My formation?  How did I get here?  Let me tell you…

My formation is informed by my Catholic upbringing.  Unfortunately, the church I grew up in taught one basic ideology—you sin, you go to hell.  I am aware this is not Catholic doctrine overall, but nevertheless, I grew up terrified of God.  I never understood a loving God, or, more, a pluralistic God.  I knew little of other faiths.  However, what I took away from the Catholic Church is the sense of tradition, ritual and a deep reverence of God—a positive mark on a negative experience.

My formation is informed by my move to the United Methodist Church.  At first, I had a very difficult time leaving the Catholic Church.  I felt I was doing something terribly wrong and terribly un-Godly.  The Methodist church felt right—it felt comfortable and more, I finally felt as though I could be who I was in the Methodist Church.  It was in the Methodist Church where I had my calling.  I believe I was called when I was in the Catholic Church, I just couldn’t hear God there.  But, yes, it occurred in church.  There were no bells, or whistles, or trumpets—no, just utter confusion.  My calling made me question everything I understood God to be in my life.  My calling led me down a path that I look back on and think, “Where did Karen go?  Oh, wait…she’s been here the whole time.  I just didn’t see her.”

My formation is informed by actually following my calling.  When I picked up the phone and decided to answer God, I was a high school drop out with a GED—I didn’t even have an Associate degree, let alone a Bachelor’s.   And money—where would the money to finance my education come from?  I kept telling myself, “Well, if God wants me to do this, it will all work out.”

My formation is informed by my starting school at Middlesex Community College (MCC) in 1999.  I was offered almost a full ride and I also received a scholarship from an outside source: Associate in Science degree in Liberal Studies paid for.  Not only was my time at MCC special, it was at MCC where I realized I had a brain.  It was also at MCC one day as I perused transfer information that a counselor asked me, “How old are you?”  I thought it was an odd question, but I answered.  “Thirty-five.”  She proceeded to tell me about Wellesley College’s Davis Scholar program, for women who are twenty-four years and older who have yet to get their B.A.  “Wellesley?” I said.  “Isn’t that really expensive and for incredibly intelligent women?”  She talked me into applying right there in that office.  In April of 2002, I received my acceptance letter to Wellesley in the mail.  I will never forget the feeling I had as I opened that letter.  One of amazement, achievement, astonishment and grace, God granted me that opportunity to inform and to form myself as I never thought I would or could at one of the best colleges in the nation.  The high school drop out with a GED would never be the same.

My formation was not only informed at Wellesley College, but transformed.  A year after 9/11, I had a great desire to understand why this event occurred.  Why would and how could people do something so terrible?  At Wellesley, I studied Islam extensively and wrote my thesis on Al Qaeda.  I now understand why 9/11 occurred.  Financially, I graduated from Wellesley with very little debt.

My formation is informed by my work at Andover Newton Theological School where I did my M.A. in Christian-Muslim Understanding.  I closely examined the theological similarities as well as the differences in the two religions.  There, I was a Kelsey Scholar, which helped me cover much of my tuition.

My formation is currently informed by the degree I am pursuing at Boston University School of Theology.  Grounded in religion and conflict transformation, my work at BU is solidifying all the work I have already accomplished.  It gives me a chance to delve into topics I previously only skimmed over, such as Free Will in the three Abrahamic Faiths, as well as, War, Rape and Theology.  As an employee at BU, my education is basically free, for lack of a better phrase.

With all this education, however, my formation is mostly informed by the amazing people I met, dialogued with and continue to meet all over the world, as well as personal experiences.  I am formed by the Wahhabist Muslim men I conversed with at Jamiah Salafiah in Varanasi, India.  I am formed by the Bishop of Varanasi and the Mufti of Banaras and my conversations with them both.  I am formed by Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East and by their stories I heard in 2009.  I am formed by the Hindus I conversed with in Varanasi, India and what they really feel about Communal Violence.  I am formed by my daughter.  I am formed by my experience of speaking on three panels at Parliament of World Religions.  I am formed by listening to Muslim women in the Slums of Mumbai and the hardships they face every day living in such conditions.  I am formed by having the opportunity to live in England and Italy.  I am formed by the classes I teach on Islam, Al Qaeda and Islamophobia and by the students themselves.  I am formed by my writing and the feedback I receive.  I am formed by my marriage of twenty-one years and by my divorce.  I am formed by my experience just two days ago, when on my way to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport, I stopped by the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, on a whim, and for one hour, spoke to a current member there.  I am formed by my relationships with people of all different faith backgrounds—they bring a richness to my life and help me be the Christian, pluralist, humanist, and over-all good human being that I am.

The faith I have in following the call, the faith I have in humanity, the faith I have in my work, leads to my religious and spiritual formation that is rich, blessed and real.  It is based on my education, yes, but more, it is based on my interaction with people of all different religions and cultures.  That connection, on a very basic human level, is of most importance to my work.  That connection, on a level that is more than just religious, is what drives my work and what drives my faith in humanity as a whole.

Most important, by faith, I am formed.