Painting peace in the chapel

We have been getting up rather too early for my liking this week but the final spurt for the doctorate kick starts our days at the moment. The plus side has been that the early morning sun rises behind the alps have been quite beautiful, the snow-topped mountains standing out black against a pale sky streaked with red. It can almost make you feel it's worth getting out of bed.
This morning it also meant that I was in the chapel at the ecumenical centre much earlier than I think I have ever been in there before. The angled light coming in through the windows and wood was quite spectacular.

When the night has been cold but the sun shines strongly it is almost as if the chapel is speaking, the wooden cladding makes quite a noise as it expands with the rising sun. I find the noise quite comforting, as if the chapel knows the words to the prayers even if I don't, praying even if noone is there. Hmm I suspect that is not a very Protestant sort of musing!
Today we moved around, walking to different stations or specially created side chapels, keeping silence and singing, listening to the call of the drum and finally painting the word peace.
Wandering around and discovering such a familiar place from new angles was interesting. I'd never really appreciated quite how lovely the depth of light through the stained glass is until lunchtime today. By midday the chapel was almost like a greenhouse and that affected our singing too, I'd forgotten how much temperature affects how flat or sharp you sing.
And the peace paintings were fun.