“The first call that I made that day was to Rabbi Debra Dressler from Temple Israel London and sister Shahin Pardhan, a leader in London’s Muslim community, to make sure they knew that I was thinking and praying for them, their families and those that they were connected to,” the campus minister at London, Ont.'s King’s University said. “I needed to make sure they were OK.”
Wilson, Dressler and Pardhan have been working together as faith leaders for King’s University’s London Interfaith Peace Camp (LIPC) since 2015, a day camp initiative rooted in interfaith dialogue to foster unity and understanding among Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities.
With plans for the initiative’s 12th annual camp completely halted in the wake of Mideast chaos, the three women, along with Alice Corneil, a fellow coordinator of the initiative, gathered for a meal in February where the elephant in the room was finally addressed.
“We looked at each other and I said, regardless of it sounding selfish at the time, that I kept getting the feeling that we needed to do the camp again this year. It had nothing to do with any agenda or putting it on just to get it out of the way, but rather for the health and well-being of our community staying open to conversation,” Wilson said. “We agreed we would have to speak to our teenagers, the counsellors that would ultimately have to be comfortable with it.”
In March, the women gathered together with various veteran camp staff aged 15-21 with a simple question: “How do you feel about doing the camp this year?”
Their collective response is etched into the mind of Wilson, who became noticeably emotional when explaining the students' stance.
“Those young students said to us, ‘If you don't run camp this year, all those who believe in peace will say that we are giving up hope.’ They said that they knew it was going to be uncomfortable, but that it was something that we had to do collectively. In just a day or two later we booked our regular space at the campus and got to work.”
With that, the London Interfaith Peace Camp celebrated its 12th year of operation Aug. 12-19, giving Christian, Muslim and Jewish students from first to eighth grade the unique opportunity to build friendships across faiths while learning enduring lessons about peace between the Abrahamic religions.
Taking place at King’s University College, the Catholic liberal arts school affiliated with Western University, roughly 35 children used the social setting of a traditional summer camp to undergo a week of engaging with one another through various projects and activities.
As explained by Wilson, the theme of becoming advocates for peace was the main goal across all activities.
“We specifically do a lot of outdoor activities and team building exercises where they have to work as a team and learn from one another. Whether through physical education, craft time or even just by connecting with someone who might seem different to you at first, the kids, as well as staff, can make those intentional connections about different faiths in many ways.”
The curriculum is split up across the week. Students from Grades 1-3 focused on celebrations and life cycles such as Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Eid while Grades 4-6 turned their attention to prayers and rituals through examples such as Islam’s five daily prayers and other religious sacred spaces.
Those in Grades 7-8 took on more team-centric roles, including assisting camp counsellors, working on projects that explore their personal identities and even working with a guest chef to prepare appetizers for the camp based on food taken directly from Scripture in each of the three faith traditions.
Students also made trips to a nearby mosque, synagogue and church to be physically present in each faith tradition’s holy space — an annual journey that has become a staple of the LIPC and a solemn experience for attendees.
“(The students) do not have these preconceived notions about being afraid to ask the wrong thing. In those shared sacred spaces, they ask the most brilliant questions and it is always done with curiosity and wonder,” Wilson said.
As with past years, the impact the LIPC’s curriculum has on all students, regardless of religious affiliation, is glaringly apparent after the week-long camp concludes.
“As our communities have faced tragedies and triumphs, the trust and goodwill fostered through this camp have allowed us to turn to each other, even in challenging times,” Dressler said.
“By building relationships and exchanging ideas, we can challenge misconceptions, promote mutual respect and work together towards a more inclusive and harmonious society,” Pardhan added.
Staff such as team leaders, volunteers and counsellors as well as external sponsors and local guests shared a similar feeling of renewal and goodwill through the yearly initiative, said Wilson.
“It is often the young adults, the high school and our university’s students, who we find end up learning more than the children themselves. Even the London OPP will send police officers to come and learn for a day and so they join us every year now,” she said.
Despite unprecedented challenges from across the globe, the London Interfaith Peace Camp’s team is thankful for another year of dialogue, reconciliation and unity between faith groups as they hope their sentiment continues to affect more than just students.
“While we did have to consider the pieces a little bit differently this year, we have been very blessed that people have been so open to learning and accepting this possibility that we can continue sharing that this needs to happen in other places, not just at King's, but around the world as well,” Wilson said.