# Integrating Faith and Justice “My time at HDS is shaping me to be a minister and leader in a changing world.”—Noël Grisanti, MDiv ’26 May 04, 2026 [ Sarah Rubin ](/people/sarah-rubin) ![Noël Grisanti, MDiv ’26](/sites/g/files/omnuum5526/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-04/Noel-Edited-CIR.png?itok=0dEOWSMs) Noël Grisanti, MDiv ’26 Noël Grisanti, MDiv ’26, is preparing for ministry in the United Church of Christ, shaped by experiences in teaching, interfaith engagement, and her intellectual and spiritual formation at HDS. Before coming to HDS, Grisanti studied classics at Amherst College and taught Latin at an all-girls school in Connecticut, where supporting her students’ education and well-being became her first experience of ministry. Her work in interfaith organizing and questions about integrating political activism with religious tradition motivated her call to divinity school. Below, Grisanti reflects on how HDS is preparing her for ministry in a changing religious landscape, why financial aid has been meaningful to her, and what comes next. **What role did religion play in your life growing up, and how did that evolve over time?** Growing up in New York City, I had a strong sense of spirituality and a connection with God, but at that time, religion was confined to going to church on Sundays and wasn’t integrated into my life or identity. I went to Amherst College and, toward the end of my time there, I felt myself wanting to have a spiritual community. That was when I discovered the United Church of Christ. In Amherst, the UCC Church had a Pride flag, a Black Lives Matter flag, and an Immigrants Welcome sign. I'd never seen a church voice political values like these so clearly–values that felt aligned with my own. I understood then that church could be a place where there was a religious imperative to fight for queer rights, racial justice, and climate justice. **Prior to coming to HDS, you taught Latin at an all-girls school. How did that experience lead you to ultimately apply to HDS?** I began teaching Latin out of a passion for classics, which I had studied in undergrad, as well as a love of teaching and working with young people. I had thought I might pursue a master’s or PhD in classics, but did not want to do so immediately after college. I was fortunate to find a position teaching middle and high school students at an all-girls boarding and day school in central Connecticut. I had also gone to an all-girls school, so all-girls education was important to me. It was teaching Latin that I first started to encounter what I now think of as ministry. My colleagues and I focused not only on students’ academic work but also on their holistic well-being, which was possible because we lived in community with them. During the pandemic, this became even more important. **What motivated you to start thinking about attending divinity school?** When I moved to Connecticut after college and looked for a church home, I found Immanuel Congregational Church, which introduced me to interfaith organizing. I saw people integrating their spiritual and political selves and wondered what my version of that would be. Some of the most successful movements for liberation have had a religious undercurrent or recognized religion as important to their work. On the spiritual side, connecting through traditions can be a way to understand someone and build toward larger commitments. Political activism and religious tradition are much richer when integrated rather than separated. **Why were you interested in HDS specifically?** HDS was at the top of my list. My interest in studying justice and religion, and their intersection, did not feel like it could fit into one specific container, and HDS seemed expansive enough to hold all my questions. If I had to sum up what I wanted from divinity school in one word, it would be integration. I wanted to discern: how can my interests in justice and religion be integrated? How am I integrated into a larger tradition? And how can I bring a sense of integration to the world that's so fractured and disintegrated right now? **What is next for you? And how is HDS helping you work towards your aspirations?** I’m in the ordination process for the United Church of Christ, and I hope within the next year to be ordained and serve in parish ministry. My time at HDS is equipping me for ministry in this era, bringing together academic scholarship with deep empathy, compassion, and spiritual rigor. It’s shaping me to be a minister and leader in a changing world. For example, in a class taught by Rev. Regina Walton, “What Is the Church? Creating Christian Community,” we examined the steady decline in church attendance and the rise of religious “nones.” While this could be framed as a crisis, Rev. Walton and other professors encourage us to think in broader historical and theological terms and ask what opportunities this moment presents. We’ve also made space to acknowledge the real grief behind these shifts and how to care for people through it. My professors and classmates bring a thoughtful, courageous lens to what’s happening in the church, helping me ask: how do we care for the people who are here now? As the theologian Phyllis Trible suggests, every 500 years, Christianity has a great rummage sale– and we’re in it. I take that as an invitation to see possibility rather than dread, and to shape a church defined by the needs of the people it serves today. **What has financial aid meant to you?** At a material level, it has allowed me to pursue this degree less encumbered by debt. It has also meant a lot to know that people want to give so students can access an HDS education, with the hope that we will go on to extend that investment to others. It's such a beautiful act of faith, and I get to live it every day. [ Community Impact Report Landing Page arrow\_circle\_right ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report) [ Previous Impact Stories arrow\_circle\_right ](/hds-fund-community-impact-report/all-impact-stories)