Juneteenth 2024
Join us as we commemorate Juneteenth, a celebration of the moment in 1865 when slavery officially ended. At the GTU, we honor the profound significance of this day by engaging in dialogue, education, and action to achieve justice and liberation for our fellow Americans from the Black community. Let us revel in the resilience of the human spirit and keep striving for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Hewlett Building Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Thank you to all who joined us last weekend at the Celebration of Spirit to officially re-open the GTU's newly envisioned Hewlett Building! For those who couldn't be there, we hope you come to visit soon to explore the new space. Welcome to the next 60 years of Holy Hill!
GTU Hewlett Building History
Check out how the GTU's Hewlett Building, the central hub of our consortium, has evolved from initial sketches in the 1970s to its current form! We look forward to welcoming back our students, faculty, and staff for the Fall semester in the coming weeks. We hope to see you soon!
Nigel Sussman | GTU Library Mural Time-Lapse
Earlier this month, muralist Nigel Sussman crafted this new addition to the GTU library. The mural traces the history of the written word from cave paintings all the way to the present day. Be sure to stop by the Library Re-Opening Party at 4pm PT this Thursday, January 26, to see the mural and all the new and improved spaces on the first floor of the Hewlett Building! Find all the event details on the GTU Event Calendar: https://www.gtu.edu/events/library-re-opening-party
Cecilia González-Andrieu | Why I Give
To all our friends and supporters, thank you for your continued commitment to the Graduate Theological Union. Our efforts to equip tomorrow's leaders who are committed to partnering across differences in support of the common good is only possible with the partnership of generous supporters like yourself. GTU Alumni Cecilia González-Andrieu (PhD, '07) spoke to the need for supporters of theological education earlier this year, saying, "Truly groundbreaking programs can't happen without supporters. We need people who believe in the possibility of a really, truly beautiful world to contribute to that world. And so whatever it is that is our ability financially, whatever wonderful things we have that may contribute to that, what better place to put it in than a place of education..." We invite you to please consider joining the friends of the GTU in making a gift today. Your gift will help in supporting the work of the GTU and resourcing tomorrow’s leaders, today. Visit gtu.edu/giving to make your gift today.
Gregory Sterling Appeal
To all of our friends of the GTU, we want to thank you for your ongoing commitment to the Graduate Theological Union. Your partnership is a vital part of what makes the GTU’s transformational impact possible, as our students, faculty, staff, and alums strive to create positive change in our local communities and the wider world. As we continue to attract visionary scholars and leaders committed to our original founders’ vision of unifying voices across differences for the common good, we need your support. Offering leading academic programs, robust scholarships, and cutting-edge technologies requires generous partners. As GTU Alumni Gregory Sterling (PhD, '90) puts it, "Anyone who is interested in, or who appreciates the power of religion to move people, and realizes that we need to move people not just in one religion, but in multiple religions in a global context would find the GTU to be a great place to invest their resources because the potential for what it can do is enormous." Please consider joining our many alums and friends in making a gift to the GTU. When you do, you will help ensure our critical work of resourcing tomorrow’s leaders, today. Visit gtu.edu/giving to make your gift today.
Psychedelics and Religion Part 2 | gtu.edu/x
Part 2 of the GTUx Original Psychedelics & Religion is out now! Sign up for this free online learning opportunity by visiting gtu.edu/x.
The scientific realization that the use of psychedelic substances can be linked to significant and sustained spiritual experiences has led to a contemporary resurgence of research within brain science and is even making inroads into drug policy. However, there has been a painful absence of scholars of religion in this conversation, who could contribute substantially to both the fields of psychedelic studies and religious studies.
This GTUx Original explores the interdisciplinary work of the first-of-its-kind partnership between the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics and the GTU. Dr. Sam Shonkoff and a panel of experts examine the relationship between the ways that contemporary research and ancient wisdom traditions navigate the terrain of sacred plant narratives and how current theoretical frameworks and spiritual traditions may inform one another. In contemporary practice, this presentation will also explore how chaplaincy and spiritual care are essential elements in setting intentions and guidance in these experiences, as well as how the “war on drugs” has disproportionately impacted indigenous people and people of color regarding the use of “drugs” which might also be effective psychological and spiritual tools.
Find Psychedelics & Religion - Parts 1 & 2 at https://discovergtux.gtu.edu/library/?author=Sam+Shonkoff&category=GTUx+Originals
I Sil Yoon | Stories of Transformative Impact
In our final video for Stories of Transformative Impact, I Sil Yoon, PhD (GTU, 2019) speaks about the work she's doing to support North Korean refugees and how her education at GTU helped her embrace practical theology in her life. She says, "I believe that school and doing theology and doing ministry, they are not two separate things, they are always connected together." Learn more about how you can support current GTU students in their transformative work at gtu.edu/academics/transformative-impact.
Kamal Abu-Shamsieh | Stories of Transformative Impact
In this week's video for Stories of Transformative Impact, Kamal Abu-Shamsieh, PhD (GTU, 2019) speaks about how his work as Director of the Interreligious Chaplaincy Program at GTU is informed by his belief that chaplaincy and end-of-life care should be accessible to all. He says, "When you are investing in the GTU, whether be it in a scholarship, whether be it by hosting us, by spreading the word about some of our programming, by offering seed money for a class or for a program, you help make that dream happen to people." Learn more about how you can support current GTU students in their transformative work at https://www.gtu.edu/academics/transformative-impact.
Ismael Ruiz Abaunza | Stories of Transformative Impact
In this week's video for Stories of Transformative Impact, 2022 PhD graduate Ismael Ruiz Abaunza speaks about how his graduate studies were grounded in real-world experiences of plurality in the Bay Area. He says, "Where religion is often seen as a catalyst for conflict, the GTU is offering a different alternative where diversity of religion is actually a catalyst for dialogue, for unity, and for a shared common humanity." Learn more about how our alumni are engaging with the world at gtu.edu/academics/transformative-impact.
Cecilia Gonzàlez-Andrieu | Stories of Transformative Impact
In this addition to Stories of Transformative Impact, Cecilia González-Andrieu (PhD, 2007) speaks about the richness of diversity and inclusivity she experienced during her studies at the GTU, and how it helps her to see beauty everywhere she is. She says, “The GTU teaches you to find beauty and to make beauty. Truly groundbreaking programs can’t happen without supporters. We need people who believe in the possibility of a really truly beautiful world to contribute to that world.” Hear more stories from our alumni and learn how you can support our programs by visiting gtu.edu/academics/transformative-impact.
Gregory Sterling | Stories of Transformative Impact
Introducing Stories of Transformative Impact, a weekly series where - for the next few weeks - we will hear reflections from our alumni about how their work at the GTU is helping them create a meaningful impact in their communities. In our first story, Dr. Gregory Sterling (Ph.D., 1990), Dean of Yale Divinity School, speaks about how the GTU prepares students to find solutions to global problems by looking at multiple religions. He says, "[The GTU] is a place that has a very broad cross-section of religions...that helps you think globally. Because a person can't take religion in the 21st Century seriously without thinking in global terms, and that means you have to think beyond a single religion." Find out about the work of some of our recent alums, and learn more about how you can support the next generation students here: gtu.edu/academics/transformative-impact.
Uriah Kim | Stories of Transformative Impact
This spring, we are proud to bring you Stories of Transformative Impact: GTU Alums in the World. Over the next several weeks, you'll hear reflections from many of our alumni about how their work at the GTU is helping them create meaningful impact in their communities. Stay tuned for the first video in this series tomorrow!
Ecospirituality: Environmental Pathways to Healing
The Earth is being devastated before our own eyes, primarily due to the unsustainable economic, ecological, societal, geopolitical, cultural, and ethical decisions of human civilization. As a result of the injury to our collective home, a complex web of trauma is affecting humanity, frequently in new and unforeseen ways. While there are many who ignore or even profit from our unsustainable consumption, there are little sustainability efforts that rely on technology and even the shared wonder about nature shared by the world’s multiple religious traditions.
In this GTUx Original, Dr. Rita D Sherma is joined by several guest speakers to lead a discussion about how healing the innate connections between humans and their ecosystem requires new definitions of the relationships between ecology, therapy, spirituality, and sustainability.
Sign up for this free virtual learning opportunity here: https://bit.ly/36tFsfP
The Arbaeen Pilgrimage | GTUx Original
The latest GTUx Original is out now! Don't miss The Arbaeen Pilgrimage with Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala. In this offering, Dr. Dhala will reflect on the ethos of truth, justice, and liberty that imbues the annual 50-mile walk from Najaf to Karbala in Iraq.
Sign up for this free offering at gtu.edu/x.
Spirituality x Global Community | Chai Motupalli
For our eleventh and final installment in this arc of our series of Spiritual Care and Ethical Leadership, we are joined by Chai Motupalli, Director of Student Life at the GTU. In "Spirituality x Global Community," Chai will speak towards the need for action against the alarming impacts of climate change in public life and social settings.
To see past installations of our Spiritual Care and Ethical Leadership for Our Times series or the written reflection, visit: https://www.gtu.edu/gtu-voices/spirituality-gallery
