A thought-provoking series for people seeking a learning community dedicated to exploring life's meaning and purpose. The series engages the religious, sociopolitical, and scientific issues of our time to identify the best of human values and stimulate thoughtful, creative responses for the enrichment of all peoples and stewardship of our earth.
About Fr. Thomas Florek
Growing up in a multi-cultural family in Wisconsin, Fr. Tom Florek values the diversity of our interconnected world. As a Vietnam “war” conscientious objector, he taught at Bruce Guadalupe Community School in Milwaukee, where he came to know the cultures, struggles, and hopes of Mexican immigrant families. A Fullbright scholarship for studies in Mexico deepened his appreciation of the rich history, culture and social reality of our southern neighbors. As the founding director of the ICLM lay formation institute serving Latin American immigrants to the Midwest, he participated in the 2007 II National CMFN Consulta at Creighton University. From 2013 to 2019 he taught U.S. Hispanic/Latino studies at the University of Detroit Mercy until he was invited in 2019 to join the Mexican Jesuit Human Rights’ CIAS team dedicated to the “Reconstruction of the Social Fabric” in conflicted zones around the country.
Returning to the U.S. in 2021, Fr. Tom was invited to join the Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network (CMFN) as its executive director. Members of CMFN, who are often invisible farmworkers serving the U.S. with their field and factory labor, have taught him the historical force of their contributions and the power of their integrated faith. It is his hope to promote the historical prophetic force of these migrant farm and factory workers by linking diocesan evangelization programs, regional & national networks of ecclesial and social services, and leadership formation, breathing new life into the community of migrant workers.
Under the banner of “Learning to Live, Together, in Love,” the Fall 2024 Summit (September 20-21, 2024) focused on Nazareth’s mission that is informed by the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph: to serve the neighbor without distinction. From its beginning in 1924, Nazareth has been committed to education and action — a legacy that is alive today through dynamic curricula and programs designed to respond to the needs of today. Presentations by artist Alan Pascuzzi, Sister Jean Bellini, and Sister Patricia Schoelles offered insights into how their liberal learning experience at Naz became the underpinning and incentive for their courageous, gutsy, and vigorous response to the challenges facing them. The witness of their lives offers significant testimony to how Nazareth’s mission continues today in profound and unique expressions.