St. Vincent de Paul parishioner sees interfaith council as a way to deepen her own understanding

IC photo/Linda Petersen

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Christine Sharer, the new Holladay City Interfaith Council chairperson, shows a painting that was displayed at the group's annual Thanksgiving service.

HOLLADAY — Christine Sharer, a St. Vincent de Paul parishioner, has been appointed as the new Holladay City Interfaith Council chairperson.

Sharer, who is originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Utah in 1985 with her husband, John, who had been offered a position here, and their two sons. After living in Maine and Chicago, she left behind a position as theater department chair at Barat College of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, Ill.

Originally the change was difficult, she said.

“All I knew about Utah was it had a lake and a choir,” she said. “I knew if I moved to somewhere where I had no history and no connections, and two kids, theater was probably going to be in my rearview mirror. That was a hard move for me; I really didn’t want to do it.”

Shortly after settling here and looking for ways to connect with her new community, Sharer began volunteering with a group that eventually became Make a Wish Utah. She went on to become its executive director and later CEO for 25 years before retiring in 2011. She then went to work part time for Pathway Associates, a nonprofit consulting firm; she retired from the position recently.

A cradle Catholic, as a young adult Sharer felt disconnected from the faith of her youth, “but there was always a tug, an emptiness, a longing for faith,” she said. “I just figured I didn’t have it and if faith was a gift, it was a gift I hadn’t been given. So I tried to live in a meaningful way without faith.”

Here in Salt Lake City, wanting to provide a strong foundation for her children, Sharer was drawn back into the Church and eventually experienced what she described as a “profound conversion experience.”

In the years since, her faith and her understanding have deepened. She became involved with children’s liturgy at St. Vincent’s and since then has served on the liturgy committee, parish council and on the RCIA team for many years. She is also a lector and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion.

Sharer joined the Interfaith Council about two years ago when Joyce Binda, who had represented St. Vincent on the council for several years, was looking to move on. Sharer agreed to replace Binda, seeing it as a good fit.

“I’m interested in theology; I’m interested in the contemporary direction of theology in the Church, which is toward ecumenism and toward appreciation of other faith traditions and how we can learn from them,” she said.

Being part of the council has strengthened her own Catholic faith, she said.

“I like being associated with the theological idea that the Holy Spirit penetrates all of creation and is operative in every faith tradition on earth and calls people by such diverse traditions and cultures and societies into relationship; this group stand for that,” she said.

“Without it in any way lessening your convictions about your own faith tradition, there are things that we learn from other traditions: the big cosmic sweep of Hinduism or the sacredness of time in Hebrew theology or the radical detachment of Buddhism. … Those are threads that are in our faith tradition but in other traditions sometimes there’s a thread that is developed more deeply and fully and you have something powerful to learn from it that nourishes your own faith,” she added.

Sharer was recently chosen by her peers on the council to be the group’s chairperson for the next two years. Outgoing chairperson Marty Gilman said he is excited to see Sharer take over the position.

 “I stepped down because I thought we needed some new ideas,” he said. “My thought was we could do more, and I think we will be doing more in respect to social action issues with Christine. She has great ideas and good follow through and she’s excited about it; I don’t think you could ask for more.”

One of Sharer’s goals as council chairperson is to find ways to promote ecumenical dialogue in the Holladay community. She has several ideas for possible community lectures or forums.

“A topic that probably fits into everybody’s tradition is environment, climate, creation; it’s an idea that is alive right now and all of our sacred texts have something to say about that. A dialogue about our stewardship of the earth could be an interesting way to start that,” she said.

Sharer said she is also anxious to develop more service opportunities for local faith communities through the council.

“One of the easiest ways for faiths to understand one another is to join in the same kinds of service,” she said.

The Interfaith Council held its annual Thanksgiving service at St. Vincent’s on Nov. 24.

Sharer and her husband, now a retired chemical engineer and business owner, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. The couple’s two sons live locally.