The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to announce the recipients of its inaugural Jewish Studies Fellowship for the Interreligious Chaplaincy Program: Doria Charlson, Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, Linda Oberstein, and Eliza Slavet.
This fellowship provides funding for courses towards a Certificate in Interreligious Chaplaincy for students who are affiliated with the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies. The fellowships are made possible through the generous support of Taube Philanthropies.
“The Interreligious Chaplaincy Program at the GTU is unique in its approach to spiritual care through a focus on interreligious competency, and I am thrilled to welcome such a strong inaugural cohort of Jewish Studies fellows,” said program director Dr. Kamal Abu-Shamsieh. “All of these fellows demonstrated excellence in their commitment to the values of appreciating and celebrating differences, and service to all communities, including their Jewish community.”
Doria E. Charlson, PhD, is a research fellow at Mills College in Oakland. Her academic work centers on crises of labor and how theatre and performance intersect with labor history, and her activism and spirituality is greatly informed by her artistic practices in dance and performance and her commitment to creating just and sustainable futures.
“Interreligious chaplaincy is an urgent need. The moment in which we are living requires moral clarity and ‘spiritual audacity.’ As a chaplain I can be agile: I can meet people where they are with their spiritual needs at different points in their lives and, importantly, I can provide avenues for ways in which to act in accordance with my traditions teachings of justice, compassion, and the holiness of connection.”
Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, PhD, is the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Endowed Chair of Religion and Founding Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Her teaching and publications cover topics in modern Jewish thought, women in religion, cross-cultural perspectives on love and the body, and the comparative study of Hindu-Jewish Philosophy and Religion.
“My interest in the GTU ICP stems from my commitment to students and other groups in need of spiritual care and mentorship. The theories and practices of spiritual care as taught in the ICP, combined with my personal and professional background promise to provide me with the skills for an effective leadership role in interreligious chaplaincy.”
Linda Oberstein, MD received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in Genetics, her MD from Albert Einstein University in NY, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University. After 22 years practicing in Internal Medicine in San Mateo and then Burlingame, she retired from her practice. She is looking forward to practicing a new form of caring for the community in providing spiritual guidance at people's time of greatest need.
“I am drawn to the ICP at GTU to be able to return to providing spiritual care to people in the context of illness. I retired from my 22 year internal medicine practice as the practice of medicine was no longer enabling me to make that spiritual connection which was a huge part of what drew me to primary care.”
Eliza Slavet, PhD received undergraduate and master's degrees from Yale University and a PhD in Literature from UC San Diego. She is the author of Racial Fever: Freud and the Jewish Question (Fordham UP: 2009) as well as many scholarly articles, creative liturgies, and beyond. Eliza feels called to serve in multi-faith and interfaith contexts including UC San Diego’s CPE program in Palliative Care (2020-2021).
“I was thrilled to discover GTU’s new program in Interreligious Chaplaincy, a program that will widen my path, allowing me to deepen my service to others, with all their spiritual complexities, clothed in the languages of religion, tradition, culture, and beyond. I look forward to diving in and learning to partner with others to bring more healing and light to the world.”
Congratulations to our fellowship recipients! Learn more about the Interreligious Chaplaincy Program, the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies, as well as the Jewish Studies Fellowship at https://www.gtu.edu/projects/icp.