“To know God means to know what has to be done,” writes the Jewish philosopher of religion, Emmanuel Levinas. Indeed, central to many of the world’s religious traditions is the connection between faith and action, between believing and doing. These links are foundational for students at the Graduate Theological Union as they put their own faith into action in myriad ways.

For Ajit Abraham, a third year doctoral student in interdisciplinary studies, faith in action begins with everyday practice. “It has to happen in relationship,” he said. “The relationships could be with either place or people, with different faiths, different languages.”

Originally from Bangalore City, South India, Abraham attended the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago before arriving at the GTU. Growing up in the Church of South India, an ecumenical partner church with the Presbyterian Church USA, Abraham felt the importance of relationships and the need for community. Early on, he valued “a way of life that embodies the true nature of intentional community building—respecting, confronting, challenging, and growing with differences.”

It is no wonder that Abraham’s passion for relationship led him to study the impact of globalization on religion and culture. Focusing on what he calls “the human face of globalization,” he is currently exploring issues of poverty, injustice, religious violence, and materialism within the integration of free markets. “We have to ground ourselves in the everyday practice of being spiritually intentional while critically engaging religion in the world,” he said.

Lauren MacKinnon, a doctoral student in ethics and social theory, practices community building. From the University of Virginia, MacKinnon came to the GTU to study ethics, social theory, and religion. “I wanted a place where we could talk about all those things, in the context of the healthy society,” MacKinnon comments. While she says that her field is particularly appealing to those in her own Catholic tradition, she also finds connections in other denominations.

MacKinnon is currently teaching and serving as a Residential College Coordinator at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. There she helps students develop leadership skills and resolve conflicts. “I am working for stronger community and for the acceptance of religious or spirited voices in the public square because I believe all parts of personal life must be present in the life of the community,” she said.

“I sense an invitation to be a peacemaker,” explains Eli Sasaran McCarthy, a third year doctoral student also in ethics and social theory. McCarthy came to the GTU in the wake of the Iraq war, “in search of taking peacemaking more seriously.” For him, the ecumenical and interreligious environment of the GTU provides a fertile space for such an endeavor.

Focusing his scholarship on issues of war and peace and restorative justice, the East Coast native says he hopes to contribute to peacemaking practices across the globe. “My religious background, or more specifically my love for Christ, is my decision to study ethics. From personal experiences with those who were lonely, afraid, ignored, and suicidal I sensed the gift of the cross: the willingness to suffer out of nonviolent love.”

Through a local chapter of the global Sant’ Egidio ecumenical peacemaking community, McCarthy visits a local nursing home, engages in scripture study, and participates in vigils against the death penalty. With the Declaration of Peace coalition, he also works to end U.S. violence in Iraq and create practices of restorative justice. Teaching, too, has been central for McCarthy; he’s served at institutions including Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, Holy Names University, and St. Mary’s College.

While their scholarly interests and colors of faith differ, all three students agree that so much of “what needs to be done” to put faith into action begins with engaging the other. “It is not only about altruism or being responsible,” says Ajit Abraham, “but being in relationship that can be valued and embodied through the practice of faith, tolerance, human dignity, and believing that we are all precious children of God in the end.”