of the national movement. And [they] are in full action, in this second level, second year. And well…

This year we will also have our first face-to-face meeting, in September, in Chile. A consultation for all the Catalysts of both levels, for the mentors, for those of us who work in the initiative… Very excited to see each other, to learn together, to listen to each other. And well… Again, in February of next year we will be calling for the third year of the initiative, to start again with a cohort and some Catalysts from level 1 and level 2 would advance to the next level if that were the case.

Toto: Uh-huh. How nice, how nice the prospect of meeting face to face, of being able to embrace, to put body to those faces that one sees in Zoom or in other conference media! But above all to be able to share the table, to be able to continue generating links, friendships! And undoubtedly enhancing, without a doubt, what the different works are, right?

You mentioned the link between the Catalyst and the national movement because listening to the experience, one could get the idea that this is something developed by some in the academic world, something very separate, right?

How have the Catalysts been working in this sense with the national student movements of IFES? How can we see the benefit of the Logos and Cosmos initiative for the movements as a whole, beyond the Catalysts? Has there been any experience, any reaction from the national movements in this sense, Ale?

Ale: Yes. I love your question Toto because… Actually, this has been one of the most important things for us at the moment we have been carrying out the initiative.

From the very inception of the projects, from the moment of thinking about them, we have tried to ensure that the Catalysts are in dialogue with their national movement, with their local movement, in conversation with regional workers, with the general secretary, with student leaders and also trying to see how the Catalyst’s own academic discipline, their own concerns also respond to the needs of the movements, how to enter into dialogue with this.

We have sought that the projects respond to the needs of the national movements, very specifically and in accordance with each national movement… We have seen very nice things, for example… Some student movements are entering into conversation with things that are happening in the university or even with some authors who talk about issues of interest, based on the initiative of the Catalysts to bring issues to the table!

Toto: That’s good.

Ale: One example here, in Central America, is a Catalyst that is working on climate change and care for creation and is going to do this together with the students of their national movement. Also… We are seeing, for example, in Chile, that a network of Christian professors and academics is being generated from the Catalyst’s initiative, and it is something that the national movement itself had wanted to reactivate and had not been able to. So, we are seeing these type of projects and initiatives of the Catalysts that are directly benefiting the national movements.

An Ecuadorian Catalyst who is developing a training module for her movement on the arts, which is her area, her academic discipline… These are some of the examples of how national movements are benefiting through the LCI.

Toto: That’s great! That’s great, Ale! Well… And since we have a Catalyst here with us, we will take the opportunity to ask you Marcio: what is the project you are carrying out? Can you tell us a little more about it?

Marcio: Yes, of course.

My project aims to develop a research program in theology and the arts for students of the national movement. The program consists of training, mentoring and support for the students’ own research. It will then feature a foundation course that will focus on the relationship between the arts and the basic Christian motif of creation, fall and redemption. This is intended to provide further theological, historical, and philosophical foundations to the links we find between the Christian faith and the arts.

I am now in the final phase of compiling the bibliography, which will allow me to begin the process of writing the theoretical framework of the course that will be offered for the entire movement, for all those interested. After the course, we will have a mentoring program for the students. They will have to develop their own research project in which they will relate arts, architecture and theology. At this moment, I am also preparing a workshop for our national ABUAB congress that will talk about an aesthetics of the eschaton: arts, justice and the kingdom of God.

Toto: That’s great, that’s great! I thought I understood that this workshop that you will be giving in September will be open to students from the neighbouring country, Uruguay, who would like to participate… But we’ll talk about it later, Marcio. Don’t get nervous, it’s not necessary to clarify it now [laughs Marcio and Ale].
But how interesting! Are you going to be doing those tutorials yourself, or how will that part of the project implementation be?

Marcio: Yes, of course, Toto, we can talk… and open this workshop for all Latin America. And yes… We will continue to talk about this. So, yes… I am going to teach this course on the fundamentals, and I am going to do the mentoring. This year the tutoring will be limited because we only have one tutor, which is me… So we have a call for students to submit their projects for me to do an evaluation and those that are selected will get these tutorials with me.

Toto: That’s good. Marcio, how could we be praying for you, thinking about this project?

Marcio: I am glad Toto that we are all a community that continues to pray for each other. For this, I ask you to help me in prayer, asking God to give me grace and wisdom to develop this proposed project, and to pray for my health. I need health to continue with all this, with this agenda.

Toto: Very well. We take note and we will be accompanying you…
And our friends who are listening, surely also, so that this project may have an impact and be of great blessing for many, without a doubt. And Ale, how can we be praying for you? For the team? For the ministry of Logos and Cosmos?

Ale: Yes, thanks for the question. Well, for me…. In a particular way, for wisdom and strength and reactivity also, to be co-directing this project with Josué Olmedo here in Latin America… For the beautiful challenge we have, and in particular for life here with two small daughters while I continue working in the ministry… And for the team, well… As I said, we are co-directing this project with Josué, here in Latin America, and also in the executive team are Gustavo Sobarzo in Chile and Jouseth Moya from Ecuador. So, pray for us and for the face-to-face consultation that we are organizing in Chile, in September of this year, for all of us who will be there both as mentors and Catalysts.

Toto: Very good. We take note and ask the Lord for health, wisdom and grace for Marcio and for wisdom for you and Josué as coordinators of the project in Latin America, for family life, that it may continue to be sustained, for the teamwork, the work in COMPA’s ministry, and of course for Gustavo, for Jouseth, we ask the Lord to strengthen them, to bless them. And in a very special way, we pray for this face-to-face consultation in Chile, which we are sure will be a celebration and a celebration. But, to tell the truth, I am a little envious that I will not be able to be there in September with you. But well… I hope to see photos, videos… and to be able to follow this meeting.

Hey… One last question for Ale: how can the friends who are listening to us get involved with the work of science and theology that the Logos and Cosmos initiative is doing?

Ale: Sure. Well look… You can visit our LCI website which is lci.ifesworld.org/en. There you can check our blog, you can click on one of the registration forms also to subscribe to the Maravillas newsletter. And well… In February 2023, we will open another cohort of Catalysts, there will be another selection process stay tuned! And… Finally… Very important also, you can take the “Engaging the University” course that opens now in October because this is one of the requirements, for example, to be able to apply to the LCI next year in 2023.

Toto: This course is an online course, free of charge, which is on the IFES platform, right?

Ale: That’s right! This same course that opens in October of this year and that opens every year really.

Toto: A course that, if you’re not interested in participating and going deeper into the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, it’s worth doing anyway because it’s going to give you a platform or at least help you to start thinking about this how to connect academic life with spirituality, with your area of science and how to serve from there. Thanks for joining us! It was so interesting to hear a little bit more and learn about the Logos and Cosmos Initiative! I hope you have a good idea, or now at this point, a little more information about the Logos and Cosmos Initiative, the people involved, the dreams, the challenges. If you want to be part of it, don’t hesitate to go to the website that Ale told us about: lci.ifesworld.org/es. It is in Spanish, there you will be able to read the blog and also subscribe to the Maravillas newsletter that will update us, four times a year, a little of what is happening. Thank you Ale, thank you Marcio, thank you friends for listening to us! Don’t forget to subscribe to hear more about Voices of IFES and share this episode with anyone you think might be interested in the Logos and Cosmos initiative. God bless you!

Projects

Equipping young Christian academics to lead theology and the sciences projects is at the heart of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative.

We currently have 18 “Tier Two” Catalysts who are collaborating with their IFES national movement to lead projects in 15 countries across two regions: Latin America and Francophone Africa.

Each project is designed to spark curiosity and wonder about theology and the sciences and how they complement one another. Many of the projects tackle immediate challenges in Catalysts’ local and national contexts, such as student mental health, poverty, climate change, food security, and gender-based violence.

Current projects are taking place from April 2022 to April 2023. At the end of this period, Tier Two Catalysts may apply to advance to Tier Three, in which they will have the opportunity to scale up their projects for an even greater impact at the regional/national level.

Click below to see short summaries and videos of all our Tier Two Catalysts’ projects:

Latin America

Francophone Africa

Follow @ifesworld

Logos and Cosmos

Region / Country: Latin America

Latest news: Project showcases and preparing for Year 3

Latest news: Another “first”, project videos and diving deeper

Projects video gallery: 3 minutes with a Catalyst

Catalyst Perspectives: weaving faith and science to build peace and justice in Mexico

ENDNOTES:

Latest news: meaningful connections and projects picking up pace

Catalyst Perspectives: learning from women who love the sciences and Jesus

ENDNOTES

Catalyst Perspectives: how art can speak to us about God, the world and ourselves

ENDNOTES

Arts, architecture and theology: hear more from Catalyst Marcio Lima

Seeds of transformation: LCI featured on podcast

Projects