'Forgiveness' joint mural with Plymouth Church, Pathfinders Youth Shelter and Shir Hadash

The Forgiveness mural was a unique and beautiful project. It was my first multi-organization collaboration. Pastor Andrew Warner, of Plymouth Church; Joseph Stanley, counselor for Pathfinders Youth Shelter, and Rabbi Tiferet Berenbaum of Shir Hadash jewish congregation are longtime friends. What makes them special is they all share a space at Plymouth Church, a beautiful stone building on Milwaukee's east side just two blocks from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Pathfinders Youth Shelter has several locations each with a special focus. There is the drop-in center; the group home, and the space at Plymouth Church where youth can come use the large gym for recreation and smaller group activities.

In April 2015, the three friends decided to do something they wanted to for a long time - hold a series of conversations. The topic they picked was 'Forgiveness'. They each took a turn leading one of three conversations where members from both congregations of all ages, and youth from Pathfinders met and shared personal stories in response to a poem; a passage from the bible, or a story. What does it mean to forgive ourselves and each other? 

I participated in the conversations and afterwards, I worked with just the youth, a small group of four or five, on this mural which shows their collective stories together on one canvas, telling one story. I enlisted the help of Nerissa, an adult volunteer who often works with Plymouth and an artist who also knew many of the youth. We were able to find the commonalities among our stories even though there many differences in our struggles.