The Imago Dei Fund is a private foundation that exists to come alongside organizations working to restore wholeness and peace in our world.
In every generation, God is at work creating and redeeming all things. Each of us has our part to play, each soul finding its higher purpose and place in the larger whole. Each person bringing out into the world the unique reflection of God hidden within his or her heart.
“Imago Dei,” Latin for “the image of God,” has its roots in Genesis 1:27 where "God created humanity in God's own image” to co-create and work God’s purposes in the world.
The “divine image” can be sensed but not seen on both a personal and a cosmic level. It is the divine spark, the glory of God, that animates each soul and interconnects all of creation in a hidden wholeness: “And God created the heavens and the earth” as a living, organic whole, all things, seen and unseen, in God.
We live in a broken world. All is not well. Yet reflections of God’s image continue to shine through the darkness, in the harmony and beauty of our natural world, and in the passion and goodness of the human heart seeking to light a candle in the darkest of places.
There is in all things a hidden wholeness.
Thomas Merton
Our logo is a stone figure known as an "Inukshuk." In the Inuit language this means "in the likeness of a human" or "to act in the capacity of a human."
Inukshuks have been created by the native peoples of North America for thousands of years. An inukshuk in the form of a human being is called an "inunnguaq." They are monuments made of stones placed along paths or in the woods to communicate "someone was here" or "you are on the right path." They are universal symbols of the enduring human spirit.
We chose the Inukshuk as our logo to represent the divine image possessed by all human beings and our timeless religious quest for wholeness in God & sacred connection with all of life. The phrase "imago Dei" conveys a sacred view of the world and the human person as part of one seamless, unified whole.
The Imago Dei Fund provides grants and support for a broad range of organizations. Motivated by our Christian faith, we are attracted to programs with a holistic emphasis that serve and empower the whole person: body, mind, and spirit.
We seek to partner with organizations led by inspired people with a higher awareness of how their unique calling fits into the larger picture of what God is doing in the world, whether seen or unseen, and people who are in touch with the felt needs and spiritual longings of our times. Our giving priorities fall into the following broad categories:
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Read Emily's Blog about her trip to Turkey in April, 2012 Blogging for Gender Justice
