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epresenting eight religious groups to<br />
representing over 25 religious groups<br />
of nine distinct traditions, including<br />
Buddhism, Hinduism, the Bahaʼi faith,<br />
Unitarianism, and Christianity. Sharon<br />
convinced the JHU administration to<br />
create the first-ever spiritual facility<br />
in the 123-year history of the college:<br />
The Bunting-Meyerhoff Interfaith and<br />
Community Service Center, which<br />
opened in 1999.<br />
At the Center, Sharon focuses<br />
on deepening awareness and<br />
understanding between the 25<br />
different religious groups that it<br />
serves. Sharon formed the Interfaith<br />
Council, composed of members of<br />
various student religious groups on<br />
campus. The Council members work<br />
towards establishing a cooperative<br />
community spirit among all religious<br />
groups on campus and dispelling the<br />
myths and misunderstandings about<br />
the various religions.<br />
In addition to working with the<br />
Interfaith Council, Sharonʼs duties<br />
include counseling, leading worship,<br />
and planning memorials. “You feel<br />
called to do it,” said Sharon. “If itʼs<br />
not feeding your soul, youʼre going<br />
to know it pretty quickly. Chaplaincy<br />
gives you the opportunity to give to<br />
people and be there in their hours of<br />
greatest need.”<br />
Sharon has proved herself a master<br />
at building community among all the<br />
religious groups on campus. “JHU is<br />
a very intense place academically,”<br />
said Sharon, “One way I get students<br />
involved in the interfaith center<br />
is to create a relaxing, welcoming<br />
environment that feels nothing like<br />
the lab. I always save room in my<br />
annual budget for a bubble-blowing<br />
machine and a stocked ice-cream cart.”<br />
These whimsical ideas for building<br />
community have worked wonders. “I<br />
canʼt tell you how glad I was, right<br />
after September 11th, to share that ice<br />
cream cart with our students when the<br />
world was all chaos and confusion.”<br />
In addition to the centerʼs fun<br />
environment, Sharon has created<br />
annual events to bring diverse<br />
students together for community.<br />
“Regardless of their religious beliefs,<br />
THEN & NOW: Right, Sharon’s<br />
photos at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> in 1977<br />
and at JHU in 2001. INTERFAITH<br />
COUNCIL: Below, Sharon (far<br />
left) gathers with the members<br />
of JHU’s Interfaith Council<br />
the ministry of gastronomy is at<br />
the heart of connecting with college<br />
students,” said Sharon, “I started<br />
hosting chili dinners as a lark my first<br />
year here,” said Sharon, “I just wanted<br />
to do something nice for the resident<br />
advisers on campus and also break their<br />
misconceptions about me as a religious<br />
leader.” From that humble beginning,<br />
the chili tradition has grown each year,<br />
and is well-known across campus.<br />
In addition, Sharon has an hors<br />
dʼoeuvre buffet for all the members of<br />
the Interfaith Council every December.<br />
“The Muslim students particularly<br />
enjoy this Christmas dinner, because<br />
it has coincided with Ramandan, a<br />
month-long time of prayer and fasting<br />
during daylight hours,” said Sharon.<br />
“At this special dinner, there is a unique<br />
feeling of connectedness between the<br />
students.” In fact, Sharon has enjoyed<br />
friendships with culturally-diverse<br />
students ever since her days at <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong>. She recalls, “I loved learning<br />
about the lives of the boarders-- their<br />
families, their countries of origin and<br />
what mattered most to them.”<br />
In 2001, Sharon completed her<br />
second term as president of the<br />
National Association of College and<br />
University Chaplains. “While serving<br />
as President, I got to travel to Rome to<br />
join a special consultation of European<br />
chaplains discussing religious diversity<br />
with the Vatican,” said Sharon. “As<br />
I met with the Cardinals, I felt so<br />
humbled, and also excited about where<br />
the ongoing dialogue might take us.”<br />
The new millennium also brought<br />
heart-breaking news: Sharon was<br />
diagnosed with Lymphoma, Hodgkinʼs<br />
Disease. She continued her work at<br />
JHU while going through treatment,<br />
and eventually she beat the cancer. “I<br />
never tried to hide my cancer,” said<br />
Sharon. “I think that helped me stay<br />
connected with my community. I love<br />
sharing my survival story with others<br />
to give them hope.” Sharon is healthy<br />
and cancer free today.<br />
“<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> was key to my<br />
early formation and understanding<br />
of what it means to be a person of<br />
conscience,” recalls Sharon. “It was<br />
a place of broad intellectual and<br />
spiritual exploration in the very best<br />
sense.” Sharon reports that because of<br />
her own wonderful experience at the<br />
Convent, she and her husband chose<br />
to send their two daughters, Emily and<br />
Zoe, to all-girls schools. “At <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> we had rich traditions such<br />
as liturgies in the old building, the<br />
Little Theater productions, the ring<br />
dance, and graduation on Palm Court.<br />
These were things that made me feel<br />
that I belonged to part of something<br />
bigger than myself— that I was part<br />
of the living history of a very special<br />
place.”<br />
The <strong>Heart</strong> of the Matter 15
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