Labyrinths and artwork to bring the interreligious summer school to a close

So here are the participants at this year's Interreligious Summer School with my great colleague Tara Tautari taking their photo and the IEPC cloth labyrinth in the foreground. The Christian, Muslim and Jewish participants at the school have been reflecting on how religions can contribute to peace building.
I've joined them on three occasions as their interpreter and it has been a fascinating experience interpreting the local rabbi or representative of the mosque. Today however I changed roles and encouraged the participants to think about where they had come from and where they were going with what they had experienced during the four weeks of the summer school.
Each of them received a photocopy of the Chartres labyrinth and also an A4 version of the IEPC logo which we used as finger labyrinths to get into the idea of travelling into and out of places, issues and experiences. Some walked in the cloth labyrinth outside. And then they started, painting and chopping and sticking; laughing and keeping quiet, in groups or alone, at tables or outside on the grass. The results were simply wonderful.
We closed the session with the group photo but before that, many of the artists shared the meaning behind their paintings and collages. It was a beautiful, restful and recreative time. A time to believe in and celebrate the playfulness of God. A real privilege to have been asked to spend this time with such an extraordinary group. What a wonderful sunny afternoon.

The next few posts will show some of the works.