This summer Liverpool Hope University hosts Mariapolis, a week of reflection, interest groups, creative workshops, trips and relaxing evenings organised by the Focolare Movement from Tuesday 28 July to Sunday 2 August. Open to people of all ages, backgrounds, religious beliefs and cultures, the ecumenical Mariapolis event has been dubbed 'a meeting place for people who believe in the good of others'.The programme for the 2015 Mariapolis will be based around the theme 'Signs of Hope' and will contain something for everybody. Every day will feature a moment together as one big family, including sharing the events of the past 24 hours, a simple prayer and a thought for the day. After this the children will be able to join with other youngsters while a short session takes place for the adults. Then there will be the opportunity to participate in group discussions, dialogues or debates – on topics such as the family today – or to engage in more lively activities. A variety of workshops or trips will be available in the afternoons.
Liverpool Hope University has also sponsored a work of art linking the two halves of its Childwall campus and symbolising unity. The work has been commissioned by Centro Arts, who built the Focolare Church in Loppiano, Tuscany, and is made up of two individual pieces which interweave to form the shape of an archway. It will be inaugurated on Wednesday 29 July by Professor Gerald Pillay, the university's vice-chancellor.
Further details about this year's Mariapolis are available at www.focolare.org/gb or from the Liverpool Focolare Centres – telephone 0151 722 9899 or 0151 722 3981.