Brave Conversations: Spiritual Care and Ethical Leadership for Our Times

Spiritual Care and Ethical Leadership for our Times

BOLDLY LIGHTING THE WAY TOWARD A BETTER WORLD THROUGH DIALOGUE

BRAVE

CONVERSATIONS

Dear Brave Reader,

Over the 2022-23 academic year, we have been celebrating the Graduate Theological Union’s 60th anniversary. At the heart of this celebration is a recognition of our founders’ radical vision. This vision has shaped generations of scholar-leaders who are doing the courageous work of creating a more compassionate and just world. As we set our sights on the next 60 years and beyond, I have been reflecting on the ways in which we can build on our successes to continue to brave the way and keep the flame of hope burning bright.

In our rapidly changing world, it seems that we are increasingly afflicted by a paucity of spaces encouraging brave conversations. By contrast, the GTU has always been distinguished by the quality of leaning into these conversations with courage. At the GTU, we are guided by our belief in their power to effect change for the creation of a more compassionate and just world. This transformation happens when, in a classroom on Holy Hill, we choose to listen to, learn from, and dialogue with perspectives that diverge from our own, which in turn, expands our understanding of the world. It’s happening now within GTUx, the GTU’s innovative platform for online learning, where the teachings of scholars, thought leaders, and experts have reached more than 10,000 learners and sparked brave conversations in more ways and places than ever before.

Above all, this bold process of transformation is also happening daily through the work of the GTU community—locally and globally.

This volume, Brave Conversations: Spiritual Care and Ethical Leadership for Our Times, is a collection of essays that illuminate GTU’s place at the forefront of a decadeslong quest to boldly light the way toward a better world through dialogue. These compositions reflect a variety of voices—of students, faculty, leadership, and alums, across an array of faith traditions, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds. Each of these voices captures an important part of the rich mosaic of ideas that make up the work of the GTU. And together, they illuminate the ways that the GTU—and our world—can achieve greater moral strength through exchange.

SECTION ONE 4

A Foundation in Courage

SECTION TWO 11

Braving the Way

SECTION THREE 20

Bold Visions for the Future

Brave Conversations is divided into three main sections. The first section, “A Foundation of Courage,” is focused on the voices of GTU community members who are working to cultivate unique spaces where different voices and perspectives meet one another in vital dialogue. The second section, “Braving the Way,” follows some of the transformative work that GTU faculty, alums, and students are engaged in throughout the world. The third section, “Bold Visions for the Future” features the voices of more GTU thinkers and visionaries who give us hope for positive changes that they envision unfolding over the next 60 years.

I hope you will find that this anthology offers insights and inspiration as we strive to reinforce the spiritual and ethical foundations for a world in desperate need of leaders willing to brave the way in making positive change. Thank you for being a part of the GTU community, and for your continued support of our mission and efforts. You are an essential part of our unique and necessary institution, where courageous conversations lead to vital changes in the world.

Peace and Blessings,

Uriah Y. Kim President Professor of Biblical Studies PhD, GTU ’04

SECTION ONE

A FOUNDATION IN COURAGE

GTU community members who are working to cultivate unique spaces where different voices and perspectives meet one another in vital dialogue

Creating “Brave Space” in the Classroom to Foster Personal Growth

Dr. Jennifer Davidson (PhD, GTU 2011) is Dean, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and John Dillenberger Professor of Theology at the GTU.

GTU: Tell us about how you came to the research you’ve done on the subject of “brave space.”

Jennifer Davidson: My research recently has focused on how to create a trauma-informed pedagogy for the graduate theological classroom. A lot of research has been done around creating trauma-informed pedagogy in K-12 institutions, but when I started my research in 2018, minimal work had been done to think about how we create this type of approach in a graduate setting, let alone in a graduate theological setting. I saw that there was this huge need for it, in large part because of what I was seeing in the classroom, what was going on around the world, and noticing the ways in which it was affecting students and faculty alike. I became aware of how much trauma is present in the classroom through the histories that we all bring—both students and faculty.

GTU: You use a lot of words around the concept of what a trauma-informed space looks like: safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and peer support. How does that translate to the classroom?

JD: These concepts come from social work, nursing, criminal justice, and other social-service providing areas where a lot of work has been done to develop trauma-informed care. A traumainformed approach to teaching means that you’re intentionally shaping the learning environment so that these qualities can be cultivated. Some examples of what that might look like in the classroom include providing flexibility with classroom assignments so students can choose the type of assignment they want to complete or even the due date that works best for their schedules, providing space for student leadership in classroom discussions, or allowing student feedback to give shape to the syllabus and course requirements.

GTU: What makes a trauma-informed approach possible in the classroom?

JD: According to the research from the field of social work, safety is absolutely key. At first I resisted that idea, because the idea of safety in the classroom is a contested concept. For a while, many teachers would say we’re creating a “safe space” in the classroom. But bell hooks, who was a Black feminist critical theorist and pedagogue, helped us to understand that there will always be people in a classroom who are not going feel safe because of different power dynamics, including racial dynamics. This is where the notion of brave space started to take hold more recently—folks showing up despite their awareness of the risks involved. And yet

through my research I understood that the concept of safety is also highly practical and includes providing for the physical safety of people in the classroom. It means paying attention to disability accessibility in the classroom space, having a clean and wellmaintained space that is free from hazards.

GTU: How, as an ethical leader, are you ensuring that your students feel empowered in these spaces?

JD: As an ethical leader in the classroom, you want to make sure that you are doing your own work so that you can be fully present, authentic, and consistently respectful and thoughtful with your students inside and outside the classroom. You need to be aware of how pervasive trauma is in the graduate theological classroom and commit to cultivating the conditions that allow students to thrive and learn from you and from one another.

Feminist and liberative pedagogies that foreground students’ voices and experiences in conversation with the content of the course are beneficial here. (Read bell hooks regularly and devotionally!) An ethical leader is courageous enough to know when to step back so that students can take the lead in their learning experiences.

GTU: How do you guide your students through these brave spaces?

JD: Discomfort is inevitable if we are going to learn new things. I seek to create a space where people gradually learn how to endure and even appreciate being uncomfortable together. There will be moments when we might encounter our own pain, or I might see you encounter your pain, which can be very difficult for me, too. But as we build trust over time, we learn that we can survive those moments together and arrive at a deeper understanding because of it. In a sense we contract together that we’re going to enter spaces of pain and discomfort with the hope of coming to a better place in the end. Of course, it’s not all pain and discomfort. We also allow ourselves to experience joy together—the joy of sudden

JENNIFER DAVIDSON

Creating “Brave Space” in the Classroom to Foster Personal Growth continued

insight, the joy of accomplishment, even the joy of praying or meditating together. I always begin my classes with a time of prayer, meditation, or poetry followed by keeping silence together. Keeping silence for an extended period is often uncomfortable for students, especially at the beginning of the semester. But I think that practice is key to our ability to get through even more uncomfortable moments as the semester progresses. Part of the responsibility that comes along with ethical leadership is being willing as a leader to enter those painful spaces, uncomfortable spaces, and joyful spaces, and to do it in a mindful way. When you approach it in a mindful way, what you’re able to do is acknowledge the discomfort that is in the space, be fully aware and acknowledge one’s own discomfort in that space, and hold that awareness in a nonjudgmental way. You don’t have to be reactive to your own discomfort. You don’t have to suddenly protect yourself because you realize that you are uncomfortable. As a leader, you need to be aware and comfortable with your own discomfort. And trust that you—and your students—will come through it to the other side.

“I seek to create a space where people gradually learn how to endure and even appreciate being uncomfortable together.”

A Real Person Behind the Research

GTU: What were some of the formative influences in your life—places, experiences— that led you to where you are today? Did you grow up loving books and spending time in libraries?

Beth Kumar: I did grow up being a big reader, and I loved going to libraries as a kid. I grew up in Wisconsin and spent a lot of time in the woods, camping and swimming in the lakes. I still love to go hiking and I spend time in the public library with my kids. However, I didn’t really consider libraries as a career option until I was an undergraduate and had a part-time job working in the interlibrary loan department and as a shelver in reference. This was before library databases were on the internet, so for interlibrary loan, I would photocopy and mail articles to people. In reference, we had many of our databases on CD-Roms, so I spent a huge amount of time reshelving the discs after students had searched on them. I remember the librarians talking about how someday soon we’d be able to search all the library databases from home, and that seemed amazing to me. I took a few years off after college to work and save money before going to graduate school, and by the time I enrolled at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, we had the databases on the internet. It’s still hard to believe how much the process of doing research has changed in twenty years.

GTU: What initially attracted you to the GTU?

BK: Originally, when I started working at the GTU, I was looking for a librarian position that would give me a work/life balance. I had come from a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and was working long hours, seven days a week, and wanted a change from the publish or perish mentality. I also had a newborn, so the part-time reference position was perfect, as I got to spend more time with my daughter. The first year I was at the GTU, I did not interact with the staff and faculty as much but I was really getting to know the students and their research needs. After I had been in the part-time reference position for about 6 months, the director offered me the full-time Head of Reference position, which is when I really got to work closely with the faculty and staff. This position allowed me a lot of freedom to modernize reference services, transitioning from paper guides to online LibGuides, making video tutorials, starting the chat service, and teaching our first online workshops. I still appreciate the GTU culture around maintaining a work/life balance, and that there isn’t the expectation that you are working around the clock. I’ve found that most of the faculty, staff, and students are at the GTU because they like [the] mission, culture, and diversity of religions–I know I do!

GTU: You’ve been at the GTU since 2014 and have held several different positions during your tenure. What have you learned about the institution during your time here?

BK: Yes, I have! In addition to being a part-time reference librarian and the Head of Reference, I have been the Learning and User Experience Librarian, and the Interim Director of Library Services, before becoming the director in October. I have learned about the different religions and schools, but mostly I’ve learned that among the needs of the students, the students are not that different from each other. They all need a real person who is willing to sit with them and help them find library materials, even if the librarian, student, and book are all online. It’s a different library, with different needs of the students from when I first started. However, we want to keep some of the important aspects of the traditional library experience that people still want, like being able to browse a print collection and gather together with others to study. Those things won’t change.

GTU: What excites you about the future of the GTU Library and its services?

BK: I want to emphasize the “services” part of library services. Most libraries, not just ours, are in a period of change, where our community is no longer just the people who walk through the door. We have a growing number of students and faculty outside the Bay Area that increases each year. They need to have the same level of service and access to do their research. This means, not only that we are purchasing new books and journals online, but we are actively digitizing parts of the collection in mass and other materials ondemand. At the same time, we want to maintain the in-person, high touch experience for those who come in. We intend to continue our hybrid services to be available for both groups. I’m excited about where we are headed as a library, and how we can continue to work to make a seamless (and frustration free) research experience for the students and faculty.

GTU: We are so looking forward to the library’s grand reopening in January. Can you tell us a little bit about what we can expect in the new year?

BK: We can’t wait to show you what has been happening. When everyone returns in January, they will be able to enter the library from Scenic Drive, through the original library entrance into the first floor. We will still have the circulation desk and reference desks staffed and ready to help you, but we’ve moved a lot of the study spaces to the perimeter of the building, to take advantage of the natural light. The large oak tables that the students love are still there, refinished and now in the sun near the entrance. And I don’t want to give anything away, but we have commissioned a new mural from a local artist. In the center of the building, we’ve relocated the reference collection, and you can look up from the new shelves all the way to the 3rd floor and the skylight.

READ

Beth Kumar is the Director of Library Services at the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library.

Allowing the Mystery to Unfold

Dr. Kamal Abu-Shamsieh (PhD, GTU 2019) is Director of Interreligious Chaplaincy Program and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the GTU.

Being at the GTU where there is an environment that is rich in diversity was appealing to me. I was a director of a Shiite Islamic Center—as a Sunni Muslim—who crossed the divide and bridged the gap between the two Muslim communities. Being at the GTU and exploring my own identity, exploring my strength in academic research, not just with Muslims, but with other people who have less connection to my faith, was very enriching. [I] felt that I did not have too explain my faith to people who were strangers. I got inspiration from people who were learning alongside of me, as they were exploring their own pathways within their faith. At the end, it enriched our lives collectively.

When I decided to research the death experience of the Prophet Mohamed—specifically the last three months of his life—I wanted to establish a model for end-of-life care that is authentic and is acceptable as an international, universal model. So, in 2018, I traveled to Indonesia and I presented this model to the National Sharia Board of Indonesia, the largest body of Muslim scholars in the world. I received the endorsement and the recommendation from this body to teach this model of end-of-life care at all Indonesian Hospitals. As a result of that, my journey took me to several Muslimmajority communities where I taught end-of-life care, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. What started as a wild idea to explore the intersection between ethics and law in spiritual care within the experience of the Prophet Mohammed now became an international program to teach end-of-life care in vulnerable communities that struggle and need support to know what is allowed at the end of life. And today we make it happen from the GTU.

The GTU is an organic mosaic of the world. The GTU is a rich environment where students and faculty and communities come together from different parts of the world, reflecting our diversity, whether it be religious, ethnic, socioeconomic, or in our approaches to life. And that is the way we move forward: we do not live in silos. We do not live only with our own communities. We struggle with belief systems that are different than ours. We struggle with the different approaches to life. We struggle with different legal and ethical values that might be different than ours.

There is not just one way of living. We are in the struggle to live in a pluralistic society, not just accepting the other, but celebrating the other. It is not just tolerating someone and putting up with that person. It is actually entering into a partnership where we all struggle

in it together, trying to find a place that each can claim to be his or hers within that partnership that is also ours. I see it here on Holy Hill in a way that I have not found any other place in the world. The intentionality of this plurality at the GTU is mind boggling.

Now that I have graduated from the GTU and started my position as Director of the Interreligious Chaplaincy Program, we are focusing on minorities, on the underserved, on communities that are [the] least understood. We are training corps of chaplains that will serve in different places in the US or internationally, from healthcare to prisons, the military, and education. We don’t just study topics, we make them happen in real life. As a professional chaplain, I have stood by people at the end of their lives, at the bedside, and this rich experience has taught me that many families don’t know what to do at the end of life. These families deserve to have support from a professional who is competent, and who allows for the mystery to unfold for the end-of-life journey.

For me, end-of-life care is about helping people when they are most vulnerable. When you are investing in the GTU today, whether it be through a scholarship, hosting us, spreading the word about some of our programming, or by offering seed money for a class or for a program, you help make that dream of helping people when they are most vulnerable happen.

What continues to draw me to the GTU is working alongside many communities, all with the same goal of appreciation, equity, and respect for other people. It is a place for scholarship, and also a place for celebrating the best parts of humanity in all of us.

Embodying Spiritual Care

GTU: Your background is at the intersections of multiple specialties, including dance studies, critical race theory, political economics, and more. How did you become involved in this important and acute work of the crises of labor and performance?

Doria Charlson: I was a dancer before I began graduate school and had spent 20 years thinking about performance, dance, and embodied praxes. When I got to graduate school, it seemed only natural to use dance as a framework to think through other big questions. Specifically, I started to think about how dance (i.e., movement) related to broader movements of people, in general. This line of inquiry grounded central questions in my academic research: what if we consider migration as a choreographic? If we do think of migration as a kind of choreography, who is the “choreographer?” In other words, what are the systemic and institutional impulses that shape migration as an aesthetic?

I started, then, to consider how and why people migrated in the twentieth century, and I found that folks often were “on the move” as a result of various crises; namely, crises of labor and crises of capitalism.

My dissertation focuses on various crises of labor and of capitalism and hinges on how performance (dance) was mobilized both in service of reproducing capitalism and, in some cases, as a means to try and disrupt these toxic systems.

GTU: Why is interreligious spirituality and spiritual care important to this work?

DC: When studying the macro-crises that comprise my dissertation (i.e., climate change, mass migration, huge global economic unrest), I started to wonder how individuals found ways to cope and manage their own lives/families through these crises. One way that individuals confront and work through crisis is through art, including performance art, which could be secular or deeply religious. Other strategies include community building, ritual, religion, spirituality, etc. Given that I am a person of faith, I decided to pursue a line of inquiry into how spiritual care, as a field, functions in this particular moment of overlapping and cascading crises: a pandemic, the climate crisis, political unrest, and so on.

GTU: Being from the Bay Area, did you have any background with the GTU before starting as an Interreligious Chaplaincy Program (ICP) Fellow? What led you to the ICP at the GTU?

DC: I first learned about the GTU when I was an undergraduate student. One of my favorite professors earned her PhD from the GTU and spoke very highly of her experience there. When I was considering spiritual care/chaplaincy/Jewish Studies programs, I remembered my professor, which led me to the ICP program.

GTU: Congratulations on being the first ICP graduate! What does this accomplishment mean to you?

DC: Thank you! I am honored to be the first ICP graduate. For me, the ICP marks an important commitment to serving broader communities of patients and diversifying the field of chaplaincy.

GTU: How are you hoping your learnings in this program will contribute to the work you are doing already and hope to do in the future? In what ways, places, and people will this work make a difference?

DC: My studies in the ICP have already proved to be critical to my formation, both spiritually and professionally. I have completed a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) with the San Francisco Night Ministry, an organization that provides spiritual care to marginalized communities in San Francisco, especially among unhoused folks. I recently began a CPE residency program at UCSF last month. The ICP prepared me well to step into these roles as a spiritual care provider-in-training and I am thrilled to see where this work takes me next.

READ the reflection online here.

Dr. Doria Charlson, (PhD, Brown University) is the first graduate of the Interreligious Chaplaincy Program (ICP) at the GTU.

“Given that I am a person of faith, I decided to pursue a line of inquiry into how spiritual care, as a field, functions in this particular moment of overlapping and cascading crises: a pandemic, the climate crisis, political unrest, and so on.”

The Space for Unexpected Connections

Dr. Khalia Williams (PhD, GTU 2017) is Associate Dean of Worship and Music and Associate Professor in the Practice of Worship at Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

I chose to attend the GTU because I was looking for a program that would really allow me to focus my studies in worship. There are not a lot of liturgical studies PhD programs here in the US, so I started there. But I also wanted to have an opportunity to bring in some of the interdisciplinary work that I do. A part of my research I knew going in would be exploring dance and how embodiment intersects with religious experience. And the GTU was the perfect place because it allowed me to study at the GTU while I also focused on a concentration over at UC Berkeley in the performance studies area.

Getting the marriage of the two was ideal, and I was grateful it wasn’t a situation where I would have to be the one to figure out how to make it work. It really was a program that was so completely open to this interdisciplinary exploration. From the time I first stepped foot on GTU’s campus, I could not have found a more supportive group of faculty and scholars who worked with me on my committees. They were amazing and really worked me hard, but did it in such a loving way, a way that brought out the best of my voice as I was trying to find it. I hear stories of other places and not everyone has that kind of experience, but I the GTU cultivates this environment of support that is remarkable, or at least was remarkable for me in my own experience.

The biggest impact was sitting in a consortium that was heavily rooted in interfaith engagement that allowed me to literally walk from one ecclesial tradition to another ecclesial tradition to yet another religious expression, right within a few blocks of one another along my journey. That had a huge impact on me because now, as I’m doing the work that I do within a theological setting, my experience allows me to be completely open and sensitive to difference in religious expression, and then to figure out ways of really enhancing and engaging the interfaith dialogue. How do we create spaces for those who are on the margins? The GTU gave me this living space to figure that out and what that meant while I was studying, until it became inherent within me.

Also, because I was able to incorporate performance studies into my program, my time at the GTU has given me the ability to think creatively about how we do worship here. We bring a lot of artistic expression in, but we are intentional about it. When we have dancers in a worship service, [are we] also doing the reflective work of figuring out why are they in this service? What is the theological

impact of having creative expressions in the services? That is something that I definitely got from the GTU, because those were the same questions that my committee was asking me as I was working through dance study and trying to figure out what we can learn from dance in theological education. What can we glean from the creative arts as we worship? What can we glean from the creative arts to shape our own theological mindset as we think about being religious leaders in different contexts?

My studies at the GTU showed me that the creative and the religious don’t have to be separate. They can come together in beautiful ways and can be utilized as teaching tools and as ways of bringing a whole community together.

Deepening interfaith connection, which the GTU continues to do, is what excites me. I might be biased, but I feel that the GTU has been at the forefront of recognizing the expansiveness of theological education and beginning to put communities together in close proximity, so that they can really explore what it means to exist together. The way that we are emphasizing and furthering our commitments in that work makes me excited because the world is all about learning to coexist, and that is not going to change.

SECTION TWO

BRAVING THE WAY

The transformative work that GTU faculty, alums, and students are engaged in throughout the world.

When the Spirit of Justice Calls

Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble (PhD, Walden University) is a professor of Ministerial Leadership and Practical Theology at the Berkeley School of Theology and a member of the core doctoral faculty at the GTU.

GTU: Can you tell us about some of the research you’ve done at the GTU and how that plays into the courses you teach and your work both on and off campus?

Valerie Miles-Tribble: My research is grounded in social justice. As a scholar, locating myself in the identity of a womanist theologian scholar informs my focus on intersectionality, interreligious collaboration, and interdisciplinarity for authentic praxis. In a pedagogical context, I integrate theology and leadership ethics of praxis to deepen students’ awareness of the intersections of shared thoughts and experiences. As a womanist scholar, my self-identity is with African-American women who have experienced the triple threats of gender, race, and class. This centering requires that we always consider the oppressive forces that any of us might encounter in varied forms and some ways to overcome them. As a pastor-activist, I preach and teach to help people find their own agency to think critically while in a learning environment so they feel equipped to go out and do the work our souls must have (to coin a phrase from the late Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon, womanist ethicist and clergy scholar).

Many of my courses focus on restorative justice and creative resistance and practical theology for leadership in the 21st century. What is constructive theology and practical theology in public spheres? Can we continue to hide behind closed doors? Those are just some of the course topics offered in the past to invite discourse on ethical implications. I like stirring up good trouble.

GTU: How do you draw upon these themes, especially those of social justice, to inspire your teaching?

VMT: I teach with justice sensibilities of womanist social ethics and praxis. I raise an appreciation for inter-religious sensibilities, encouraging students to discover the richness of ethos toward shared justice aims in spite of the distinctions between our faith experiences. This helps students better understand the importance of interdisciplinarity, because as scholars and practitioners, we cannot stay in a myopic silo; rather, we need to consider the historicity, and ask, what are the cultural and sociological implications, and of course, the ethical implications?

Being mindful of the interconnectedness of disciplines, I teach a course–Morality in Social and Religious Spheres–[that] explores current events and issues in our reality [by] looking at them through the lens of: What does society say, and how does religion inform our

responses? Morality is more than “what’s moral” or what’s right or wrong; it involves how structural systems in our society are designed to uphold our compliance with values or perceptions that get used or misused according to agendas, and according to lenses that might promote freedoms for some while becoming more oppressive for others. Thus, scholar practitioners, while at the GTU, are invited to engage deeply with each other and critically self-reflect on their own stances. Probing and reflecting on who we are as faith communities, whether academicians, whether in the ecclesial or ecological spheres, or whether we are public activists, the question remains: How can we bring our diverse voices together as a united front so that injustice and oppression do not become the norm?

GTU: Can you speak to your own personal relationship with social justice and activism?

VMT: I was raised in Philadelphia during a time of the civil unrest of the civil rights movement. I came of age right after the assassination of Martin Luther King. As a young adult in college, in a historically black college in the South, I was very in tune with what was going on around the country, such as locking out students of color as they were trying to integrate schools and fighting for voters’ rights. Outside the protection of a HBCU campus, I had racist remarks directed at me as I walked into town to obtain items shipped by my parents.

I would say that my formation has always been in the public square and having family that discussed all of this around the table, that it was part of my formation to say, who am I? What am I going to do? How can I make the world different? My vocation path was never to be solely comfortable, but to be a radical, prophetic voice and presence. It became important to really get involved in what we call community organizing and community activism, to be an instrument to help the voiceless by standing with them rather than talking at them. And when we come together and speak, what a powerful, mighty voice we can become in places where groups, families, people who didn’t feel they had a voice come to understand that, in fact, they did

When the Spirit of Justice Calls continued

Activism was part of why I enrolled in seminary. I chose and requested and pushed against what was the norm at the time to have a pastoral internship solely in a church. I wanted my internship to be in public faith-based community organizations here in the region because I saw such power in strategies called “Actions,” where neighborhoods and communities of people joined with faith-based interreligious leaders. We would come together to share our lived experiences. We would gather in fellowship. We would hold public figures accountable. We would have them listen to what was going on in the community, in the neighborhoods that needed matters to be addressed. And for me, it was, such an aha moment to see that this can really be a place to create a groundswell of public witnesses with justice voices.

It is still something that I think more communities of faith, if they’re authentically wanting to be about transformative justice, can actively participate in to leverage ourselves. Yes, one might be in a small congregation, but 50 or 60 other congregations can become several hundred or thousands getting on busses to go to the Capitol, getting on busses to speak to the mayor or the city council, or to be available to walk through our neighborhoods to see what’s really going on. That’s civic justice.

GTU: Can you speak more to how you see community organizing as sacred?

VMT: Community organizing as a sacred task is very, very important and urgent to me. I like to think of community organizing as a sacred task because it requires thinking and reflecting on our faith and on the connection between discipleship and social reform. We have examples in our interreligious traditions, in our sacred texts, of being compassionate with the people. Community organizing calls us to become part of our communities, to listen deeply to hear what they have to say, and to encourage them to join their voices to the effort of organizing so that we as people of faith, as academicians, as pastors, are not speaking for them. We are in solidarity to raise voice for equality and justice together.

“This centering requires that we always consider the oppressive forces that any of us might encounter in varied forms and some ways to overcome them.”

Using the Power of Religion for Positive Change

Dr. Gregory E. Sterling (PhD, GTU 1990) is The Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School.

As a graduate of the GTU and Dean of Yale Divinity School, I know that religion is a very powerful force in human lives. It can work for humanity or it can work against humanity. What I think the GTU offers is an opportunity to think across the lines of specific faith traditions to help us think about how we find answers to the big questions of our times.

I have a colleague, Gus Speth, who was formerly dean at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. In a BBC radio broadcast, he once said something to the effect of (and this is not an exact quote), “I used to think that the greatest problems that we face in terms of the environment were the loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and climate change. I thought we could solve those with thirty good years of science, but I was wrong. The greatest problems we face are greed, apathy, and a lack of initiative to actually address the problems that we know exist. We scientists don’t know how to do that.”

And I would say to Gus and to others: That’s what religion can do. Religion can motivate people and move them to act in interests that may transcend their own personal interest to a broader communal interest. And that’s what I think needs to happen—not within the framework of one religion or two, but across the board. And that’s what I think the GTU offers: a chance to think across the board and address those issues.

One thing I have always greatly appreciated about the GTU is that it is deeply interreligious, with a very broad cross-section of religions represented in the faculty and student body. That kind of religious diversity helps you to think globally and beyond a single religious tradition, something that is necessary if you are going to take religion in in the 21st century seriously.

When I was pursuing my PhD at the GTU, I was a student of both ancient Christianity and ancient Judaism, and it helped me not to think of those in a parochial way, or within a hermeneutically sealed frame, but rather to try to think of them as they related to the larger world. This was actually the focus of my dissertation. I will often point to the role of Judaism and Christianity in the Civil Rights movement of the sixties or think about the movements in Great Britain and the United States in 2000 with the year-long Jubilee and the efforts to provide debt forgiveness for developing countries. And to this day, I still try to ask those same kinds of questions, both in my scholarship and as Dean of the Divinity School here at Yale. Questions like, how do we intersect and interact with a global community?

I believe deeply in the work the GTU is doing, and I believe anyone who is interested in or who appreciates the power of religion to move people would as well. Not only am I grateful for the education I received, which introduced experiences and opened doors that I may not otherwise have experienced, but also I know that to address the most critical issues of our time, we need to move people—not just in one religious tradition, but in multiple religions in a global context. This is why I give on an annual basis to the GTU, the potential for what this community can do is enormous.

Mother Earth: A Reflection

Mother Earth suffers from the tentacles of white supremacy. For centuries, white supremacist ideology and practices led to the creation of the Transatlantic Slave trade, global genocides, colonization, imperialism, environmental racism, and ecocide, to name a few. Ecological crises ravage Mother Earth from raging fires, climate change, ocean pollution, and animal extinction. These manufactured ecological crises stem from a disruption in our ecosystem and humans’ destructive relationship with Mother Earth. Environmental justice activists rang the alarm to warn governments and people about how climate change harms Mother Earth, and the devastation was on the horizon. The environmental justice movement evolved as a direct response to how white supremacist capitalism systems harm Mother Earth, humans, and non-human species through greed, consumption, and destruction. It sought to repair, restore, and rejuvenate Mother Earth and its inhabitants through policy, organizing, and direct action. Though all humans and non-humans experience the effects of environmental harm, the global majority (people of color) communities suffer significantly from environmental injustices, including respiratory ailments, reproductive challenges, housing inequities, and mass incarceration. To combat these challenges, global majority communities sought solutions that resemble connections to their homelands. In Religion and Sustainability: Interreligious Resources and Interdisciplinary Responses, Womanist Ethicist Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble utilized late author Toni Morrison’s famed novel, Beloved, to illustrate Black women’s sacred relationship with nature. In her “Baby Suggs and the Clearing Rocks of Ages: Womanist Theoethic of Survival Justice,” she states that “Vivid in the hush arbor rendering is the overarching presence of nature as living spirit grasped as Mother Earth and understood to be crucial to the quest for human survival.” During slavery, the hush arbor served as a sacred gathering place where enslaved Africans practiced their religious and spiritual traditions that provided solace and invoked hope to survive. A hope narrative, ecowomanism offers an interdisciplinary approach to race, class, gender, and earth justice that draws on specific principles and practices of African Cosmological Traditions on addressing ecological crises and seeking to reduce the harm to Mother Earth.

Utilizing an ecowomanism praxis, Ifá Isese, a West African Cosmological Tradition, fosters and cultivates the interconnected and interdependent relationship between Mother Earth, the environment, nature, elements, and all species. The principles of honor, respect, and reverence guide Ifá Isese practitioners’ interaction with human

and non-human species. In her groundbreaking book, EcowomanismAfrican-American Women and Earth-Honoring Faiths, Ecowomanist Dr. Melanie L. Harris states that the writings of prominent author Mercy Oduyoye “help connect the fluid spirituality between Christian orientation and cultural ancestor veneration of the Earth as sacred. Partnering with God to transform climate justice into a reality is an element of her work witnessed by her ecowomanist practice and scholarship. “ Ecowomanism builds a bridge between eco memory, sharing dialogue, womanist intersectional analysis, engaged transformation, and teaching ecowomanism that provides a step-bystep process that religious and spiritual communities could borrow to support their engagement in dismantling white supremacist systems that dishonor Mother Earth.

Rev. Keyona Saquile Lazenby is a PhD student at the GTU in the Religion and Practice department, with a concentration in Practical Theology.

The Light of Hope; A Reflection on Ethical Leadership

At the time the war began I was studying at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. The array of emotions that overcame me when I first learned about the attack are not easy to describe. When my city was bombed and shelled and I was saying goodbye to my parents and friends over the phone, it was a very intense moment. It was then when one thing was clear: I had to control my emotions and feelings regarding myself in order to be able to help. I had to plan rationally how to work. I understood that sometimes we must make good out of evil because there is nothing else to make of it. Two days later, the Jesuit headquarters in Rome appointed me to coordinate the Jesuit humanitarian mission (help) for Ukraine in Poland. At that moment, I remembered the words from the book “Just Mercy,” where Bryan Stevenson quotes his grandmother as telling him: “You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance. You have to get close.” I had to leave behind my studies and my life in the USA and move back to Europe. I began coordinating our mission and helping organize the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) structure.

In our daily life, there is always the possibility that something could happen to us and we could lose our life. We generally do not think of those moments unless confronted directly with them. In such moments, one person showing us mercy or love can transform this terrible situation into something tolerable. Love, the most sacred thing in a person and the world, is under attack as the chance for life is snatched away. I think that when love disappears, God also disappears for a person of faith and ethical leadership. Therefore, one of our tasks (as human beings and leaders) is to support and find in every person, without exception, the light of hope, the light of Easter, and the light of peace. It is challenging, and indeed, there is no desire when anger overwhelms us. It is tough when your neighbor wants to behead love, strength, and freedom. It is good when our care and love do not allow us to remain in our loneliness, grief, or tragedy. However, we are just human beings, and we all have moments of weakness.

One of the most challenging moments during this war has been seeing the many farewells. When a husband and father drops off his wife and children at the border and has to say goodbye; when these men, women, and children have an honest and innocent look in their eyes filled with absolute love without knowing if this is a temporary or forever farewell which unfailingly is filled with hope. Just think about these words: forever, never, and never again will meet. These moments show us the sacred mystery of our humanity: an instant of departure filled with hope. The evangelist says God is love, although

it is hard to see it in such moments, and the only tangible thing is destruction. One extraordinary grace is to believe and hope where there is no faith and hope. When we ask for the Holy Spirit’s power, we can receive the leader’s grace in such difficult moments and be able to lead by love. It is our choice to be a leader and fill ourselves with love. Our leadership is rooted in our sense of humanity and in love. We have to be more focused on what unites us rather than what divides us.

Renew our days, Lord!

What kind words!

Vitaliy Osmolovskyy, SJ, is a doctoral student at JSTSCU and coordinator of Jesuit Outreach to Ukrainian Refugees in Poland.

MARY E. HUNT

Finding Fresh Ways to Frame the Conversation

Dr. Mary E. Hunt (PhD, GTU 1980) is a prominent Catholic feminist theologian who lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to social justice concerns.

GTU: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. You have offered robust contributions to feminist theology over the course of your career. What work are you most proud of in this area?

Mary E. Hunt: Thank you for inviting me. Like most scholar/ activists, I have tried to put the fruits of my research and analysis at the service of social change in an unjust world on an ailing planet. While I have lectured and written on many topics, I think my most important contribution has been to help create the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER). WATER is a nonprofit organization inside the Beltway in the Washington, DC area with a global reach, where feminist work in religion can be part of discussions that influence public opinion. Moreover, we take seriously that people who are marginalized and/or alienated from their religious communities, and those who have no formal religious connection whatsoever, still have spiritual needs. So WATER is a place where study, spiritual direction, ritual, and many other forms of support are available for a diverse public.

GTU: How do you feel about the current state of gender and sexuality justice, considering the challenges you have attempted to address in your work?

MEH: I began my work in simpler times, when the gender binary— male and female—was taken for granted and when sexual orientation was either homosexual, heterosexual, or, in rare instances, bisexual. Today, all of those categories have outlived their usefulness as we realize how many and splendored are the ways of life and love. Religions are often late adopters instead of thought and ethical leaders on such questions. So it is with the Catholic tradition that I know best. Change takes time, and change that erodes deeply held, religiously influenced prejudices takes even more time. The key strategy is to know how and when to pivot toward fresh ways of framing issues as new, welcome voices enter the conversation. I look back at my work at the GTU and in the first three subsequent decades (I finished my PhD in 1980), and see monumental changes. We never imagined in my GTU years that we would have to explain and debate what a woman is, that queer is good, that we do not have and may never have all the answers about many aspects of the human condition. How naïve we were to think we knew much at all! Many shifts took place and took hold from 2015 to the present. Now a wholesale reordering of society is visible, despite virulent backlash. Marriage equality changed many things, and the increasingly public voices of trans and non-binary people put to rest the pat answers we

had developed in progressive movements. It was back to the drawing boards to find new ways of thinking about family life, sexual, and reproductive ethics, patriarchy/kyriarchy, and the impact of these emerging changes on religions. That work is what keeps me busy.

GTU: What are the key concerns and themes of your work today? Have those concerns and themes changed since your time at the GTU?

MEH: My doctoral dissertation was entitled “Feminist Liberation Theology: The Development of Method in Construction.” I continue to flesh out what that means in the 21st century, when Liberation theologies seem to have crested in a time of tremendous backlash. The Supreme Court Dobbs case annulling abortion rights is cause for doubling efforts for women’s and other pregnant people’s well-being. There are many prominent issues now that were hardly on the horizon in the 1970s when I was at the GTU. These include antiracism, which, while long recognized as a need, remains to be faced squarely by most people. Climate change and environmental causes of injustice and destruction cannot be ignored any longer. The wisdom of the world’s religions, and not simply the myopic views created by studying just one tradition or in parochial settings, is reconfiguring religion as we know it and how we study it.

Likewise, the important insights of “Nones,” those who have no connection to a religious tradition, and even “Never agains,” those who want no such connection ever, are all part of the rich mix of scholars of religion.

These factors, among many others, now figure in my analysis and strategies in ways I could not have imagined when I studied on Holy Hill. I am grateful to be able to continue my work, always seeking the social justice implications of theology, while now drawing on a fairly long view to see patterns, exceptions, and strategic ways forward.

GTU: Many at the GTU felt the significant impact of Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether’s recent passing. Can you share what her work has meant in your own life and work?

MEH: The passing of the great and good Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether reminds me of how fortunate I have been to be so well accompanied in the field of theology. I met Rosemary in the fall of 1972, during my first week at Harvard Divinity School. Coming from a Jesuit college (Marquette University), I had never met a woman theologian. She was brilliant, compassionate, bold, at the same time modest, involved, committed, and connected. Rosemary was simply Rosemary, and so much more.

She modeled the kind of scholarship for which feminist theology is justly known, namely equal parts erudition and engagement. Her more than thirty books and hundreds of chapters and articles, not to mention countless lectures and courses, comprise a corpus of theological work that generations will study. Her involvement in

Israel/Palestine, Catholic progressive circles, women-church groups, international organizing, and promoting feminist scholars were all integral parts of her professional life. Rosemary was a scholar/activist before we had the name for it.

Virtually my whole career to date has unfolded in the light of her brilliance and her goodness. In a field where there were few women role models, she was a lucky find for me.

GTU: What initially led you to the GTU for your PhD studies?

MEH: I did a Masters in Theology at Harvard Divinity School, where I was later told that the Dean was disappointed that I did not even apply to stay on for the doctorate. I had gotten what I wanted from Harvard and was ready for a new adventure and a more open, progressive environment in which to explore feminist and liberation issues that were just beginning to take hold in theology. I had seen how Harvard Divinity School marginalized both Rosemary Radford Ruether and the Uruguayan Jesuit liberation theologian Juan Luis Segundo during their visiting stints. They simply were not the white, male, Protestant norm, which I am happy to say is no longer the case at HDS. I realized that they were more like me, so I would do well to find greener pastures.

The West Coast, [and especially] the Bay Area, had its allure, and the GTU was part of it. I liked the newness and the openness to many ways of living, thinking, believing that were operative in Berkeley. My decision was intuitive not rational. I was attracted to the ecumenical nature of the GTU, the rich resources of the University of California, Berkeley, and the wonderful cultural life in the region. I was not disappointed. Holy Hill and Gourmet Gulch were lovely places to study and socialize.

GTU: What word would you use to describe the GTU?

MEH: Unique.

GTU: With whom did you connect at the GTU who made an impact on you and your work?

MEH: The people at GTU were as unique as the institution. When I arrived, I made a beeline to what was in 1974 known as the Office of Women’s Affairs, later the Center for Women and Religion (CWR). Friends and colleagues in those circles were my introduction to feminism West Coast style. I remain close to some of them today, including my dear friend Clare Fischer who was a doctoral student with me and later a highly respected professor at the Starr King School for the Ministry. The real bonus was meeting Diann Neu, with whom I have been partnered for more than forty years.

Pioneer feminist theologian Anne McGrew Bennett was a friend and colleague whose wisdom and activism inspired me. There were not a lot of women professors at the GTU in my early years, but a grant from the Ford Foundation allowed CWR to bring such foundational scholars as feminist theorist Charlotte Bunch and feminist ethicist Beverly Wildung Harrison to the GTU as visiting faculty.

My academic advisor for both the MDiv at the Jesuit School of Theology and for the PhD at GTU was Joseph M. Powers, SJ. He was an honest, if modest, man who said he knew little of what I was interested in but would be happy to stay out of my way! In fact, he was quite helpful and a lovely person, so I was well accompanied in a way that worked for both of us.

GTU: What recent work are you especially excited about? What difference do you hope this work will make?

MEH: At WATER, we offer monthly talks by scholars in feminist studies in religion. I am helping to shape the discourse by choosing the people who present from among the movers and shakers in the field. Likewise, the 25 years of the work of the Feminist Liberation Theologians’ Network that WATER sponsors, with annual gatherings at the AAR/SBL that include colleagues from many countries, is another way in which I interact with people and ideas that make for change.

I work with several Catholic women’s groups as that denomination remains almost impervious to the efforts to bring about gender equity. My main worry now, watching backlash strike in so many arenas, is how to keep Catholic women from accepting crumbs when we are due double loaves, from being co-opted by a two-thousandyear-old institution that seeks to homogenize differences rather than change in structural and systemic ways.

One of the things I learned early at the GTU is not to be afraid to be the only person in the room who holds a position that might be unpopular. Over time, it is amazing how many people eventually join. Being early and alone is not always a bad thing when the issues at hand are crucial to global justice.

GTU: As the GTU celebrates its 60th anniversary, we are inviting GTU community members to begin imagining what a brighter future 60 years from now might look like. What does that future look like to you? How would you like the GTU to be contributing to that brighter future?

MEH: I have a 22-year-old daughter, so the future is quite concrete for me: I want her and her age cohort to live in peace and with maximum resources to fulfill their potential. I watched as they creatively found their way through COVID, went to college with all of the hopes and dreams of every young person. I see now how they face the complications of climate change, war, economic upheaval, and the rest as they build their adult lives. They are fortunate, we are fortunate, to have abundant technical resources, especially global communication and transportation, to build an interdependent world. How we use them will tell the tale.

READ the reflection online here.

“One of the things I learned early at the GTU is not to be afraid to be the only person in the room who holds a position that might be unpopular.”

The Connections Between Learning and Ministry

Dr. I Sil Yoon (PhD, GTU 2019) is Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at Yonsei University in South Korea.

In my work at the GTU, I was really interested in working with socially marginalized people. In our society, there are many people from various backgrounds. On the one hand, as our society is constantly changing, people claim that they’re pursuing openness and embracement of this diversity. However, on the other hand, there is a deeply rooted tradition of pursuing prejudice and discrimination and exclusion against people who are considered to be deviating from social standards and social norms. Because of these prejudices, I wanted to work for the human rights protections of socially marginalized people and to help people from various backgrounds. The GTU has been very supportive of my work in these areas.

What I liked about GTU was that with my life at the GTU and the classes I took, there was a continuity between them. They were not separate. In the classroom, we were talking about what kind of life we were going to live with this new knowledge we have. And outside of the classroom we were talking about the theories we had learned and how we can embody those theories in our lives.

Working with North Korean refugees was always my desire. Even before I entered the GTU, in my church back in Korea, I would meet a lot of North Korean refugees. When I heard their stories, I felt so bad hearing about the realities they had faced back in North Korea. After coming back to South Korea after I graduated from the GTU, I saw that those human rights violations are still happening. I really wanted to contribute at least a little bit to the human rights protections of North Korean refugees.

I am especially concerned about North Korean female refugees, whose reality is extremely tough. A lot of North Korean female refugees stay in other countries, including many in China, before they ultimately come to South Korea. They do this because they need an income and in South Korea, it is so hard to get a job. A lot of them end up staying in China. However, in China, they do not have any political membership, nor citizenship, nor a refugee status. They are always under surveillance, and they have to hide. They have to work illegally. And in the workplace as well as in their households, they are experiencing human rights violations which are very severe. After I heard their stories, I really wanted to contribute to the protection of their human rights. And I believe that there’s a role that Christians can play, that the church can play, and that religion can play in that work.

I believe that the church can be a place that is welcoming and supportive and that can practically help these people to be reintegrated into society, by connecting to the nonprofit social organizations, by

advocating for the refugees, and so on. With this in mind, I integrated my beliefs and my research into my studies. At the GTU I took some very helpful courses related to the protection of human rights, such as Ethics and Social Reconciliation, Ethics and Social justice, and others. I did a case study on North Korean refugees for a few of my papers and for my dissertations as well. I also studied Restorative Justice, which I thought could be a very helpful model to support North Korean refugees. And the research has been ongoing as I continue to study these topics.

I always wanted to go into academia. At the same time, I also wanted to do practical ministry, at least part-time. I believe that doing theology and doing ministry are not two separate things. They are always connected with one another. So I have been trying to incorporate what I have learned in school into my ministry setting as well. A couple of courses I am thinking of teaching in the future are called Promised Land and Immigrants, which will talk about the hard reality of the experiences immigrants go through, and the roles that church and theology and religion can take. I also want to teach a Bioethics course that will discuss the hardships of sick and terminally ill people and how the church can stay supportive. I also want to teach about Human Rights and Social Justice. I taught that class last year for foreign students at Yonsei and I am considering teaching it for Korean students as well. With all of these courses, the inspiration came from the GTU, because they are concerned with the hardships of socially marginalized people, preventing the violation of human rights, and the role of the church and public theology—not only the Christian religion, but different religions as well.

The diversity and openness that the GTU is promoting can give hope to socially marginalized people, and is encouraging to the people who are pursuing social transformation. In addition to the other ways that the GTU is unique, it is also the place that enabled me to grow and mature so much. I believe that it is going to help many other people grow in their maturity as well. The GTU is preserving its traditions, established by the many scholars and ministers who worked there before, while at the same time, it is embracing changes and evolving. The GTU is growing along with future generations.

I am truly grateful that I can share the lessons from my time at the GTU—as well as the messages and advice that I received from the GTU community—with my students at Yonsei University. I will continue to strive to protect socially marginalized and oppressed people in our society and I hope I inspire my students to do the same

SECTION THREE

BOLD VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE

GTU thinkers and visionaries who give us hope for positive changes that they envision happening over the next 60 years.

A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Global Goals

Nomenjanahary Mamisoa Rakotomalala EP

Andrianjohary is a doctoral student at the GTU and a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship.

GTU: What is your field of study at the GTU? Could you describe the focus of your research?

Nomenjanahary Mamisoa Rakotomalala EP

Andrianjohary: I am a PhD student in the Religion and Practice Department, concentrating on Practical Theology. My work focuses on theological education and feminist practical theology, attempting to engage in reflexive praxis in facing structural and cultural violence. I examine the intersection of gender, religion, and socio-cultural systems to develop consciousness, awareness, and resistance against structural and cultural violence. My scholarship also nurtures leaders of change to strive for justice and liberation.

GTU: What makes the GTU the ideal place to pursue that course of study?

NMRA: The interdisciplinarity that GTU fosters is essential to my work. In my scholarship, I engage at least three disciplines. GTU helps me to understand, practice, and appraise interdisciplinary methods.

GTU: What drew you to the GTU?

NMRA: I chose GTU for my studies because of its interdisciplinary departments, the multiple resources under the consortium, the diversity, and the multi-religious focus. The expertise of GTU faculty also is valuable to my scholarship. Moreover, I am so grateful for the financial support through the Presidential Scholarship offered by GTU. I could continue my education because of this exceptional opportunity.

GTU: What have been some of your favorite or most memorable experiences in your first year at the GTU?

NMRA: The interdisciplinary seminar that I had in my first semester and the support of experienced professors at GTU were my memorable experiences. Also, I cherish the relationship we built within our cohort. The first semester was challenging in many ways. But I am so grateful for the support that this community of students and professors offered one another.

GTU: What do you hope to be doing 10 years from now?

NMRA: I hope to teach and continue to write materials as awareness concerning multiple forms of oppression from feminist practical theology lenses. Mainly, I hope to support the seminaries of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar as we face a faculty shortage. Therefore, I plan to train more faculty at the doctoral level and develop or expand current and new seminaries and universities. However, my efforts are also for global impact rather than mainly for my country. Thus, I endeavor to be in academia both locally and internationally.

I also envision my engagement in communities to promote praxis. Therefore, initiating community development at the grassroots level is one of my attempts.

GTU: As the GTU celebrates its 60th anniversary year, we are inviting GTU community members to begin imagining what a brighter future 60 years from now might look like. What does that future look like to you?

NMRA: I envision GTU’s future sustaining a robust academic teaching and research environment that draws on human resources worldwide because of the students’ diversity. As a woman of African descent, I imagine GTU, through its diversity, considering more women from Africa and the Global South as students and professors so that we may continue learning from one another.

GTU: How do you hope your research and work will contribute to that brighter future?

NMRA: As my effort aims at justice in a global scope, I see GTU’s multi-religious focus and dialogue benefitting from my scholarship. GTU engages in international presence and is globally representative as we strive for justice.

“I envision GTU’s future sustaining a robust academic teaching and research environment that draws on human resources worldwide because of the students’ diversity.”

Pioneering Innovative Theology for a Changing World

Dr. Junghyung Kim (PhD, GTU 2011) is an Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Yonsei University, South Korea.

GTU: Congratulations on your recent appointment at Yonsei University! How did your time at the GTU prepare you for the work you are now doing at Yonsei University?

Junghyung Kim: At Yonsei University, I am teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in the field of philosophy of religion as well as science-religion dialogue, and supervising graduate students writing their theses. I must admit that while studying at the GTU, I had acquired several qualities required for any theologian pursuing an academic career—critical thinking, creative imagination, research and writing skills engaging with recent studies, syllabus planning, and ways of communicating with colleagues and students. In particular, the GTU trained me in innovative methodology for inter-disciplinary research, which I believe was crucial to my recent appointment in the university setting and is expected to play a crucial role in my future works.

GTU: What initially led you to the GTU for your PhD studies?

JK: It is the GTU’s people who first drew my attention to this prestigious institution for my doctoral studies. When I was preparing for the application, one of the Korean GTU alumni strongly recommended the school. At that time there were several Korean students at the GTU whom I already knew and respected. Besides, I had a very good impression of the GTU, thanks to my memorable experiences as an exchange student at the Toronto School of Theology, Canada, whose milieu is quite similar in several respects with that of the GTU.

GTU: What word would you use to describe the GTU?

JK: I would like to describe the GTU as a unique institution dedicated to the pioneering theological works and innovating theological education for the rapidly changing global world. I can confidently say that a good number of contemporary cutting-edge issues are being dealt with at the GTU, including intercultural/interreligious dialogues and theological/ethical issues derived from unprecedented advancements of science and technology.

GTU: With whom did you connect with at the GTU who made an impact on you and your work?

JK: At the very first meeting, Prof. Ted Peters broadened my theological perspective to see the cosmic horizon of Christian hope and introduced me to work with Prof. Robert John Russell as well at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS). Since then, both professors have been my academic mentors and supporters up until now. In addition to them, the CTNS “lab” meetings, where I could enjoy

friendship with excellent students at the GTU, were great challenges to and motivations for my own self-critical intellectual reflections. It also convinced me of the importance of collaborations in productive academic works. Finally, and not the least, the association of Korean students at the GTU helped me overcome homesickness and focus on the studies.

GTU: What are you especially proud of from your time at the GTU?

JK: The best thing I wish to boast about the GTU is the spirit of hospitality and encouragement. I do not remember any discrimination or suppression that I had experienced while staying at Berkeley and studying at the GTU. Rather, I received great encouragements, especially regarding my intellectual abilities. At first, I had little confidence in my own academic potentials as well as in my English proficiency. During my studies at the GTU, however, I received most memorable awards in my career: the CTNS Charles H. Townes Fellowship, the First Award in the ISSR Essay Competition (International Society for Science and Religion), the Chan Prize in Religion and Economics, and the Newhall Award for Teaching.

GTU: What are the key concerns and themes of your work today? What courses are you teaching? Have those concerns and themes changed since your time at the GTU? If so, how?

JK: The primary interests of my work today are readdressing and reconstructing philosophy of religion and Christian theology for an age of science and technology. With this regard, I am teaching such courses as “Big History and the Story of God,” “Science, Technology, and Global Philosophy of Religion,” and “New Ways of Doing Theology (in an Age of Science and Technology).” All these courses are both a continuation and a meaningful expansion of my doctoral studies at the GTU.

GTU: What recent publications are you especially proud of? With whom are you hoping this work will connect? What difference do you hope this work will make?

JK: Recently, I published two articles in Theology and Science. The title of the first article is “The ETI [Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life] Hypothesis and the Scandal of Particularity.” In this work I attempted a thought experiment on the cosmic-scale reconstruction of theological reflection. The second article, “A Qualification of Methodological Naturalism: Brightman and de Vries Revisited,” argues for the validity of methodological naturalism in a qualified sense. In both articles I tried to create space for new theological imaginations that take seriously both undeniable accomplishments of modern sciences and the enormous scale of our space-time disclosed by them. I believe it is time for us to develop a new perspective that overcomes the anthropocentric framework of traditional theologies (and religions), which can no longer survive the challenges from recent scientific discoveries and technological innovations.

A Big Vision for Leading into the Future

Dr. David Batstone (PhD, GTU 1989) is an author, activist, entrepreneur, and academic. He is the Professor Emeritus of the School of Management at the University of San Francisco and was selected as the GTU 2022 Alum of the Year.

GTU: Congratulations on being named the 2022 GTU Alum of the year! What does this honor mean to you at this time, amidst all that is unfolding in our nation and world, as well as in your own career?

David Batstone: When I was doing my PhD at the Graduate Theological Union, the thing that I learned was how to apply the tools of how we write, how we understand history and the future. I use all of that every day!

People may ask, “How do you use a PhD in theology to build a battery company?” Or, “...to save Silicon Valley tech companies?” But I found it extremely useful. If your goal is to change the world, you need a big philosophy, a big vision, that you often don’t get if you’re just locked into the day-to-day mechanics of building a company.

I don’t know if every theological school in the country would choose someone like me to be their alum of the year. They might choose someone who is a leading theologian, or who is much more within the sector of religion. The fact that even moving beyond academia, or even beyond my Not for Sale work of fighting trafficking, this is the recognition that it’s also the things I’m doing in the business world that is making an impact consistent with the value and ethos of the Graduate Theological Union.

GTU: Liberation and transformation are core themes in your work. What spurred your interest in these areas?

DB: I say I’m the only Liberation Theologian in America who is a venture capitalist. I started to work in human rights in Latin America. I kind of followed my heart and followed my passion, and so I started working in human rights even before I started at the Graduate Theological Union.

There was a transformation happening in Latin America among the poor communities. They called it Liberation Theology, but it really was looking at the authorities—like the Bible and the Church—that for years had told them their place in the world was to be poor, and that was God’s will. Suddenly they started to read the Scriptures and the Church and the priests started encouraging them that God really wanted their liberation, their empowerment, and their freedom. It was really a powerful thing!

What was really fascinating that happened at that time is that I had set up a human rights organization to live with people who received death threats from military governments. Some of my GTU

colleagues went down with me and we would live with people who the military had targeted for assassination. It was an incredible time! We said, “If you kill a Honduran, a Guatemalan, an El Salvadorian, you’re also going to kill a US citizen.” It was a way of leveraging the value of a human life. We were non-armed bodyguards, as it were. What happened is that we got signaled, I was targeted along with some of my colleagues, and they wouldn’t let us in the country for being “subversive.” So, we started an economic development agency as a cover for our human rights. We started doing “financial investing,” and I pretended to be an investor, and some of my theological friends pretended to be agronomists. What happened is we became what we pretended to be. I ended up being very good at investing money and figuring out how to employ it in the most useful ways to bring about a bigger return. That’s how I became a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. That’s where my business career started. Liberation Theology was spoken by a Peruvian theologian who is one of the founders of that movement, Gustavo Gutierrez. He said all theology is best done at sundown [not a direct quote]. It was at that stage that I started thinking about, I was so embedded and engaged in this activity in Latin America. I said, “You know I grew up as a person of faith, I grew up in the Church. But this is really making me think differently about my faith, and how I think about theology.” And what I learned is, when you move your feet, that is you shift your ground, now you have new questions that you ask of your philosophy about life, about the way you read the Scripture. You’re asking new questions. And new things come back because you never asked those questions before.

To do a PhD at the GTU, I was looking for answers to questions I had never asked before.

The other people who were very influential on me at that time were a GTU Professor by the name of Robert McAfee Brown (1920-2001) [American Presbyterian minister, theologian, and activist, who taught at Stanford, Union Theological Seminary, and the Pacific School of Religion]. He was at PSR, and he was more of a North American

“If your goal is to change the world, you need a big philosophy, a big vision, that you often don’t get if you’re just locked into the day-today mechanics of building a company.”

A Big Vision for Leading into the Future continued

interpreter of what was happening in Latin America, and he became my professor and one of my advisors.

Then there’s Juan Luis Segundo, SJ (1925–1996), who was of course Latin American, from Uruguay [a Jesuit priest and theologian and a leading figure in the Latin American Liberation Theology movement]. Those are the ones who really shaped me.

One more: Jon Sobrino, SJ, from El Salvador, whose Jesuit colleagues were all killed. I knew all those Jesuits. I had met them before they died in El Salvador. They had all had an impact on me.

GTU: What would you like to share about your work at the GTU? What were you working on at the time? Any favorite memories from your time at the GTU?

DB: What I really appreciated about the GTU is that they gave me the space to do my work in South America. I would go down and do my work in El Salvador, where I’d be doing human rights work, I’d come back up and meet with my professors, I’d go back down. I was back and forth all the time. Instead of saying, “Wait, why aren’t you here in school?” They would say, “We love that your field of study is what you’re exploring every day.”

I found great professors [at the GTU] in different areas: biblical studies, theological studies, and ethics, who helped give me the tools to start to put together how to think not ideologically but how to think critically. The thing I loved about the GTU is that the only pressure was to challenge your thinking, so that you’re always in a mode of learning forward, learning forward, learning forward.

Still today I say that in my companies: “If we’re not getting smarter every week then there is something wrong. Are we smarter this week?”

GTU: In what ways did your studies at the GTU prepare you for the broad-sweeping work you have done since leaving the GTU—from writing seven books (including Not for Sale (HarperOne, 2010)) and teaching (The University of San Francisco) to founding a non-profit aimed at turning a spotlight on and ending modern-day slavery across the globe (Not for Sale Campaign), creating an alternative approach to venture capitalism (Just Business) and co-founding four socially responsible and sustainable companies: Regenerate Technology (battery recycling), Dignitá restaurants, REBBL beverages and Z Shoes (sustainable fashion)? Are there any specific influences on your work that you would like to recognize?

DB: Even today, I’m very involved in the de-carbonization of transport. That is, how do we get away from petroleum-based fuels? How do we bring in hydrogen as a replacement and also electric vehicles? A lot of my work in investing is in that area today. If you look at climate change as an enormous problem that we feel the practical effects of, it’s almost a dark cloud over the psyche of so many people—including young people. In one way, we used to say,

“Well I don’t know enough to do something about it.” Now it’s like, “I know too much to do something about it.”

At a very philosophical level, the GTU encourages you to shape big dreams, in a way, to create redemption narratives that were grounded in day-to-day reality. I think what we lack today are redemption narratives. What I hear every day from people is, “My God, you’re the most hopeful person I know!”

And I say, “Well it’s not that I’m in denial of the challenge. But I also know that following the redemption narrative allows us to find meaning even in those failures or setbacks.”

So I’m really glad I studied philosophy and theology at the GTU. Reality always presents itself as the ultimate truth. To be able to understand that ultimate truth are the narratives we create out of reality is a very powerful force. That is number one.

I grew up with a narrow view of, say, the Bible. Then, at the GTU, I would go into my classes with William Herzog on Biblical Studies, and he would say, “Well let’s look at the text and see what they’re saying. Not what I’m saying or what you’re saying. Let’s look at what they’re saying.”

It taught me what I would call proactive humility. Be very proactive in your learning, but always know you’re probably wrong as much as you’re right. That comes from the intellectual rigor that came out of my training at the GTU. The faculty I had and the classes I took led me to that kind of ethos.

GTU: Can you name some of the breadth of the work you’ve been involved in since leaving the GTU? Where do you see the most resonance with the GTU’s mission and values and the work you’ve done?

DB: An outgrowth of my education was the integration of learning. Social analysis, economic analysis was weaved in many of my classes with theological reflection and biblical interpretation. It was the application of social sciences, economics, and theological and philosophical traditions. That was true of the whole of my PhD studies. For me, it’s all one thread.

I will admit, when I was in my twenties and early thirties, they felt almost different channels. The work I was doing in Silicon Valley didn’t relate to the work I did in academia which didn’t relate to my human rights work. But what happened in say the last 25 to 30 years is that I started to weave them all together. My teaching and my students would be involved in the work I was doing with human rights or business. And all my businesses I incorporate into my teaching. Now I see them all as integrated. It took me a while to be able to understand, to put them all together.

All truth is God’s truth, not just the truth that comes out of [Jurgen] Moltmann or [Rudolf] Bultmann or something, but all truth is God’s truth. How do you think theologically about the future of green

economy? How do you think theologically about the fact that the world is in crisis? It is bringing multi-faceted analyses to every subject.

GTU: As the GTU prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, we are inviting GTU Community members to begin imagining what a brighter future 60 years from now might look like. What does that future look like to you? How would you like the GTU to be contributing to that brighter future?

DB: No matter what age we live in, we need people who can think of the bigger picture. They have a basis of transcendence from which to make critical decisions. The GTU raises up scholars within the academy and leaders within religious contexts. But it is also one of the few places that can raise up leaders for society. Those heads of corporations, heads of government should be thinking philosophically and theologically as much as they’re thinking about scientific or political solutions. It shapes how we embrace the future, and who gets included and who gets left out. What becomes important and what is de-prioritized. That’s where I value my education.

I hope that the GTU for the next 60 years is still training those leaders who are driving our future and not just trying to make sense of what our presence is, but driving a better future, embracing hope, and having a clear sense of what’s most important. .

READ the reflection online here.

“At a very philosophical level, the GTU encourages you to shape big dreams, in a way, to create redemption narratives that were grounded in dayto-day reality.”

Exploring Historic Texts for an Interconnected Future

Gamil Fawzy Kamel is a doctoral student at the GTU and a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship.

GTU: What is your field of study at the GTU? Could you describe the focus of your research?

Gamil Fawzy Kamel: I am a first-year PhD student in the Sacred Texts and Their Interpretation department at the GTU. My research focuses on the Hebrew Bible, specifically exploring the textual analysis, historical context, and interpretation of various passages and themes within the Hebrew Bible.

GTU: What makes the GTU the ideal place to pursue that course of study?

GFK: The GTU is an ideal place for pursuing my studies because of its rich academic environment and its commitment to interdisciplinary research. The GTU brings together scholars from diverse religious and academic backgrounds, providing a unique opportunity to engage in fruitful conversations and collaborative research. Moreover, the GTU’s extensive library resources and faculty expertise in biblical studies make it an excellent institution to delve deeply into the field of Hebrew Bible research.

GTU: What drew you to the GTU?

GFK: Several factors drew me to the GTU. Firstly, its reputation as a leading institution in theological and religious studies made it an obvious choice for pursuing my PhD. Additionally, the GTU’s emphasis on fostering dialogue among different religious traditions resonated with my own values of interfaith engagement. The GTU’s commitment to social justice and ethical scholarship also aligned with my research interests in exploring the relevance of the Hebrew Bible for contemporary ethical and moral issues.

GTU: What have been some of your favorite or most memorable experiences in your first year at the GTU?

GFK: In my first year at the GTU, I have had the privilege of attending thought-provoking seminars and lectures by distinctive scholars in my field. Engaging in stimulating discussions with fellow students from diverse religious backgrounds has been incredibly enriching.

GTU: What do you hope to be doing 10 years from now?

GFK: In 10 years, I aspire to be an established scholar in the field of Hebrew Bible studies, contributing to the academic community through my research, publications, and teaching. I hope to have made meaningful contributions to the understanding of the Hebrew Bible and its significance for contemporary religious, ethical, and social issues.

GTU: What does a brighter future 60 years from now look like for the GTU?

GFK: In a brighter future 60 years from now, the GTU will continue to be at the forefront of theological and religious studies, embracing new technologies and methodologies to deepen our understanding of sacred texts and traditions. The GTU will be a hub of interdisciplinary collaboration, fostering dialogue among diverse religious communities and engaging in innovative research that addresses the pressing challenges of our time. It will play a pivotal role in shaping global conversations on spirituality, ethics, and social justice.

GTU: How do you hope your research and work will contribute to that brighter future?

GFK:Through my research and work, I hope to contribute to the GTU’s vision of a brighter future. By exploring the Hebrew Bible and its interpretations, I aim to shed light on its relevance for contemporary issues such as social justice, environmental ethics, and interfaith dialogue. I hope my research will inspire meaningful conversations and bridge gaps between different religious traditions, fostering a more inclusive and compassionate society. Additionally, I aspire to mentor future scholars and contribute to the academic community by publishing works that provide fresh insights into the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation.

“In a brighter future 60 years from now, the GTU will continue to be at the forefront of theological and religious studies, embracing new technologies and methodologies to deepen our understanding of sacred texts and traditions.”

Building Bridges Between Science and Religion

Dr. Braden Molhoek (PhD, GTU 2016) is Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) and lecturer in Science, Technology, and Ethics at the GTU.

GTU: Congratulations on being named incoming Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS)! What is your background with the GTU and CTNS? How has your work prepared you for this role?

Braden Molhoek: Thank you. I am honored to be given the opportunity and responsibility to be the next director of CTNS. I first learned of CTNS and the GTU while I was working on an MTS at Boston University School of Theology. My advisor, Wesley Wildman, was a graduate of the GTU and worked at CTNS. His advice was that if I was interested in doing work in science and religion, there were four places in the world to consider: staying at BU, Oxford, Cambridge, and CTNS at the GTU. During my time at BU, the school hired a number of faculty, including another GTU/CTNS graduate, Kirk Wegter-McNelly. Ultimately, I decided to pursue my PhD at the GTU because of CTNS, but also because of the strong ethics faculty at the GTU.

I started working for CTNS in November of my first year in the PhD program [2005]. CTNS had been awarded a grant that year from the John Templeton Foundation (JTF), called Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series, or STARS. The goal of the grant was to hold a series of conferences on cutting-edge topics in science and religion, with time for participants to meet with each other and with the grant leadership to discuss the formation of research groups and grant proposals. There was a three-tier grant competition then, where interdisciplinary teams of scientists and humanities scholars would work on questions of ultimate reality. I interviewed immediately and started working for the STARS grant the week of my birthday.

Within my first year of working for the Center, I was placed in charge of the financials for the STARS grant. After two years, we moved to the office space above CTNS, and I began working closely with the main CTNS staff as I continued to communicate with grant teams, receiving progress reports, assisting in writing progress reports to the foundation, and doing general office work as needed for the Center. In 2009, I was promoted to bookkeeper, where I took care of all financials for the Center, accounts payable and receivable, assisting specialists with payroll and annual taxes, budgeting, preparing financial reports for the board, and doing whatever else needed to be done. I grew closer with the staff and learned a great deal about the operations of CTNS.

At the end of 2015 we were given an amazing gift by Jack Templeton: a $1.3 million donation to help the Center move from an independent

non-profit to becoming an internal program of the GTU. My role was to build a budget projection as a part of the transition plans. While all this was going on, I was still a PhD. student, working through the requirements of the program. Working at CTNS allowed me to network and provided opportunities to attend conferences, present papers, and publish. The transition to becoming a program of the GTU occurred as I was finishing my dissertation and defending it, so it was quite the busy time.

With my upcoming graduation, we added teaching to my responsibilities. In the spring of 2017, Bob and I co-taught a course, and I have continued to teach as a Lecturer in Science, Technology, and Ethics at the GTU ever since. I also joined the Rostered and in-Residence Faculty at the GTU, and I learned more about the academic side of things at the GTU, on top of the administrative side, as we continued to navigate becoming an internal program of the GTU.

I have been at the GTU and at CTNS since the fall of 2005. Over that time, I learned more about how both the GTU and CTNS operate. Working at CTNS has allowed me to grow as a scholar as well as to hone administrative skills that will be invaluable in my new role. While there will be new challenges, this time has prepared me to continue the legacy of CTNS.

GTU: Recognizing the immense impact Dr. Robert Russell (“Bob”) has had on so many, through his work at CTNS and beyond, what does Bob’s leadership at the CTNS mean to you? How has Bob’s life and work impacted you and your work?

BM: I first want to say that there is no way this answer could encapsulate Bob’s leadership and impact on me, on others, and the academy. An element of Bob’s approach that I find helpful, but I also believe reveals an aspect of his character, is a narrative element. When Bob speaks of his work and the work of CTNS, it is not simply grants, publications, and events; it is a collection of stories, the people involved, and their shared experiences. Bob often used the concept of the Golden Gate Bridge as a symbol of the work that the center does, to build a bridge between science and religion. He takes this approach to the personal level as well: in the way that he cares for his students and staff, and how he emphasizes the importance of getting your conversation partners right, in terms of their positions and approaches. It is not just the ideas that matter to him, but people as well.

Another example of the depth of Bob’s work is that he believes the bridge between science and religion should have two-way traffic; in other words, not only can science inform religion, but religion should be able to inform science as well. Bob’s method, Creative Mutual Interaction, highlights eight paths between the two fields. Five paths move from science to religion, and these kinds of interactions are what many people in the field tend to emphasize. Three of the paths,

Building Bridges Between Science and Religion continued

however, move from religion to science. While these paths can be more difficult to articulate, Bob has always maintained that there is meaningful work to be done here. “His book, Time in Eternity, is an example of such work.

CTNS would not exist without the passion Bob has for the work and the sacrifices he and his family have made. He has inspired generations of scholars and religious leaders through his teaching of seminary and doctoral students at the GTU.

He likes to affectionately say that he has academic “grandchildren,” in that he has taught doctoral students who have gone on to have their own doctoral students. The work Bob has done over the years provided opportunities to many, even as the time and effort he puts into it has also affected his own scholarly work. I look forward to seeing Bob’s scholarship continue as he goes through this next transition.

On a personal level, Bob has put a great deal of faith in me over the years. I am thankful that he believed I was capable to taking on the additional responsibilities he assigned over the years, and he has always been supportive of my scholarship and career. I have quite enjoyed the evolution of our relationship from a student worker with little direct contact, to a caring mentor who welcomes challenges, new ideas, and collaboration. I know I’m not alone in saying that Bob has had a profound influence on my life. It is my hope that people will share their memories and experiences of Bob this year as a celebration of both his scholarship and humanity.

GTU: As you take up the Director role at CTNS, what are you most excited about? What challenges do you foresee and how are you planning to address those?

BM: Inevitably, there are challenges when a leader like this moves on, but I think the best way to address this is to acknowledge that I am not Bob, that I never will be, and to do what I see as best to carry on the legacy of CTNS. A challenge I am looking forward to engaging with is to continue the mission of CTNS in new directions.

As the name says, the focus of CTNS has been on the natural sciences, but over time what that includes has expanded. Our understanding of science continues to deepen and shift focus, as does the work which with CTNS engages. Issues including gene editing, transhumanism, and AI are increasingly important and these topics are a natural expansion of the Center’s core mission and values. Bob is a physicist, but my undergraduate scientific training was in genetics, so I am naturally more drawn to the biological sciences. CTNS has been exploring frontiers for a long time, most recently issues of astrobiology and astrotheology.

I also believe that technology is going to be increasingly important with how we engage with our constituents. With GTU’s growing online

presence through GTUx, I believe there will be ways in which we can grow our online presence to better serve those already interested in the Center’s work and hopefully engage new people as well.

GTU: Thinking about the most pressing issues of our time, why does CTNS’s work matter now?

BM: The past several years have shown that the world is very connected, and that technology affects that connection in a multitude of ways. On the other hand, there is great conflict and division as well. CTNS’s work remains as important as ever to show that conflict is not the only way in which science and religion can relate, that experts in a variety of fields can have meaningful conversations about both personal experience as well as the implications of their scholarship, and that building bridges is an ongoing task.

READ the reflection online here.

“Our understanding of science continues to deepen and shift focus, as does the work which with CTNS engages.”

A Reflection on Living Your Values

Dr. Sheryl Johnson (PhD, GTU 2021) is a Visiting Faculty Lecturer at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.

We know that the gap between rich and poor is growing. We see it in our communities, our nations, and in the world at large. And it is clear who is more likely to be in the category of rich or poor isn’t random–it is very likely to align with factors like race, gender identity, dis/ability, citizenship, and so forth. And it is also clear that the Earth itself is suffering: many species and even whole ecosystems tipping more and more into the “poor” category.

Given these realities, what is ethical leadership? What are those of us in positions of authority, and who are concerned about these realities, called to do? It is rarely clear. So often we get caught up in the day-to-day, in doing what our most immediate constituents seem to want, and in trying to appear and be “successful” by certain standards.

However, I believe that ethical leaders are those who pause periodically to take a step back. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, that may be understood as taking a time of “sabbath,” prayer, retreat, or discernment. Once we have some distance, it can be easier to remember what matters most. It is so critical to be immersed in and guided by our deepest values. Ethical leaders need to continuously remind themselves–alone and through community–of their deepest values and most central commitments.

For me, one of my central commitments that comes from my faith is the call to build a more just world, to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable (myself definitely included in that!). It is not that those of us who are comfortable are “bad,” it is that our lifestyles, privilege, and systems are contributing to the oppression and marginalization of other people, communities, and the planet. Comforting the afflicted is seen by many people as a “good thing,” but afflicting the comfortable is really hard and really demands us to be brave and to swim against the tide. As a leader, it means being willing to challenge those who are used to getting their way, used to being in charge, maybe even those who employ us and have the power to end that employment.

But I think ethical leaders are those who are willing to take that risk. Certainly, not everyone shares the same ability to take those risks in the same way (i.e., some of us are more economically vulnerable than others). But I think all of us are called to know what our values are and do as much as we can to bring our actions, our lives, and our leadership into alignment. To show those we lead that other ways of

being are not only possible but are also required of us. This commitment has led me to write a book based on my dissertation entitled Serving Money, Serving God: Aligning Radical Justice, Christian Practice, and Church Life. This book will be out through Fortress Press in early 2023 and will help church leaders (and others) who are committed to justice better live into those commitments through their finances and other collective practices.

Although this work is hard, ethical leadership is creative, life-giving, sustainable, and exciting. It may bring us out of isolation from one another, away from cut-throat competition, and allow us to cease exhausting and stressful ways of living and leading. We may find ourselves knitted more deeply into collaborative and affirming relationships with other people and the rhythms of the planet. We may show with our leadership that another way of being is not only possible, but is deeply life-giving and life-affirming for all.

Inclusive Community, Abundant Endowment, and Improved Capacity

Oluwatobi Ololade Ife-Adediran is a doctoral student at the GTU and a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship.

GTU: What is your field of study at the GTU? Could you describe the focus of your research?

Oluwatobi Ololade Ife-Adediran: I am in the department of Theology and Ethics and a student member of the Center of Theology and Natural Science (CTNS). My research utilizes a soteriological model to develop a theology of nuclear peace which I refer to as the Summa Pax Dei. This theological construct is expected to address the challenges that are related to nuclear security (especially the development and deployment of nuclear weapons), nuclear deterrence and extended deterrence, and nuclear waste disposal.

GTU: What makes the GTU the ideal place to pursue that course of study?

OOIA: The GTU is the right place for scholarly innovation, interdisciplinary studies, and interreligious dialogue. I am fascinated by the vast human and material resources that are available through the member schools, centers, and affiliate institutions of the GTU.

GTU: What drew you to the GTU?

OOIA: I was drawn to the GTU because it is one of the very few theological institutions that explore the intersection between theology and science. I was also thrilled by the expertise and profile of faculty members. The cross-registration agreement between the GTU and UCB presents a unique opportunity of a rich graduate study experience through the joint utilization of faith-based and secular resources.

GTU: What have been some of your favorite or most memorable experiences in your first year at the GTU?

OOIA: My enrollment for the seminars on interdisciplinarity as well as theology and ethics were watershed experiences in the first year of my study. These courses have constituted a solid foundation for my doctoral journey. I have also enjoyed interacting with students from other parts of the world who identify with different faith traditions. The unrivaled support of the faculty members have been remarkable as a strong motivation in the course of the study.

GTU: What do you hope to be doing 10 years from now?

OOIA: In ten years from now, I hope that I would be practicing as a medical physicist: advocating for nuclear peace; and contributing to sustainable development in Africa, especially in the areas of education, science, and technology.

GTU: As the GTU celebrates its 60th anniversary year, we are inviting GTU community members to begin imagining what a brighter future 60 years from now might look like. What does that future look like to you?

OOIA: I imagine a GTU in the next 60 years that would have improved capacity to offer qualitative education and research in emerging areas of theological and religious studies. I also look forward to a GTU with an abundant endowment to support the innovative research of students and scholars in the institution. The GTU should also continue to nurture safe and inclusive spaces where scholars can thrive irrespective of their religious affiliation, racial identity, and socio-cultural idiosyncrasy. Summarily, the GTU in the next 60 years will identify as an Inclusive Community, with an Abundant Endowment, and Improved Capacity, in addition to its motto: “Abundant Pathways, Intersecting Perspectives, Transformative Impact.”

GTU: How do you hope your research and work will contribute to that brighter future?

OOIA: At a time when theological education and research invests itself in the assertion of its relevance not only in faith practice but also in society at large, my research contributes to bringing this relevance to the fore. I hope that the Summa Pax Dei, a theology of nuclear peace that my research aims to construct, will complement the existing technologies, policies, and diplomacy channeled towards a sustainable nuclear anthropocene. Following the method that adapts a soteriological model towards a nuclear fit, other theological frameworks can be deployed to address societal problems.

“The unrivaled support of the faculty members have been remarkable as a strong motivation in the course of the study.”

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ABOUT THE GTU

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a world leader in the study of religion and theology, as well as a vibrant home for spiritual exploration through online learning opportunities with global reach.

Through rigorous academic research and active interreligious dialogue, the GTU’s centers of study and wider consortium offer programs that lead to groundbreaking scholarship, with alums who become thought leaders in their fields. The GTU offers innovative approaches to advanced study, driven by our core commitment to furthering the causes of ethical leadership, social justice, sustainability, and spiritual care to create more just and peaceful communities worldwide.