Finding Faith in Glassboro

My Journey Towards Religion

Growing up, I feel that there were a few certain aspects of my childhood that shaped me into the person that I am today. Three of those aspects were my education in Catholic school, my father’s Jewish background, and my family business in antiques. I attended Catholic school up until fourth grade, and during that time, I experienced a lot of Anti-Semitism from my peers. Like many children, I was often naïve and innocent, and I hadn’t realized that people around me were Anti-Semitic, but looking back years later, there was definitely some character defining moments in my youth. I learned that the world was not as kind as I wanted it to be, and this separation made me feel alienated, thus forcing me to grow up faster than I would have liked. After leaving Catholic school, I needed to step away from religion and learn what guided me personally, not what was taught and tested in a curriculum. 

Years later, I still am not tied down to one religion, and I honestly don’t think that I could ever be. As I grow older, I aspire to become more cultured and worldlier. I find religious and personal beliefs to be extremely interesting. Each person is governed by individual beliefs, and I find beauty in the uniqueness of the heart. The focus of my project in Honors Cultural Geography was on the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Glassboro. The Episcopalian community is different, yet similar to the one that I was raised in, and I wanted to know how it’s different and what role it plays in the lives of those who follow the religion. This church was a prominent place to research for two reasons: the first because every day I leave Rowan University to go home, I pass the church and admire the architecture. The second reason is that one of my best friends belongs to this church, and her father (Reverend Ken Carpinelli) recently was ordained as a deacon, whom I, fortunately, was able to interview for this project.
 

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