What does a bike-powered ice-cream maker have to do with peace and justice?<\/p>\n
A lot, for the 47 children from grades 1-6 attending June\u2019s Interfaith Peace Camp — a collaboration by Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Center for Interfaith Engagement with local faith communities. \u201cAt the heart of peacebuilding is relationship building,\u201d notes a statement of the camp\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n
Following its 2011 theme, \u201cEarth Care-People Care,\u201d campers learned about sustainable living on visits to Jewish, Christian and Muslim places of worship, as well as the New Community Project (NCP) mini-farm in north Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n
The morning at NCP \u2013 where attractions include the abovementioned dessert-producing workout device \u2013 immersed kids in aspects of sustainability that, incidentally, proved fun:<\/p>\n
Painting the recycling shed (and each others\u2019 faces). Shaking sand and clay on a tarp to prepare for making a cob oven. Setting out cucumber plants. Staining hands picking mulberries for ice-cream topping.<\/p>\n
As the mulberry mix boiled over a small cylindrical stove, children took turns working the churn from the stationary tandem bike \u2013 a local invention.<\/p>\n
When NCP director Tom Benevento dumped a compost bucket of aging kitchen refuse, he heard shouts of \u201cEeeew!\u201d After covering it with weeds, he pointed to an older batch. \u201cIt\u2019s starting to turn,\u201d he indicated. \u201cIt also used to look grody.\u201d The children \u2013 some experienced gardeners, others not \u2013 observed nature\u2019s work on compost\u2019s scent and appearance.<\/p>\n
They hoped to make brownies. A volunteer led a discussion exploring, \u201cHow are brownies like fossil fuels?\u201d NCP\u2019s homemade sun oven \u2013 a glass-covered box employing tin panels \u2013 read 225 degrees. Brownies required about 350.<\/p>\n
This summer\u2019s peace camp \u2013 in its fourth year \u2013 had 40 slots, but demand entailed adding a few while turning some away. It\u2019s all volunteer-run, with expenses supported by fees and donations.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year it\u2019s gotten better,\u201d said camp administrator Gretchen Maust. She and co-director Lynette Mast noted diversity has increased as relationships have grown. This year, five children from Harrisonburg\u2019s relatively small Beth El Congregation attended the weeklong day camp, with remaining attendance coming about equally from Christian denominations and the Islamic Association of the Shenandoah Valley.<\/p>\n
One afternoon, campers Matthew Bacheller, Lauren Gumm and Abbie Menard gathered beside EMU\u2019s fountain to remove and sort petals from cut flowers. They\u2019d just visited and had lunch at the Harrisonburg mosque. \u201cThey have really soft carpet,\u201d Lauren recalled, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s always fascinating to learn about other religions.\u201d She also liked the lentil soup.<\/p>\n
Abbie had asked why Muslim women wear head coverings. \u201cIt\u2019s because women are like jewels,\u201d explained Matthew \u2013 whose sister, junior counselor Adara Bacheller, wore a bright purple hijab.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the group had visited Beth El, where member and camper Hannah David reported they lunched on gefilte fish, latkes and \u201ca noodle food.\u201d She appreciated visiting the mosque and churches.<\/p>\n
Beth El member and local educator Ron Ornstein, on guitar, led campers in garden-song sessions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hosting, but in a way, each group is hosting,\u201d said EMU art professor Cyndi Gusler, who facilitated construction of a rangoli around the fountain.<\/p>\n
A rangoli, camper Fiza Afridi explained, is a creation originating in India that \u201cwelcomes people. It makes them feel happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
After children created rangolis on paper, Gusler incorporated their design elements \u2013 a splash; lotus; flower petals; spiral; nautilus \u2013 into a master drawing for chalking on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Next came colors, textures and aromas.<\/p>\n
Children encircled the fountain with a green ring made from plantain and seedpods. Chrysanthemums, blue coneflowers and red and yellow roses came from a florist\u2019s still-colorful discards. In addition to those petals, children \u2013 mostly using only hands \u2013 neatly filled the chalked outlines for blossoms and leaves with flour, rice, ground coffee and curry.<\/p>\n
While the peace camp focuses on Abrahamic faiths, this year, Gusler used art representing other traditions. Hence the rangoli, often used in Hindu celebrations, which also embodies the earth-care theme.<\/p>\n
\u201cRangoli is a festival art,\u201d she explained. \u201cPeople walk through it and carry the spices on their feet. It\u2019s meant to be very transient, to blow away and just go back to the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mostly happened within a few days, but friendships – seeds of peace – would endure.<\/p>\n
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