Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute periodically offers scholarships to promising students and researchers in the fields of ecumenical and interreligious studies.
The program began in 2022, in collaboration with the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, by sponsoring their participation in the 14th international Ecclesiological Investigations conference (in San Juan, Puerto Rico).
2024 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
David de la Fuente is the Associate Director for Ignatian Young Adult Ministries
David de la Fuente is the Associate Director for Ignatian Young Adult Ministries in the Office of Ignatian Spirituality of the USA East Province of Jesuits. He is also on the adjunct faculty at Fordham and is a lay ecclesial minister at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City. He holds a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Fordham University. His recently defended dissertation, titled A Catholic Reception of Azusa Street’s Pentecostal Fire, brought together his interests in pneumatology, ecclesiology, theologies of racial justice, and the Pentecostal movement to explore the deeper significance of the Azusa Street Revival of 1906 for theological reflection and ecclesial praxis today. Dave has contributed to academic journals and edited volumes on pneumatology and medicine, scripture and racial justice, and theological aesthetics. Dave is married to Adrienne, a professional ballet and contemporary dancer with Exit12 Dance Company; their mission is to bring healing to those touched by war.
Noël Grisanti is a Masters of Divinity student at Harvard Divinity School.
Her work centers broadly on social justice ministry through the lens of ecclesiology. In particular, she is interested in exploring the church’s role at the intersection of economic, racial, and climate justice. She is currently pursuing ordination in the United Church of Christ.
Tom McLean is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at KU Leuven (Belgium).
He is preparing a thesis on the sacramental theology of Edward Schillebeeckx. His research interests also include liturgical history and theology, critical and ritual theories, ecumenism, and the work of Marie-Dominique Chenu. He has published articles in Louvain Studies, Studia Liturgica and Theology.
Sam Zhai was born and raised in China.
He then came to the United States in 2010 for undergraduate studies at University of Southern California and earned a bachelor’s degree in physics/computer science. He then attended Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and earned two master’s degrees before joining Boston College Theology Department’s doctoral studies program, with a particular focus on Comparative Theology and Christian-Jewish Relations. He is currently working on his dissertation, which delves into Jewish and Catholic understandings of the concept of Covenant through the lens of important figures such as Joseph Soloveitchik and David Tracy.
2022 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Britta Meiers Carlson - Boston University School of Theology
Her work reflects on interactions between historically white Christian churches and Latin American immigrant communities to better understand how ecclesiology is evolving in the United States. Supporting areas of research include postcolonial and liberation theologies, race studies, and church history. Britta is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Stephen R. Di Trolio Coakley - Department of History and Ecumenics at Princeton Theological Seminary
Stephen was born in Costa Rica and grew up in Argentina, where he returned to live after college in the United States. In Buenos Aires, he was a youth worker with international students, taught at a local seminary, and worked alongside rural education projects in Nicaragua before coming to Princeton. His research interests include Latin American political history, Pentecostalism in Argentina, social movements, political theology, and decolonial theory. He holds a BA in Theological Studies from the University of Valley Forge, has completed coursework in the Sociology of Culture program in the Instituto de Altos Estudios Sociales at the Universidad Nacional de San Martín, and received his MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Yenny Delgado - Psychologist and Public Theologian
She has worked with social movements and local churches for over a decade, advocating for improved equality education and ending racism in the Church. She is a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, member of Ñawi intercultural dialogue, and founder of PUBLICA Theology and Mujeres Doing Theology in Abya Yala. Currently, she is a doctoral student in Social Science of Religion at University of Lausanne.gical history and theology, critical and ritual theories, ecumenism, and the work of Marie-Dominique Chenu. He has published articles in Louvain Studies, Studia Liturgica and Theology.
Ryan Ramsey - Baylor University
He holds a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School (’19) and a BA from Lee University (’14). His dissertation compares Latin American and African charismatic lay leaders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing especially on relationships between Christianity and indigenous religions.
Kenia Vanessa Rodriguez - Drew Theological SchooL
She is a Latina (Bolivian) decolonial feminist PhD student in Christian Social Ethics at Drew Theological School. She focuses on decolonizing the theory and practice of the U.S. Protestant Church using a mujerista critique to envision a shared future. Kenia Vanessa obtained a Masters in Divinity degree from the Wesley Theological Seminary and prior to seminary was a practicing immigration law attorney in the D.C. area.
Hesron Sihombing - University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology
An Indonesian native, he studies theology and ethics. His current work examines the process of decolonizing churches by decolonizing the history of mission from an Indonesian-Lutheran perspective.
QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM?
We’re happy to answer them! Please get in touch and we’ll respond as soon as possible.